Published tribunal order
Tenancy Tribunal case 4921213 — Rent arrears at Unit/Flat Flat 14, 493 Adelaide Road, Berhampore,
Decided 6 Aug 2024 · Published 6 Aug 2024 · Application 4921213
Mixed / unclear
- Rent arrears
- 14-day notice
Order
- The Tribunal order dated 11 January 2024 in application #4645389 is incorporated into this order.
- Carolyn Anne Morgan owes Kāinga Ora–Homes And Communities $34,440.00 (“the debt”), being $31,463.58 from the Tribunal order dated 11 January 2024 in application #4645389, and $2,976.42 in rent arrears from 12 January 2024 to 5 August 2024.
- Carolyn Anne Morgan must pay rent and the debt as follows: a. By weekly payments of $239.00, being $179.00 for rent and $60.00 for the debt. b. Payments will be every Wednesday, with the first payment on Wednesday 7 August 2024, continuing weekly until the debt is repaid in full.
- Payments will be allocated in the following order: rent, rent arrears, and the filing fee.
- If the tenant fails to pay rent and rent arrears within 2 working days of the due dates: a. The tenancy at Unit/Flat Flat 14, 493 Adelaide Road, Berhampore, Wellington 6023, Centennial Apartments will terminate and the landlord will have immediate possession of the premises. b. The balance of the debt will be payable immediately.
- If the tenant fails to pay the filing fee within 2 working days of the due date, the filing fee will be payable immediately.
Reasons
- Ms Smith, representing the landlord, and Ms Morgan, the tenant, along with her helper and support person, Helena Erickson, all attended the teleconference hearing.
- The landlord has applied for termination of the tenancy and for rent arrears. The tenant wants to repay the debt to avoid immediate termination.
- The landlord made a previous application #4645389 against the tenant for rent arrears, which resulted in a Tribunal order being made, dated 11 January 2024, where the tenant was ordered to pay the landlord rent arrears of $31,463.58 to 11 January 2024.
- Due to issues obtaining payment by the tenant, that required them to apply to the District Court for a financial assessment after the Tribunal order was made on 11 January 2024 in application #4645389, the landlord has brought this further application against the tenant for termination of the tenancy and for rent arrears. In the interim, the tenant had agreed at a financial assessment hearing to pay her rent of $179.00, plus an additional $120.00 per week towards the debt. These payments were set up and have started being paid regularly over the last several weeks. The tenant said the additional $120.00 per week towards the debt is proving too much of a financial strain for her, however.
Should a conditional termination order be made?
- Where rent is at least 21 days in arrears on the date the application was filed, the Tribunal must make either a final or a conditional termination order. See section 55(1)(a) and (1A) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
- After discussion at the hearing, the parties reached agreement, should the Tribunal agree, that the Tribunal order dated 11 January 2024 in application #4645389 for $31,463.58, could be incorporated into the current order, and that tenant is to pay the landlord $239.00 every Wednesday, being $179.00 for rent and an additional $60.00 per week towards the debt, until the debt is repaid in full. The landlord requested that a conditional termination order be made in the current circumstances, as a condition of their agreement. The consequences of a conditional termination order were explained to the tenant several times, including by her helper/support person, and she said she understood this.
- I am satisfied, given that regular payments towards rent and the debt have been made by the tenant for several weeks as at the hearing date, that the tenant will pay the debt within the period specified in the order and is unlikely to commit any further relevant breach. I have granted a conditional termination order.
- The conditional termination order will lapse if it is fully complied with. If the tenant breaches the order, the possession order may be enforced for 90 days from the first breach. See section 64(4)(b) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
- The Tribunal order dated 11 January 2024 in application #4645389 is incorporated into this order.