How much money was awarded in case 4899591?

Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $7,700.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4899591?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4899591?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10907377-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

How much money was awarded in case 4899591?

Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $7,700.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4899591?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4899591?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10907377-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 4899591 — Rent arrears

Q: What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4899591 about?

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

Order

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4899591 — net $7,720.44 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to termination of tenancy	$7,700.00	Rent arrears to termination of tenancy
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$7,720.44
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$7,720.44

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of the landlord’s name and identifying details.

Elysse Marie Antonia Spyve Christopher must pay [The landlord/s] $7,720.44 immediately, calculated as shown in the table below.

[The landlord/s] must take any personal documents belonging to the tenant, that have been left at the premises, to the nearest Police station and obtain a receipt for them.

If the tenant does not collect the goods by 5pm on Thursday 10 October 2024, the landlord shall dispose of the other goods left at the premises by the tenant by: a. selling all goods with a saleable value by public auction or by private contract at a reasonable market price, and b. disposing of all goods with no saleable value as the landlord sees fit.

The amount owing to the applicant out of the proceeds of any sale is $7,720.44.

[The landlord/s] must pay the proceeds of any sale, less the amount owing, to the Bond Centre together with a copy of this order.

Reasons

The landlord attended the hearing today.

On 28 August 2024 the Tribunal made an order terminating the tenancy and adjourned the landlord’s application to a further hearing.

The landlord claims rent arrears and an order for disposal of property following the end of the tenancy. Rent arrears

The rent arrears are $13,800.00 to 30 August 2024 according to the landlord’s rent summary. There are two issues with the rent claim. The first is that the tenant vacated the property weeks before the termination order, probably in about June 2024. The second is that the landlord recognised, from about 16 January 2024, that the tenant probably could not pay the rent due, the arrears at that stage being $5,500.00. The landlord had a duty to take reasonable steps to mitigate his loss. An application to the Tribunal was made 4 months later, on 27 May 2024. For reasons that are unclear, the application was not heard until 28 August 2024.

In my view, some deduction from the rent arrears claimed is necessary to reflect the fact that, probably as early as January 2024, it may have been unreasonable to give the tenant more time to pay the arrears having recognised that she probably did not have the necessary financial means (Huang v Ashworth [2024] NZDC 15726). Determining whether the landlord acted reasonably in all the circumstances is not straightforward, given the history of arrears and a tenancy that started on 28 March 2022. I discussed with the landlord the reasons why it might be appropriate to award less than the rent arrears that have accrued.

The landlord provided a rent summary which covered the period from 29 March 2024 to 23 August 2024. Consistently with the landlord’s evidence about the stop-start nature of the rental payments, this shows the tenant paying several weeks rent and then stopping paying rent for several weeks. The rent arrears for this 5-month period were $7,700.00.

An award of arrears for 14 weeks compensates the landlord over a period when he was taking reasonable steps to mitigate his loss, including by contacting the tenant and an application to the Tribunal. At the same time, it recognises the reality that the tenant has not lived at the premises for some months and the landlord could arguably have applied to the Tribunal at any earlier stage to try and minimise the arrears.

The landlord seemed to accept this as a reasonable outcome, his focus being on the tenant’s belongings left at the premises. Disposal of abandoned goods

The landlord has applied for the disposal of goods the tenant left at the premises at the end of the tenancy. The landlord has been emailing the tenant for some time, and while the tenant has been agreeing to collect her belongings, she has not done so.

It is not practicable for the landlord to return the goods to the tenant.

Some of the goods may have a value above the cost of storing, transporting, and selling them. The landlord must sell these goods at a reasonable market price.

The landlord may deduct any amount owing from the sale proceeds and must pay the balance to the Bond Centre.

The landlord may dispose of any goods that have no saleable value. Filing fee and name suppression

The landlord’s application has been largely successful. I award the filing fee.

Suppression is granted to the landlord as requested.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4899591 — net $7,720.44 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to termination of tenancy	$7,700.00	Rent arrears to termination of tenancy
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$7,720.44
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$7,720.44

Order

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of the landlord’s name and identifying details.
Elysse Marie Antonia Spyve Christopher must pay [The landlord/s] $7,720.44 immediately, calculated as shown in the table below.
[The landlord/s] must take any personal documents belonging to the tenant, that have been left at the premises, to the nearest Police station and obtain a receipt for them.
If the tenant does not collect the goods by 5pm on Thursday 10 October 2024, the landlord shall dispose of the other goods left at the premises by the tenant by: a. selling all goods with a saleable value by public auction or by private contract at a reasonable market price, and b. disposing of all goods with no saleable value as the landlord sees fit.
The amount owing to the applicant out of the proceeds of any sale is $7,720.44.
[The landlord/s] must pay the proceeds of any sale, less the amount owing, to the Bond Centre together with a copy of this order.

Reasons

The landlord attended the hearing today.
On 28 August 2024 the Tribunal made an order terminating the tenancy and adjourned the landlord’s application to a further hearing.
The landlord claims rent arrears and an order for disposal of property following the end of the tenancy. Rent arrears
The rent arrears are $13,800.00 to 30 August 2024 according to the landlord’s rent summary. There are two issues with the rent claim. The first is that the tenant vacated the property weeks before the termination order, probably in about June 2024. The second is that the landlord recognised, from about 16 January 2024, that the tenant probably could not pay the rent due, the arrears at that stage being $5,500.00. The landlord had a duty to take reasonable steps to mitigate his loss. An application to the Tribunal was made 4 months later, on 27 May 2024. For reasons that are unclear, the application was not heard until 28 August 2024.
In my view, some deduction from the rent arrears claimed is necessary to reflect the fact that, probably as early as January 2024, it may have been unreasonable to give the tenant more time to pay the arrears having recognised that she probably did not have the necessary financial means (Huang v Ashworth [2024] NZDC 15726). Determining whether the landlord acted reasonably in all the circumstances is not straightforward, given the history of arrears and a tenancy that started on 28 March 2022. I discussed with the landlord the reasons why it might be appropriate to award less than the rent arrears that have accrued.
The landlord provided a rent summary which covered the period from 29 March 2024 to 23 August 2024. Consistently with the landlord’s evidence about the stop-start nature of the rental payments, this shows the tenant paying several weeks rent and then stopping paying rent for several weeks. The rent arrears for this 5-month period were $7,700.00.
An award of arrears for 14 weeks compensates the landlord over a period when he was taking reasonable steps to mitigate his loss, including by contacting the tenant and an application to the Tribunal. At the same time, it recognises the reality that the tenant has not lived at the premises for some months and the landlord could arguably have applied to the Tribunal at any earlier stage to try and minimise the arrears.
The landlord seemed to accept this as a reasonable outcome, his focus being on the tenant’s belongings left at the premises. Disposal of abandoned goods
The landlord has applied for the disposal of goods the tenant left at the premises at the end of the tenancy. The landlord has been emailing the tenant for some time, and while the tenant has been agreeing to collect her belongings, she has not done so.
It is not practicable for the landlord to return the goods to the tenant.
Some of the goods may have a value above the cost of storing, transporting, and selling them. The landlord must sell these goods at a reasonable market price.
The landlord may deduct any amount owing from the sale proceeds and must pay the balance to the Bond Centre.
The landlord may dispose of any goods that have no saleable value. Filing fee and name suppression
The landlord’s application has been largely successful. I award the filing fee.
Suppression is granted to the landlord as requested.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4899591 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4899591 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions