What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4898291 about?

The tribunal order states: Georgia Stevens and Ajah Cropley must pay [The landlord/s] $970.44

How much money was awarded in case 4898291?

Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Rent In Lieu Of Notice: $1,070.00 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $1,380.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4898291?

The primary dispute was Property damage.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4898291?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10653305-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4898291 about?

The tribunal order states: Georgia Stevens and Ajah Cropley must pay [The landlord/s] $970.44

How much money was awarded in case 4898291?

Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Rent In Lieu Of Notice: $1,070.00 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $1,380.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4898291?

The primary dispute was Property damage.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4898291?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10653305-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 4898291 — Property damage

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4898291 — net $970.44 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent in lieu of notice	$1,070.00	Rent in lieu of notice
Repairs: Wall Damage	$1,380.00	Repairs: Wall Damage
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$970.44
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$970.44

Order

Georgia Stevens and Ajah Cropley must pay [The landlord/s] $970.44 immediately, calculated as shown in table below. DescriptionLandlord Rent in lieu of notice$1,070.00 Repairs: Wall Damage$1,380.00 Filing fee reimbursement$20.44 Total award$2,470.44 Bond$1,500.00 Total payable by Tenant to Landlord$970.44
The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $1,500.00 ([Bond number suppressed]) to [The landlord/s] immediately.
The landlord’s other claims were withdrawn at the hearing.

Reasons

The landlord attended the hearing.
The tenants did not attend. They applied for an adjournment, which was refused. They disagreed with that decision and claimed it was “unfair”. So, I made the following directions: “This application is scheduled for a hearing at 2pm today. The tenants have applied for an adjournment on the basis that a car has broken down and they are not able to physically attend the hearing or access their evidence for the hearing. They have not provided any evidence to support the adjournment application. The adjournment application was declined, and the tenants advised that they could attend the hearing by telephone. They maintain that that is "unfair". Could the landlord please advise the Tribunal, by 12 noon, whether it consents to an adjournment. If it does, the hearing will be adjourned to the next available date before any adjudicator in Christchurch. If the landlord does not consent to the adjournment, the hearing will start at 2pm, with the tenants able to attend by telephone. The tenants can request an adjournment at the start of the hearing and that request will be considered before I decide whether to hear the landlord's application today. The tenants would be expected to provide evidence in relation to the vehicle (including when it broke down), their inability to return to Christchurch and details of the evidence they say they cannot access until they return to Christchurch, by 1pm today.”
Neither party responded to the directions, so I proceeded with the hearing at 2pm today.
The landlord has applied for rent arrears, compensation, refund of the bond, and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy.

How much is owed for rent?

The tenancy was periodic. The tenants were required to give 4 weeks’ notice to end the tenancy. See s51 Residential Tenancies Act (RTA).
The tenants only gave two weeks notice to terminate and agreed to pay $1,070 from the bond in lieu of notice. The landlord provided an email from the tenants dated 6 May 2024 recording that fact.
I award the landlord two weeks rent in lieu of notice.

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 careless, and occurs after 27 August 2019, section 49B RTA applies. If the landlord becomes aware of the damage after 27 August, the damage is presumed to have occurred after that date unless the tenant proves otherwise.
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.
Where the damage is careless and is not covered by the landlord's insurance, the tenant's liability is limited to four weeks' rent (or market rent). See section 49B(3)(b) RTA. Where insurance money is irrecoverable because of the tenant's conduct, the property is treated as if it is not insured against the damage. See section 49B(3A)(a) RTA.
Tenants are liable for the cost of repairing damage that is intentional or which results from any activity at the premises that is an imprisonable offence. This applies to anything the tenant does and anything done by a person they are responsible for. See section 49B(1) RTA.
Damage is intentional where a person intends to cause damage and takes the necessary steps to achieve that purpose. Damage is also intentional where a person does something, or allows a situation to continue, knowing that damage is a certainty. See Guo v Korck [2019] NZHC 1541.
The walls and a bathroom door following were damaged (by round holes) during the tenancy. The damage is more than fair wear and tear, and the tenant has not disproved liability for the damage. The landlord provided ingoing evidence, outgoing photographs and evidence of the repair cost. I award $1,380.00 for repairs.
The landlord had made other claims, but they were withdrawn at the hearing.
As the landlord was the successful party, I have awarded reimbursement of the tribunal application fee and granted her request for suppression of her details.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4898291 — net $970.44 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent in lieu of notice	$1,070.00	Rent in lieu of notice
Repairs: Wall Damage	$1,380.00	Repairs: Wall Damage
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$970.44
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$970.44

Order

Georgia Stevens and Ajah Cropley must pay [The landlord/s] $970.44 immediately, calculated as shown in table below. DescriptionLandlord Rent in lieu of notice$1,070.00 Repairs: Wall Damage$1,380.00 Filing fee reimbursement$20.44 Total award$2,470.44 Bond$1,500.00 Total payable by Tenant to Landlord$970.44
The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $1,500.00 ([Bond number suppressed]) to [The landlord/s] immediately.
The landlord’s other claims were withdrawn at the hearing.

Reasons

The landlord attended the hearing.
The tenants did not attend. They applied for an adjournment, which was refused. They disagreed with that decision and claimed it was “unfair”. So, I made the following directions: “This application is scheduled for a hearing at 2pm today. The tenants have applied for an adjournment on the basis that a car has broken down and they are not able to physically attend the hearing or access their evidence for the hearing. They have not provided any evidence to support the adjournment application. The adjournment application was declined, and the tenants advised that they could attend the hearing by telephone. They maintain that that is "unfair". Could the landlord please advise the Tribunal, by 12 noon, whether it consents to an adjournment. If it does, the hearing will be adjourned to the next available date before any adjudicator in Christchurch. If the landlord does not consent to the adjournment, the hearing will start at 2pm, with the tenants able to attend by telephone. The tenants can request an adjournment at the start of the hearing and that request will be considered before I decide whether to hear the landlord's application today. The tenants would be expected to provide evidence in relation to the vehicle (including when it broke down), their inability to return to Christchurch and details of the evidence they say they cannot access until they return to Christchurch, by 1pm today.”
Neither party responded to the directions, so I proceeded with the hearing at 2pm today.
The landlord has applied for rent arrears, compensation, refund of the bond, and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy.

How much is owed for rent?

The tenancy was periodic. The tenants were required to give 4 weeks’ notice to end the tenancy. See s51 Residential Tenancies Act (RTA).
The tenants only gave two weeks notice to terminate and agreed to pay $1,070 from the bond in lieu of notice. The landlord provided an email from the tenants dated 6 May 2024 recording that fact.
I award the landlord two weeks rent in lieu of notice.

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 careless, and occurs after 27 August 2019, section 49B RTA applies. If the landlord becomes aware of the damage after 27 August, the damage is presumed to have occurred after that date unless the tenant proves otherwise.
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.
Where the damage is careless and is not covered by the landlord's insurance, the tenant's liability is limited to four weeks' rent (or market rent). See section 49B(3)(b) RTA. Where insurance money is irrecoverable because of the tenant's conduct, the property is treated as if it is not insured against the damage. See section 49B(3A)(a) RTA.
Tenants are liable for the cost of repairing damage that is intentional or which results from any activity at the premises that is an imprisonable offence. This applies to anything the tenant does and anything done by a person they are responsible for. See section 49B(1) RTA.
Damage is intentional where a person intends to cause damage and takes the necessary steps to achieve that purpose. Damage is also intentional where a person does something, or allows a situation to continue, knowing that damage is a certainty. See Guo v Korck [2019] NZHC 1541.
The walls and a bathroom door following were damaged (by round holes) during the tenancy. The damage is more than fair wear and tear, and the tenant has not disproved liability for the damage. The landlord provided ingoing evidence, outgoing photographs and evidence of the repair cost. I award $1,380.00 for repairs.
The landlord had made other claims, but they were withdrawn at the hearing.
As the landlord was the successful party, I have awarded reimbursement of the tribunal application fee and granted her request for suppression of her details.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4898291 — Property damage

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4898291 — Property damage

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

How much is owed for rent?

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

Order

Reasons

How much is owed for rent?

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions