What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 4925054?

The tribunal order states: The tenancy of Courtney Patricia Maynard at Unit/Flat 3, 60 Stanmore Road,

How much money was awarded in case 4925054?

Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $9,570.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4925054?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4925054?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10725459-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 4925054?

The tribunal order states: The tenancy of Courtney Patricia Maynard at Unit/Flat 3, 60 Stanmore Road,

How much money was awarded in case 4925054?

Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $9,570.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4925054?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4925054?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10725459-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

Unit/Flat 3, 60 Stanmore Road, Linwood, Christchurch 8011 Tenancy Tribunal Case 4925054 — Rent arrears

Order

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4925054 — net $9,590.44 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 14 June 2024	$9,570.00	Rent arrears to 14 June 2024
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$9,590.44
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$9,590.44

The tenancy of Courtney Patricia Maynard at Unit/Flat 3, 60 Stanmore Road, Linwood, Christchurch 8011 is terminated, and possession is granted to Diane Astle Realty Limited as Agent For Chris Ashcroft, at 6pm on Thursday 5 September 2024.

Courtney Patricia Maynard must pay Diane Astle Realty Limited as agent for Chris Ashcroft $9,590.44 immediately, as calculated in the table below:

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing by phone.

The landlord has applied for termination of the tenancy, rent arrears and reimbursement of the filing fee.

TERMINATION

Rent was at least 21 days in arrears on the date the application was filed. The tenancy is terminated. See section 55(1)(a) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

I note that tenant has given 28 days’ notice terminating the tenancy which ends on 5 September 2024, and I make this the possession date.

RENT ARREARS

The landlord has applied for rent arrears and has provided rent records which prove the amount owing to 14 June 2024.

The landlord’s agent acknowledged that there had been a failure by the landlord to keep records, as they are required to do pursuant to s 30 of the RTA and did not provide a written statement of the rent with the application or for the hearing.

I allowed the landlord until Friday 23 August 2024 to file an accurate rent statement, that included when rent was due, when it was paid or not paid and the total running arrears, from 1 May 2023 when the rent arrears began.

The landlord provided a rent statement on 19 August 2024 however this only included a running total arrears to 14 June 2024 when the agent notes on the rent statement that the tenant commenced paying the full weekly rent and the arrears remained at $9570.00.

The tenant did not particularly dispute the level of rent arrears claimed, but understandably found it difficult to respond to the claim in light of the rental statement being unclear.

The tenant’s evidence is that she has made payments to an unknown account every second week and is making enquiries with her bank about this and there being potential fraud involved.

The tenant says that when the landlord previously raised the concerns about the rent arrears, she would query this with the landlord, as she considered she was paying rent, and the landlord did not pursue the matter.

The District Court has recently confirmed that rent is considered to be paid when it is received by the landlord, not when it is said to have been paid by the tenant. Me And My House Property Management Limited v Christine Scott [2022] NZDC 1585. Mitigation of loss in relation to rent arrears

The Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA) requires that a party mitigate their loss, which means that that they must take actions to limit any loss from a breach of the other party. When rent arrears occur, a reasonable landlord will mitigate that loss by applying to the Tenancy Tribunal for appropriate orders.

In Huang v Ashworth [2024] NZDC 15726 the District Court confirmed there is a duty to mitigate for rent arrears. The Court confirmed the test of what the landlord ought to do to mitigate its loss is a factual one and depends on: a. Whether the landlord took all reasonable steps to mitigate its loss; and b. More particularly, whether it acted reasonably having regard to all the circumstances of the case.

In Huang v Ashworth the Court reduced the rent arrears by a third to take into account a failure to mitigate loss.

In this case the landlord could have mitigated his loss by keeping an accurate rental statement that could be provided to the tenant to ensure she was aware of the rent arrears and taken appropriate action to rectify it.

However, as the tenant has advised she is working with her bank to recover the funds with a claim for fraud I do not reduce the rent arrears sought.

I have made an order for rent arrears to 14 June 2024 of $9,570. Any claim in respect of rent after this date will need to be by way of a further application.

BOND

At the hearing, despite my indication I was willing to make an order in respect of the bond, the landlord withdrew the claim without prejudice.

FILING FEE

Because the landlord has wholly or substantially succeeded with the claim I have reimbursed the filing fee.

SUPPRESSION

The tenant sought name suppression however having regards the level of rent arrears, the interests of the parties and the public interest, I have not made an order for suppression. See section 95A of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4925054 — net $9,590.44 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 14 June 2024	$9,570.00	Rent arrears to 14 June 2024
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$9,590.44
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$9,590.44

Order

The tenancy of Courtney Patricia Maynard at Unit/Flat 3, 60 Stanmore Road, Linwood, Christchurch 8011 is terminated, and possession is granted to Diane Astle Realty Limited as Agent For Chris Ashcroft, at 6pm on Thursday 5 September 2024.
Courtney Patricia Maynard must pay Diane Astle Realty Limited as agent for Chris Ashcroft $9,590.44 immediately, as calculated in the table below:

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing by phone.
The landlord has applied for termination of the tenancy, rent arrears and reimbursement of the filing fee.

TERMINATION

Rent was at least 21 days in arrears on the date the application was filed. The tenancy is terminated. See section 55(1)(a) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
I note that tenant has given 28 days’ notice terminating the tenancy which ends on 5 September 2024, and I make this the possession date.

RENT ARREARS

The landlord has applied for rent arrears and has provided rent records which prove the amount owing to 14 June 2024.
The landlord’s agent acknowledged that there had been a failure by the landlord to keep records, as they are required to do pursuant to s 30 of the RTA and did not provide a written statement of the rent with the application or for the hearing.
I allowed the landlord until Friday 23 August 2024 to file an accurate rent statement, that included when rent was due, when it was paid or not paid and the total running arrears, from 1 May 2023 when the rent arrears began.
The landlord provided a rent statement on 19 August 2024 however this only included a running total arrears to 14 June 2024 when the agent notes on the rent statement that the tenant commenced paying the full weekly rent and the arrears remained at $9570.00.
The tenant did not particularly dispute the level of rent arrears claimed, but understandably found it difficult to respond to the claim in light of the rental statement being unclear.
The tenant’s evidence is that she has made payments to an unknown account every second week and is making enquiries with her bank about this and there being potential fraud involved.
The tenant says that when the landlord previously raised the concerns about the rent arrears, she would query this with the landlord, as she considered she was paying rent, and the landlord did not pursue the matter.
The District Court has recently confirmed that rent is considered to be paid when it is received by the landlord, not when it is said to have been paid by the tenant. Me And My House Property Management Limited v Christine Scott [2022] NZDC 1585. Mitigation of loss in relation to rent arrears
The Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA) requires that a party mitigate their loss, which means that that they must take actions to limit any loss from a breach of the other party. When rent arrears occur, a reasonable landlord will mitigate that loss by applying to the Tenancy Tribunal for appropriate orders.
In Huang v Ashworth [2024] NZDC 15726 the District Court confirmed there is a duty to mitigate for rent arrears. The Court confirmed the test of what the landlord ought to do to mitigate its loss is a factual one and depends on: a. Whether the landlord took all reasonable steps to mitigate its loss; and b. More particularly, whether it acted reasonably having regard to all the circumstances of the case.
In Huang v Ashworth the Court reduced the rent arrears by a third to take into account a failure to mitigate loss.
In this case the landlord could have mitigated his loss by keeping an accurate rental statement that could be provided to the tenant to ensure she was aware of the rent arrears and taken appropriate action to rectify it.
However, as the tenant has advised she is working with her bank to recover the funds with a claim for fraud I do not reduce the rent arrears sought.
I have made an order for rent arrears to 14 June 2024 of $9,570. Any claim in respect of rent after this date will need to be by way of a further application.

BOND

At the hearing, despite my indication I was willing to make an order in respect of the bond, the landlord withdrew the claim without prejudice.

FILING FEE

Because the landlord has wholly or substantially succeeded with the claim I have reimbursed the filing fee.

SUPPRESSION

The tenant sought name suppression however having regards the level of rent arrears, the interests of the parties and the public interest, I have not made an order for suppression. See section 95A of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4925054 — Rent arrears at Unit/Flat 3, 60 Stanmore Road, Linwood, Christchurch 8011

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4925054 — Rent arrears at Unit/Flat 3, 60 Stanmore Road, Linwood, Christchurch 8011

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

TERMINATION

RENT ARREARS

BOND

FILING FEE

SUPPRESSION

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Property management

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

TERMINATION

RENT ARREARS

BOND

FILING FEE

SUPPRESSION

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Property management

Frequently asked questions