What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4911478 about?

The tribunal order states: The tenancy of Bronwyn Te Aroha Parata at 3 Maurice Street, Papakura,

How much money was awarded in case 4911478?

Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Water Rates: $2,300.23 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4911478?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4911478?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10898554-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4911478 about?

The tribunal order states: The tenancy of Bronwyn Te Aroha Parata at 3 Maurice Street, Papakura,

How much money was awarded in case 4911478?

Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Water Rates: $2,300.23 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4911478?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4911478?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10898554-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

3 Maurice Street, Papakura, Papakura 2110 Tenancy Tribunal Case 4911478 — Tenancy dispute

Reasons

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4911478 — net $2,320.67 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Water rates to 6 September 2024	$2,300.23	Water rates to 6 September 2024
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$2,320.67
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$2,320.67

The landlord attended the hearing. The tenant did not attend the hearing and did not respond when telephoned on the number ending in 694.

The landlord has applied for termination of the tenancy for breach of the tenant’s obligations.

This matter was scheduled for a hearing before me on 16 September 2024. For that hearing, the application form only included rent arrears and outstanding water rates. At the hearing, the landlord orally updated the application to include a claim for termination. As the tenant had not been served with a termination claim and did not attend that hearing, I adjourned the hearing to enable effective service of the termination application on the tenant. This hearing is to hear all claims, including the updated claim for termination.

Should the tenancy be terminated?

The Tribunal may terminate a tenancy for breach where, due to the nature or extent of the breach, it would be inequitable to refuse to terminate. See section 56(1) Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA).

Factors that are relevant to whether it would be inequitable to refuse to terminate include: the history of the tenancy, whether there has been persistent failure after repeated warnings, whether the history of breaches was such that it was unlikely the tenant will comply with their obligations in the future, whether the breach was deliberate or inadvertent, the conduct of the landlord, the gravity of the breach, and whether termination is a proportionate response to the breach – see Vincent Dean Huff v City Central Property Management [2020] NZDC 19229.

Where the breach is capable of remedy the landlord must first serve a notice on the tenant requiring them to remedy the breach within at least 14 days and establish that the tenant has failed to do so.

The tenant has breached their obligations by failing to pay for water, in accordance with the tenancy agreement.

The landlord served a 14-day notice on the tenant on 10 April 2024 for outstanding water rates, and the tenant did not remedy the breach within the required period.

The tenancy agreement included the requirement for the tenant to pay all charges on the basis of metered usage. Initially the agreement stated that the tenant would pay $10.00 per week towards water, but that if the water bill was higher, the tenant would pay the difference.

The landlord advised that when the water bills increased, the weekly payment towards water also increased to $30.00 per week.

The water charges began to fall into arrears from August 2023 and have remained in arrears since. The landlord has continued to work with the tenant to catch up on arrears, however unfortunately some difficulty also arose with rental arrears for the tenancy, and at times to ensure the tenancy remained viable, payments that were originally intended for water charges needed to be put to outstanding rental arrears. The landlord has been consistently (weekly) messaging the tenant since June 2024 to try and resolve the outstanding amount. I am satisfied there has been a persistent failure to pay the water charges.

The outstanding water charges now amount to $2,300.23 through to 6 September 2024. The landlord has provided documentation that proves the amount owing.

The gravity of this amount is that it is now equivalent to more than 30 days’ worth of rent and exceeds the bond held. I find that termination of the tenancy is a proportionate response to the breach.

As a result, it would be inequitable to refuse to terminate the tenancy, and I have terminated the tenancy. Possession is granted to the landlord on 6 October 2024 to enable the tenant some time to find another property.

Because [The applicant/s] has wholly succeeded with the claim I must reimburse the filing fee. R Harvey-Lane 01 October 2024

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4911478 — net $2,320.67 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Water rates to 6 September 2024	$2,300.23	Water rates to 6 September 2024
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$2,320.67
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$2,320.67

Order

The tenancy of Bronwyn Te Aroha Parata at 3 Maurice Street, Papakura, Papakura 2110 is terminated, and possession is granted to [The landlord/s], at 11:59pm on 9 October 2024.
Bronwyn Te Aroha Parata must pay [The landlord/s] $2,320.67 immediately, calculated as shown in the table below:

Reasons

The landlord attended the hearing. The tenant did not attend the hearing and did not respond when telephoned on the number ending in 694.
The landlord has applied for termination of the tenancy for breach of the tenant’s obligations.
This matter was scheduled for a hearing before me on 16 September 2024. For that hearing, the application form only included rent arrears and outstanding water rates. At the hearing, the landlord orally updated the application to include a claim for termination. As the tenant had not been served with a termination claim and did not attend that hearing, I adjourned the hearing to enable effective service of the termination application on the tenant. This hearing is to hear all claims, including the updated claim for termination.

Should the tenancy be terminated?

The Tribunal may terminate a tenancy for breach where, due to the nature or extent of the breach, it would be inequitable to refuse to terminate. See section 56(1) Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA).
Factors that are relevant to whether it would be inequitable to refuse to terminate include: the history of the tenancy, whether there has been persistent failure after repeated warnings, whether the history of breaches was such that it was unlikely the tenant will comply with their obligations in the future, whether the breach was deliberate or inadvertent, the conduct of the landlord, the gravity of the breach, and whether termination is a proportionate response to the breach – see Vincent Dean Huff v City Central Property Management [2020] NZDC 19229.
Where the breach is capable of remedy the landlord must first serve a notice on the tenant requiring them to remedy the breach within at least 14 days and establish that the tenant has failed to do so.
The tenant has breached their obligations by failing to pay for water, in accordance with the tenancy agreement.
The landlord served a 14-day notice on the tenant on 10 April 2024 for outstanding water rates, and the tenant did not remedy the breach within the required period.
The tenancy agreement included the requirement for the tenant to pay all charges on the basis of metered usage. Initially the agreement stated that the tenant would pay $10.00 per week towards water, but that if the water bill was higher, the tenant would pay the difference.
The landlord advised that when the water bills increased, the weekly payment towards water also increased to $30.00 per week.
The water charges began to fall into arrears from August 2023 and have remained in arrears since. The landlord has continued to work with the tenant to catch up on arrears, however unfortunately some difficulty also arose with rental arrears for the tenancy, and at times to ensure the tenancy remained viable, payments that were originally intended for water charges needed to be put to outstanding rental arrears. The landlord has been consistently (weekly) messaging the tenant since June 2024 to try and resolve the outstanding amount. I am satisfied there has been a persistent failure to pay the water charges.
The outstanding water charges now amount to $2,300.23 through to 6 September 2024. The landlord has provided documentation that proves the amount owing.
The gravity of this amount is that it is now equivalent to more than 30 days’ worth of rent and exceeds the bond held. I find that termination of the tenancy is a proportionate response to the breach.
As a result, it would be inequitable to refuse to terminate the tenancy, and I have terminated the tenancy. Possession is granted to the landlord on 6 October 2024 to enable the tenant some time to find another property.
Because [The applicant/s] has wholly succeeded with the claim I must reimburse the filing fee. R Harvey-Lane 01 October 2024

Tenancy Tribunal case 4911478 — Tenancy dispute at 3 Maurice Street, Papakura, Papakura 2110

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4911478 — Tenancy dispute at 3 Maurice Street, Papakura, Papakura 2110

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Should the tenancy be terminated?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Should the tenancy be terminated?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions