What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4899000 about?

The tribunal order states: The fixed-term tenancy of [The tenant/s] at [Tenancy address suppressed]

How much money was awarded in case 4899000?

The reconciled net award was $2,400.00.

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4899000?

The primary dispute was 14-day notice.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4899000?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10594501-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4899000 about?

The tribunal order states: The fixed-term tenancy of [The tenant/s] at [Tenancy address suppressed]

How much money was awarded in case 4899000?

The reconciled net award was $2,400.00.

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4899000?

The primary dispute was 14-day notice.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4899000?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10594501-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 4899000 — 14-day notice

Order

The fixed-term tenancy of [The tenant/s] at [Tenancy address suppressed] ended by consent between the parties on 1 May 2024.
[The tenant/s] must pay [The landlord/s] $2,400.00 from the bond as compensation for lost rent. Note: the bond has already been refunded to the landlord so there is nothing left to pay
The landlord withdraws the claim for expenses incurred in consenting to the early termination of the tenancy.

Reasons

The landlord’s representative attended the video hearing on 16 July 2024. I tried three times to telephone the tenants, but the phone went to voicemail each time. This is the third attempt at a hearing. The tenants were granted a rehearing after they could not attend the first hearing.
I did speak to one of the tenants on the second hearing date, but the reception was poor due to weather. The tenants live overseas, and communication is not straightforward.
The tenants have sent a recent written submission, and, with the consent of the landlord, I have decided to proceed with the hearing today and take their submission into account. Summary of events
This is an unfortunate set of circumstances.
The tenants are overseas residents. One of them came to New Zealand for employment and the other was to follow, with other family members. Both tenants signed a fixed term tenancy contract for one year which started on 16 March 2024 and was due to end on 15 March 2025.
A fixed term contract is a binding legal promise by tenants to pay rent until the end date and a promise by landlords that the tenancy will not end before that date.
The tenants then discovered that their immigration and employment situation was not what they had thought. The decision was made to leave New Zealand. The family had been separated for 6 months by this time and there was no guarantee this would change.
The landlord agreed to end the fixed term tenancy early. It readvertised and a new tenancy commenced on 12 June 2024.
The landlord initially applied to the Tribunal to recover lost rental income and expenses incurred in arranging the early termination and re-renting of the house.
The landlord has now withdrawn the claim for the expenses ($747.50).

Has the landlord lost rent due to the early ending of the fixed term tenancy?

The landlord’s rent ledger shows that the tenants have paid a total of $3,600.00 rent (6 payments of $600.00). The rent is paid from 16 March 2024 up to 26 April 2024.
An email from the tenants to the landlord confirms that their last day living in the premises was 1 May 2024.
A submission from the tenants (in their rehearing application) says that they had paid rent up to 8 May 2024, but this is not what the rent ledger shows. There is no evidence that the rent ledger is incorrect.
My calculation is that the landlord has lost rent from 27 April 2024 up to 11 June 2024 (the day before the next tenancy started). This is a total of $4,114.29.
The landlord has already received the bond of $2,400.00 1 which effectively pays the rent up to 24 May 2024.
This leaves a rent loss to the landlord of $1,714.29 (18 days).
The landlord has claimed $1,200.00 (14 days).

Should the landlord be awarded compensation for lost rent?

Tenants can apply to the Tribunal to reduce the fixed term of a tenancy if they consider there was an unforeseen change in their circumstances, and they would suffer severe hardship that is more than any hardship the landlord would suffer. This is the law in section 66 Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA).
I gave the tenants the opportunity to make this application in my adjournment order dated 9 July 2024. They have not done that.
However, the content of their submission describes circumstances that are unforeseen, and the landlord does not dispute the events. The tenants believed they were coming to New Zealand to work and relied on advice they would qualify to apply to live here long-term. They have provided a copy of a letter of complaint they have sent to the New Zealand employer they believe gave them misleading advice.
Submissions from the tenants also describe what I consider to be severe hardship. They have lost their retirement savings, sold most of their assets, and have now returned to their home country without employment.
Section 85 RTA directs the Tribunal to make decisions in a manner most likely to ensure the fair and expeditious resolution of disputes.
Strictly, the tenants should have made an application pursuant to s66 RTA. Also, they should have been able to participate fully in the hearings.
The Tenancy Tribunal is a lay Tribunal, and it is important that it remains easy to use and that decisions are made as fairly and quickly as possible.
Taking all these circumstances into account, I have decided to finalise this application taking into account the factors in s66 RTA.
I make an order confirming that the fixed term tenancy ended by consent between the parties and that the landlord is entitled to keep the amount of the bond as compensation for lost rent.
I have not awarded the landlord additional compensation as I consider that the bond is reasonable compensation for lost rent, in the circumstances.
There is no further amount to pay. 1 The bond was refunded to the landlords as compensation for lost rent after the first hearing.
Both parties have been partially successful, and it is appropriate that both the landlord and tenants’ names are suppressed from the published order.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4899000 — 14-day notice

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4899000 — 14-day notice

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Has the landlord lost rent due to the early ending of the fixed term tenancy?

Should the landlord be awarded compensation for lost rent?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Has the landlord lost rent due to the early ending of the fixed term tenancy?

Should the landlord be awarded compensation for lost rent?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions