What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4922325 about?

The tribunal order states: Jiajia LI must pay [The tenant/s] $331.87 immediately, as set out in the table

How much money was awarded in case 4922325?

Property Damage: $200.00 awarded to tenant; Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to tenant; Rent Arrears: $1,448.57 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4922325?

The primary dispute was Exemplary damages.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4922325?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11006750-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4922325 about?

The tribunal order states: Jiajia LI must pay [The tenant/s] $331.87 immediately, as set out in the table

How much money was awarded in case 4922325?

Property Damage: $200.00 awarded to tenant; Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to tenant; Rent Arrears: $1,448.57 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4922325?

The primary dispute was Exemplary damages.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4922325?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11006750-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

Unit/Flat 813, 85 Wakefield Street, Auckland Central, Tenancy Tribunal Case 4922325 — Exemplary damages

Reasons

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4922325 — net $331.87 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Tenant	Reason
Rent arrears	$1,448.57		Rent arrears
Refund of bond		$1,560.00	Refund of bond
Exemplary damages: Bond not lodged		$200.00	Bond not lodged
Filing fee reimbursement		$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Total award	$1,448.57	$1,780.44
Net award		$331.87
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant		$331.87

Both parties attended the hearing. The tenant had the assistance of a mandarin interpreter.

The tenant applied for refund of the bond, compensation, exemplary damages, and reimbursement of the filing fee.

The landlord applied for rent arrears and compensation.

At the date of hearing the landlord application was under assessment but I have dealt with the issue of rent arrears and the remaining claims were withdrawn.

The tenant claims compensation related to the condition of the premises when he moved in. The tenant submitted four photographs in support of the claim. All the photographs were taken the day he moved out. He said that the condition was the reason that he moved out but there were no photographs from when he first moved in and no evidence that he raised issues with the landlord or that this was the reason for leaving.

The tenant considered that the fixed term of the tenancy did not apply because he did not sign the tenancy agreement. The tenant produced the tenancy agreement signed by the landlord but not by the tenant. The agreement clearly records that this was a fixed term tenancy. The fact that the tenant did not sign the agreement does not mean that the terms were not agreed. The tenant moved into the premises based on the terms agreed which included the fixed term.

[The tenant/s]claims the landlord has not lodged the bond with the Bond Centre within the required time.

A landlord must send any bond payment to the Bond Centre within 23 working days after the payment is received. See section 19(1) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

Breaching this obligation is an unlawful act for which the Tribunal may award exemplary damages up to a maximum of $1,500.00. See section 19(2) and Schedule 1A Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

The landlord confirmed that the bond had not been lodged. I find the landlord has committed an unlawful act.

Where a party has committed an unlawful act intentionally, the Tribunal may award exemplary damages where it is satisfied it would be just to do so, having regard to the party’s intent, the effect of the unlawful act, the interests of the other party, and the public interest. See section 109(3) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

The reason given by the landlord for not lodging the bond was that the tenant had not paid the full amount of bond and rent (4 weeks) as set out in the tenancy agreement. The landlord retained the bond to cover the amount the tenant did not pay for rent.

I find that the tenant had paid the bond on 4 June 2024 as a separate amount of $1,560.00 was received by the landlord. That is the amount recorded as the bond in the tenancy agreement.

The tenant did not pay four weeks rent in advance but that is a different issue to the bond. The landlord should have lodged the bond within the required period, especially given that there was a dispute between the parties.

The landlord has had tenancies for 10 years and several current tenancies although apparently the other tenancies are managed by a property management company. The landlord was well aware of the requirement to lodge the bond.

The landlord failed to comply with the legislation and retained the bond money after the tenancy ended. I consider that an award of $200.00 for not lodging the bond is reasonable.

The remaining tenant claims are dismissed given that either no evidence or insufficient evidence was produced.

The landlord applied for rent arrears which are awarded up until 13 July 2024 which is the day before a new tenancy commenced. Even though the tenant left the tenancy on 18 June 2024 he remained liable for rent up until the end of the fixed term or the new tenancy, whichever was the earlier date.

The bond money has reduced the amount of arrears owed by the tenant.

The remaining claims in the landlord application are dismissed due to insufficient evidence.

Because [The applicant/s] has substantially succeeded with the claim I have reimbursed the filing fee. For the same reason I have suppressed the tenant’s name.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4922325 — net $331.87 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Tenant	Reason
Rent arrears	$1,448.57		Rent arrears
Refund of bond		$1,560.00	Refund of bond
Exemplary damages: Bond not lodged		$200.00	Bond not lodged
Filing fee reimbursement		$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Total award	$1,448.57	$1,780.44
Net award		$331.87
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant		$331.87

Order

Jiajia LI must pay [The tenant/s] $331.87 immediately, as set out in the table below:
The remaining claims are dismissed.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing. The tenant had the assistance of a mandarin interpreter.
The tenant applied for refund of the bond, compensation, exemplary damages, and reimbursement of the filing fee.
The landlord applied for rent arrears and compensation.
At the date of hearing the landlord application was under assessment but I have dealt with the issue of rent arrears and the remaining claims were withdrawn.
The tenant claims compensation related to the condition of the premises when he moved in. The tenant submitted four photographs in support of the claim. All the photographs were taken the day he moved out. He said that the condition was the reason that he moved out but there were no photographs from when he first moved in and no evidence that he raised issues with the landlord or that this was the reason for leaving.
The tenant considered that the fixed term of the tenancy did not apply because he did not sign the tenancy agreement. The tenant produced the tenancy agreement signed by the landlord but not by the tenant. The agreement clearly records that this was a fixed term tenancy. The fact that the tenant did not sign the agreement does not mean that the terms were not agreed. The tenant moved into the premises based on the terms agreed which included the fixed term.
[The tenant/s]claims the landlord has not lodged the bond with the Bond Centre within the required time.
A landlord must send any bond payment to the Bond Centre within 23 working days after the payment is received. See section 19(1) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
Breaching this obligation is an unlawful act for which the Tribunal may award exemplary damages up to a maximum of $1,500.00. See section 19(2) and Schedule 1A Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The landlord confirmed that the bond had not been lodged. I find the landlord has committed an unlawful act.
Where a party has committed an unlawful act intentionally, the Tribunal may award exemplary damages where it is satisfied it would be just to do so, having regard to the party’s intent, the effect of the unlawful act, the interests of the other party, and the public interest. See section 109(3) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The reason given by the landlord for not lodging the bond was that the tenant had not paid the full amount of bond and rent (4 weeks) as set out in the tenancy agreement. The landlord retained the bond to cover the amount the tenant did not pay for rent.
I find that the tenant had paid the bond on 4 June 2024 as a separate amount of $1,560.00 was received by the landlord. That is the amount recorded as the bond in the tenancy agreement.
The tenant did not pay four weeks rent in advance but that is a different issue to the bond. The landlord should have lodged the bond within the required period, especially given that there was a dispute between the parties.
The landlord has had tenancies for 10 years and several current tenancies although apparently the other tenancies are managed by a property management company. The landlord was well aware of the requirement to lodge the bond.
The landlord failed to comply with the legislation and retained the bond money after the tenancy ended. I consider that an award of $200.00 for not lodging the bond is reasonable.
The remaining tenant claims are dismissed given that either no evidence or insufficient evidence was produced.
The landlord applied for rent arrears which are awarded up until 13 July 2024 which is the day before a new tenancy commenced. Even though the tenant left the tenancy on 18 June 2024 he remained liable for rent up until the end of the fixed term or the new tenancy, whichever was the earlier date.
The bond money has reduced the amount of arrears owed by the tenant.
The remaining claims in the landlord application are dismissed due to insufficient evidence.
Because [The applicant/s] has substantially succeeded with the claim I have reimbursed the filing fee. For the same reason I have suppressed the tenant’s name.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4922325 — Exemplary damages at Unit/Flat 813, 85 Wakefield Street, Auckland Central,

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4922325 — Exemplary damages at Unit/Flat 813, 85 Wakefield Street, Auckland Central,

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