What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4895723 about?

The tribunal order states: [The tenant/s] to pay Nz Real Estate West Coast Limited $766.00 from the

How much money was awarded in case 4895723?

Cleaning: $316.00 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $200.00 awarded to tenant; Property Damage: $650.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4895723?

The primary dispute was Property damage. Related themes: Cleanliness.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4895723?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10701249-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4895723 about?

The tribunal order states: [The tenant/s] to pay Nz Real Estate West Coast Limited $766.00 from the

How much money was awarded in case 4895723?

Cleaning: $316.00 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $200.00 awarded to tenant; Property Damage: $650.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4895723?

The primary dispute was Property damage. Related themes: Cleanliness.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4895723?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10701249-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 4895723 — Property damage

Tenantcheck Insights

Reasons

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4895723 — net $766.00 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Tenant	Reason
Sofa Clean	$316.00		Sofa Clean
Cat Damage	$650.00		y successful (in that she defended the carpet claims, had already agreed to pay $650 for cat damage and succeeded in relation to the bond lodgement) so I have…
Exemplary damages: Failure to Lodge Bond		$200.00	Failure to Lodge Bond
Total award	$966.00	$200.00
Net award	$766.00
Bond	$1,800.00
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$766.00

Both parties attended the hearing.

The landlord has applied for compensation, refund of the bond, and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy.

The tenant has applied for refund of the bond and exemplary damages for the landlord’s failure to lodge the bond.

Did the tenant comply with their obligations at the end of the tenancy?

At the end of the tenancy the tenant must leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy, remove all rubbish, return all keys and security devices, and leave all chattels provided for their benefit. See section 40(1)(e)(ii)-(v) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

A sofa/couch was not left reasonably clean. The landlord provided photographs and a receipt of cleaning. The claim is proved.

The landlord also claimed carpet cleaning/stain removal costs, but that claim is dismissed. The landlord did not establish that the stains were caused during this tenancy.

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

A landlord must prove that damage to the premises occurred during the tenancy and is more than fair wear and tear. If this is established, to avoid liability, the tenant must prove they did not carelessly or intentionally cause or permit the damage. Tenants are liable for the actions of people at the premises with their permission. See sections 40(2)(a), 41 and 49B RTA.

Where the damage is caused carelessly, and is covered by the landlord's insurance, the tenant's liability is limited to the lesser of the insurance excess or four weeks' rent (or four weeks' market rent in the case of a tenant paying income-related rent). See section 49B(3)(a) RTA.

The landlord claims that carpet was stained requiring replacement and that there was cat damage to curtains and two headboards which also required replacement.

The landlord did not provide any ingoing photographs or other evidence which would help to show that the damage occurred during this tenancy. The tenant provided photographs from when she first moved to the property which showed the stains already on the carpet. The landlord suggested that the stains could have been caused by the tenant’s friend who collected the key before the tenant moved in.

The onus is on the landlord to prove that it is more likely than not that the damage occurred during this tenancy. The landlord did not satisfy me that it is more likely than not that the damage occurred during this tenancy. Even if the damage had been caused by this tenant, there was no evidence to confirm that the carpet should or would be replaced and no evidence of the cost of repair. The claim for carpet damage is dismissed.

The landlord did not provide any photographs from the start of the tenancy to show the condition of the curtains or headboards at the start of the tenancy. However, the tenant admitted that it was liable for some of that damage and said it would pay $650 being the equivalent of one insurance excess. The landlord did not have any evidence of replacement costs, such as quotes or receipts. The damage has not been repaired. The tenant’s concession that it would pay is generous, in light of the evidence presented to me. I have made an award that reflects the tenant’s assessment of her liability. Failure to Lodge the Bond

[The tenant/s] claims the landlord has not lodged the bond with the Bond Centre within the required time.

A landlord must send any bond payment to the Bond Centre within 23 working days after the payment is received. See section 19(1) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

Breaching this obligation is an unlawful act for which the Tribunal may award exemplary damages up to a maximum of $1,500.00. See section 19(2) and Schedule 1A Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

The landlord did not lodge the bond until after the tenancy ended. I find they have committed an unlawful act.

Where a party has committed an unlawful act intentionally, the Tribunal may award exemplary damages where it is satisfied it would be just to do so, having regard to the party’s intent, the effect of the unlawful act, the interests of the other party, and the public interest. See section 109(3) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

A bond is the tenants’ money and must be lodged with the Bond Centre within the statutory time limit to protect the tenants’ interests. Lodging a bond is not a conditional obligation but a mandatory one and it is in the public interest that landlords fulfil their obligations under the Act. If no penalty is imposed there can be no deterrent.

The failure to lodge the bond must be intentional for exemplary damages to be awarded. Therefore, damages will not be awarded where non-lodgement is a genuine oversight, rather than an intentional act (Chief Executive for Housing New Zealand v Walls [1993] NZTT Auckland 548/92).

However, the Tribunal may draw an inference of intent where the landlord claims to have simply forgotten, as a landlord should have systems in place to ensure this does not happen. Exemplary damages have been awarded where: the landlord has no explanation for the non-lodgement and has other tenancies (Jones v Ying [2001] NZTT Auckland 2783/01); the landlord is experienced (Hart v Allen Realty Ltd [2003] NZTT Auckland 2183/02).

The landlord said the failure to lodge the bond was an oversight caused by the tenant not returning a signed bond lodgement form. The landlord could and should have lodged the bond without the tenant’s signature. The landlord should have systems in place for bond lodgement. It is appropriate to award exemplary damages. The award is modest on this occasion but is likely to be higher if this landlord fails to lodge bonds in the future.

As both parties were partially successful, I have not awarded reimbursement of either filing fee. Overall, the tenant was substantially successful (in that she defended the carpet claims, had already agreed to pay $650 for cat damage and succeeded in relation to the bond lodgement) so I have granted her request for suppression of her details.

Reasons

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4895723 — net $766.00 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Tenant	Reason
Sofa Clean	$316.00		Sofa Clean
Cat Damage	$650.00		y successful (in that she defended the carpet claims, had already agreed to pay $650 for cat damage and succeeded in relation to the bond lodgement) so I have…
Exemplary damages: Failure to Lodge Bond		$200.00	Failure to Lodge Bond
Total award	$966.00	$200.00
Net award	$766.00
Bond	$1,800.00
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$766.00

Both parties attended the hearing.

The landlord has applied for compensation, refund of the bond, and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy.

The tenant has applied for refund of the bond and exemplary damages for the landlord’s failure to lodge the bond.

Did the tenant comply with their obligations at the end of the tenancy?

A sofa/couch was not left reasonably clean. The landlord provided photographs and a receipt of cleaning. The claim is proved.

The landlord also claimed carpet cleaning/stain removal costs, but that claim is dismissed. The landlord did not establish that the stains were caused during this tenancy.

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

The landlord claims that carpet was stained requiring replacement and that there was cat damage to curtains and two headboards which also required replacement.

[The tenant/s] claims the landlord has not lodged the bond with the Bond Centre within the required time.

A landlord must send any bond payment to the Bond Centre within 23 working days after the payment is received. See section 19(1) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

Breaching this obligation is an unlawful act for which the Tribunal may award exemplary damages up to a maximum of $1,500.00. See section 19(2) and Schedule 1A Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

The landlord did not lodge the bond until after the tenancy ended. I find they have committed an unlawful act.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4895723 — Property damage

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4895723 — Property damage

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Dismissed claims

Order

Reasons

Did the tenant comply with their obligations at the end of the tenancy?

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Dismissed claims

Order

Reasons

Did the tenant comply with their obligations at the end of the tenancy?

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions