What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4887981 about?

The tribunal order states: An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal

How much money was awarded in case 4887981?

December 2024: $618.78 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Water Rates: $2,870.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4887981?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4887981?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11282650-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4887981 about?

The tribunal order states: An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal

How much money was awarded in case 4887981?

December 2024: $618.78 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Water Rates: $2,870.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4887981?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4887981?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11282650-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 4887981 — Tenancy dispute

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4887981 — net $3,509.22 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Water rates for invoices including the invoice dated 18	$2,870.00	Water rates for invoices including the invoice dated 18
December 2024	$618.78	December 2024
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$3,509.22
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$3,509.22

Order

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of both the Tenant and Landlord’s names and identifying details.
[The tenant/s] owes [The landlord/s] $3,509.22 (“the debt”) as set out in the table below.
[The tenant/s] must pay rent and the debt as follows: a. By 35 weekly payments of $650.00, being $550.00 for rent and $100.00 for the debt. b. A final payment of $639.22, being $550.00 for rent and $89.22 for the debt. c. Payments will be every Thursday, with the first payment on 09/01/2025 and continuing until 11/09/2025.
Payments will be allocated in the following order: rent, rent arrears, water arrears and the filing fee.
If the tenant fails to pay rent and rent arrears as ordered above within 2 working days of the due dates: a. The tenancy at [Tenancy address suppressed] will terminate and the landlord will have immediate possession of the premises. b. The balance of the debt will be payable immediately.
If the tenant fails to pay the water arrears within 2 working days of the due dates as ordered above the water arrears will be payable immediately.
If the tenant fails to pay the filing fee within 2 working days of the due dates as ordered above the filing fee will be payable immediately.
The tenants must continue to pay the water and wastewater volumetric charges included in each Watercare invoice as they fall due.
The landlord’s claims for damage are withdrawn.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
The landlord was assisted by a Cantonese interpreter, Mr Young, and was represented to a large extent by her son, [redacted], who was familiar with the tenancy.
Mr [redacted] attended with [redacted].
The tenancy began in 2019. Mr and Mrs [redcated] live in the tenancy together with their eight children. The rent is currently $550.00 per week.

Should a conditional termination order be made?

Where rent is at least 21 days in arrears on the date the application was filed, the Tribunal must make either a final or a conditional termination order. See section 55(1)(a) and (1A) Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (“RTA”).
The landlord provided a comprehensive rent summary setting out all rent payments from the start of the tenancy until 27 December 2024. They had with them a notebook confirming all payments made since that date so it was possible to calculate arrears owing as at today.
It is clear from the rent summary that the tenant has gradually gotten behind in the rent by short paying the rent and by missing some payments entirely. The tenant has tried to get on top of the arrears by making additional payments but has not been able to clear the arrears.
The tenant had thought that they were up to date but were not able to identify any payments that they had made that had not been recorded by the landlord. We spent some time during the hearing going through the rent summary and the tenant had the opportunity to check bank records against the summary.
I accept the landlord’s rent summary as accurate. The tenant owes $2,634.29 being rent arrears to 9 January 2024 together with rent in advance of $235.71 due to 12 January 2024. The total amount owing is $2,870.00.
The tenant confirmed that they are able to continue to pay rent as it falls due together with an additional lump sum payment towards the debt of $100 per week. I am satisfied the tenant will pay the debt within the period specified in the order and is unlikely to commit any further relevant breach. I note that the tenants have made considerable efforts during the tenancy to make additional payments when necessary.
I have granted a conditional termination order.
The conditional termination order will lapse if it is fully complied with. If the tenant breaches the order, the possession order may be enforced for 90 days from the first breach. See section 64(4)(b) Residential Tenancies Act 1986. Water arrears
The landlord has also claimed water arrears.
A tenant is responsible for all outgoings in respect of the premises that are exclusively attributable to their occupation of the premises or to their use of the facilities (see s 39(3) RTA). Therefore, tenants are only liable for water charges based on consumption (s 39(4) RTA). They are not liable for fixed water charges.
The usual practice is for the landlord to pay the water invoice and then invoice the tenant for the usage charges, and to provide the tenant with a copy of the invoice.
However in this tenancy the landlord gave the tenant authority to operate the water account. The tenant has been paying fixed weekly amounts to Watercare of approximately $10 to $20 per week.
At a certain point the amounts paid by the tenant were not covering the total invoices and so as the arrears accumulated Watercare charged collection fees. In addition, Watercare was also charging a paper invoice fee.
It was not until this claim was filed and the parties attended mediation that the landlord discovered that they were responsible for the fixed charges.
The landlord has now undergone the very complicated exercise of working out the fixed charges all the way back to the start of the tenancy in 2019 together with payments made by each party, and has deducted the paper invoice charges and collection fees and has paid by the fixed charges. The landlord says that following this analysis the tenants owe the sum of $1,952.32 for water.
While I commend the landlord for undertaking such a careful analysis, I do not consider that it is fair to the tenant to engage in a retrospective assessment and to then order that the tenant pay all of the outstanding arrears.
The District Court held in Woollams v Simpson (DC Auckland CIV-2005-004- 1583, 16 March 2006), that there was an implied term in the tenancy agreement that the landlord would provide water accounts at regular intervals, and within a reasonable time, to enable payment to be made. The Court determined that, because the landlord had failed to do so, the tenant was only required to pay the last two accounts, which covered a period of just over four months.
While I accept that the tenant had copies of the water accounts it was not clear to them the amount they should pay. The retrospective analysis conducted by the landlord is complicated and difficult to follow and the tenant was very surprised that such a large sum was owing. In my view, if the landlord had followed the law at the outset this complicated situation would not have arisen. The landlord should bear the burden of their mistake.
I have therefore calculated the water usage and fixed water charges from the date that the landlord has rectified the situation and has started charging the tenant in the manner that they should have been from the outset (24 July 2024). These charges total $698.78. I was informed that the tenant has paid $80.00 since that date so the total amount owing is $618.78.
The sum owed for water is included in the total debt set out above. Filing fee and name suppression
Because [The applicant/s] has proven that grounds exist for a conditional termination order I have reimbursed the filing fee. This has been added to the total debt set out above.
The parties were able to agree on the terms of a conditional termination order today. In the circumstances I do not consider that there is any public interest in publication. I exercise my discretion to make an order for name suppression of both parties and the tenancy address pursuant to s95A RTA. Further matters
The landlord also sought compensation for damage today but did not have invoices as the damage has not been repaired.
The landlord has asked to withdraw those claims so that they can discuss with the tenants to try to seek a resolution and/or complete the work.
If the parties are unable to resolve these issues then the landlord may file a fresh claim seeking compensation.
If the tenant also considers that they have a claim against the landlord then they should file their own claim in the Tribunal.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4887981 — net $3,509.22 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Water rates for invoices including the invoice dated 18	$2,870.00	Water rates for invoices including the invoice dated 18
December 2024	$618.78	December 2024
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$3,509.22
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$3,509.22

Order

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of both the Tenant and Landlord’s names and identifying details.
[The tenant/s] owes [The landlord/s] $3,509.22 (“the debt”) as set out in the table below.
[The tenant/s] must pay rent and the debt as follows: a. By 35 weekly payments of $650.00, being $550.00 for rent and $100.00 for the debt. b. A final payment of $639.22, being $550.00 for rent and $89.22 for the debt. c. Payments will be every Thursday, with the first payment on 09/01/2025 and continuing until 11/09/2025.
Payments will be allocated in the following order: rent, rent arrears, water arrears and the filing fee.
If the tenant fails to pay rent and rent arrears as ordered above within 2 working days of the due dates: a. The tenancy at [Tenancy address suppressed] will terminate and the landlord will have immediate possession of the premises. b. The balance of the debt will be payable immediately.
If the tenant fails to pay the water arrears within 2 working days of the due dates as ordered above the water arrears will be payable immediately.
If the tenant fails to pay the filing fee within 2 working days of the due dates as ordered above the filing fee will be payable immediately.
The tenants must continue to pay the water and wastewater volumetric charges included in each Watercare invoice as they fall due.
The landlord’s claims for damage are withdrawn.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
The landlord was assisted by a Cantonese interpreter, Mr Young, and was represented to a large extent by her son, [redacted], who was familiar with the tenancy.
Mr [redacted] attended with [redacted].
The tenancy began in 2019. Mr and Mrs [redcated] live in the tenancy together with their eight children. The rent is currently $550.00 per week.

Should a conditional termination order be made?

Where rent is at least 21 days in arrears on the date the application was filed, the Tribunal must make either a final or a conditional termination order. See section 55(1)(a) and (1A) Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (“RTA”).
The landlord provided a comprehensive rent summary setting out all rent payments from the start of the tenancy until 27 December 2024. They had with them a notebook confirming all payments made since that date so it was possible to calculate arrears owing as at today.
It is clear from the rent summary that the tenant has gradually gotten behind in the rent by short paying the rent and by missing some payments entirely. The tenant has tried to get on top of the arrears by making additional payments but has not been able to clear the arrears.
The tenant had thought that they were up to date but were not able to identify any payments that they had made that had not been recorded by the landlord. We spent some time during the hearing going through the rent summary and the tenant had the opportunity to check bank records against the summary.
I accept the landlord’s rent summary as accurate. The tenant owes $2,634.29 being rent arrears to 9 January 2024 together with rent in advance of $235.71 due to 12 January 2024. The total amount owing is $2,870.00.
The tenant confirmed that they are able to continue to pay rent as it falls due together with an additional lump sum payment towards the debt of $100 per week. I am satisfied the tenant will pay the debt within the period specified in the order and is unlikely to commit any further relevant breach. I note that the tenants have made considerable efforts during the tenancy to make additional payments when necessary.
I have granted a conditional termination order.
The conditional termination order will lapse if it is fully complied with. If the tenant breaches the order, the possession order may be enforced for 90 days from the first breach. See section 64(4)(b) Residential Tenancies Act 1986. Water arrears
The landlord has also claimed water arrears.
A tenant is responsible for all outgoings in respect of the premises that are exclusively attributable to their occupation of the premises or to their use of the facilities (see s 39(3) RTA). Therefore, tenants are only liable for water charges based on consumption (s 39(4) RTA). They are not liable for fixed water charges.
The usual practice is for the landlord to pay the water invoice and then invoice the tenant for the usage charges, and to provide the tenant with a copy of the invoice.
However in this tenancy the landlord gave the tenant authority to operate the water account. The tenant has been paying fixed weekly amounts to Watercare of approximately $10 to $20 per week.
At a certain point the amounts paid by the tenant were not covering the total invoices and so as the arrears accumulated Watercare charged collection fees. In addition, Watercare was also charging a paper invoice fee.
It was not until this claim was filed and the parties attended mediation that the landlord discovered that they were responsible for the fixed charges.
The landlord has now undergone the very complicated exercise of working out the fixed charges all the way back to the start of the tenancy in 2019 together with payments made by each party, and has deducted the paper invoice charges and collection fees and has paid by the fixed charges. The landlord says that following this analysis the tenants owe the sum of $1,952.32 for water.
While I commend the landlord for undertaking such a careful analysis, I do not consider that it is fair to the tenant to engage in a retrospective assessment and to then order that the tenant pay all of the outstanding arrears.
The District Court held in Woollams v Simpson (DC Auckland CIV-2005-004- 1583, 16 March 2006), that there was an implied term in the tenancy agreement that the landlord would provide water accounts at regular intervals, and within a reasonable time, to enable payment to be made. The Court determined that, because the landlord had failed to do so, the tenant was only required to pay the last two accounts, which covered a period of just over four months.
While I accept that the tenant had copies of the water accounts it was not clear to them the amount they should pay. The retrospective analysis conducted by the landlord is complicated and difficult to follow and the tenant was very surprised that such a large sum was owing. In my view, if the landlord had followed the law at the outset this complicated situation would not have arisen. The landlord should bear the burden of their mistake.
I have therefore calculated the water usage and fixed water charges from the date that the landlord has rectified the situation and has started charging the tenant in the manner that they should have been from the outset (24 July 2024). These charges total $698.78. I was informed that the tenant has paid $80.00 since that date so the total amount owing is $618.78.
The sum owed for water is included in the total debt set out above. Filing fee and name suppression
Because [The applicant/s] has proven that grounds exist for a conditional termination order I have reimbursed the filing fee. This has been added to the total debt set out above.
The parties were able to agree on the terms of a conditional termination order today. In the circumstances I do not consider that there is any public interest in publication. I exercise my discretion to make an order for name suppression of both parties and the tenancy address pursuant to s95A RTA. Further matters
The landlord also sought compensation for damage today but did not have invoices as the damage has not been repaired.
The landlord has asked to withdraw those claims so that they can discuss with the tenants to try to seek a resolution and/or complete the work.
If the parties are unable to resolve these issues then the landlord may file a fresh claim seeking compensation.
If the tenant also considers that they have a claim against the landlord then they should file their own claim in the Tribunal.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4887981 — Tenancy dispute

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4887981 — Tenancy dispute

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Should a conditional termination order be made?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Should a conditional termination order be made?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions