How much money was awarded in case 4936134?

Property Damage: $500.00 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $3,985.71 awarded to landlord; Water Rates: $76.91 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4936134?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears. Related themes: Exemplary damages.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4936134?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11573566-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

How much money was awarded in case 4936134?

Property Damage: $500.00 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $3,985.71 awarded to landlord; Water Rates: $76.91 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4936134?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears. Related themes: Exemplary damages.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4936134?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11573566-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

7 Wineberry Place, Albany, Auckland 0632 Tenancy Tribunal Case 4936134 — Rent arrears

Q: What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4936134 about?

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

Tenantcheck Insights

Order

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4936134 — net $989.62 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 03 July 2024	$3,985.71	Rent arrears to 03 July 2024
Unpaid water rates	$76.91	Unpaid water rates
Exemplary damages	$500.00	Exemplary damages
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$989.62
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$989.62

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

Ki TAN must pay [The landlord/s] $989.62 immediately, calculated as shown in the table below:

The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $3,600.00 ([Bond number suppressed]) to [The landlord/s] immediately.

Reasons

Representatives for the landlord’s agent attended the hearing on behalf of the landlord. The tenant did not attend the hearing. I am satisfied that the tenant has been served notice of the hearing. The tenant has not contacted the Tribunal to advise that the tenant was unable to attend the hearing. The hearing proceeded in the tenant’s absence.

The landlord has applied for rent arrears, water arrears, refund of the bond, exemplary damages and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy.

The landlord had applied for compensation and an order for disposal of abandoned goods. However, at the hearing those claims were withdrawn.

How much is owed for rent and water rates?

The tenancy terminated on 03 July 2024. The landlord provided rent records in the form of a rent ledger and water rates invoices which prove the amount owing at the end of the tenancy.

These claims are proved. Did the tenant abandon the premises without a reasonable excuse and, if so, should exemplary damages be awarded?

On 03 July 2024, the Tribunal found that the tenant had abandoned the tenancy and terminated the tenancy through the expediated process under section 91AA of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA). At the time the tenant abandoned the tenancy, the rent was in arrears.

Section 61(5) of the RTA provides that a tenant commits an unlawful act if they abandon the premises when the rent is in arrears. Section 109 and Schedule 1A of the RTA provides that exemplary damages may be awarded up to a maximum of $1,500.00.

Exemplary damages are designed to punish and to deter. They are like a fine. In Auckland City Council v Blundell [1986] NZLR 732 the Court of Appeal (Cooke P) said: Exemplary and punitive [damages] are different words for the same thing. The damages are exemplary because they are meant to teach an example to the guilty officer and others. They are punitive because they are meant to punish. They are like a fine, though they go to the citizen who has been the victim of conduct.

Exemplary damages are awarded at the Tribunal’s discretion when one party has proved that the other party has committed a defined unlawful act intentionally. If that is proven, section 109 of the RTA provides that before the Tribunal may award exemplary damages, it must have regard to: a. The intent of the person committing the unlawful act; b. The effect of the unlawful act; c. The interests of the landlord or tenant against whom the unlawful act was committed; d. The public interest; and e. Whether it is just to make the award.

I am satisfied that the tenant abandoned the tenancy without having a reasonable excuse to do so.

As a result of the tenant abandoning the property and failing to pay rent, the landlord has been left without rent for a period and has had to store the tenant’s belongings. The landlord confirmed that they tried to contact the tenant, but the number provided was disconnected and the tenant did not respond to emails. I find the tenant intentionally abandoned the property which is reinforced by their failure to respond to the landlord’s attempt to contact them after the termination. It is in the public interest that tenants are made liable for failing to provide notice to end the tenancy because of the negative impact on the landlord.

I find that the tenant’s actions amount to an unlawful act and that exemplary damages should be awarded. I find the appropriate amount in this instance is $500.00. The filing fee and suppression:

[The applicant/s] has wholly succeeded with the claim. For this reason, I grant the application for suppression and order reimbursement of the filing fee.

Order

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4936134 — net $989.62 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 03 July 2024	$3,985.71	Rent arrears to 03 July 2024
Unpaid water rates	$76.91	Unpaid water rates
Exemplary damages	$500.00	Exemplary damages
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$989.62
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$989.62

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

Ki TAN must pay [The landlord/s] $989.62 immediately, calculated as shown in the table below:

The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $3,600.00 ([Bond number suppressed]) to [The landlord/s] immediately.

Reasons

The landlord has applied for rent arrears, water arrears, refund of the bond, exemplary damages and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy.

The landlord had applied for compensation and an order for disposal of abandoned goods. However, at the hearing those claims were withdrawn.

How much is owed for rent and water rates?

The tenancy terminated on 03 July 2024. The landlord provided rent records in the form of a rent ledger and water rates invoices which prove the amount owing at the end of the tenancy.

These claims are proved. Did the tenant abandon the premises without a reasonable excuse and, if so, should exemplary damages be awarded?

I am satisfied that the tenant abandoned the tenancy without having a reasonable excuse to do so.

I find that the tenant’s actions amount to an unlawful act and that exemplary damages should be awarded. I find the appropriate amount in this instance is $500.00. The filing fee and suppression:

[The applicant/s] has wholly succeeded with the claim. For this reason, I grant the application for suppression and order reimbursement of the filing fee.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4936134 — Rent arrears at 7 Wineberry Place, Albany, Auckland 0632

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4936134 — Rent arrears at 7 Wineberry Place, Albany, Auckland 0632

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

How much is owed for rent and water rates?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

How much is owed for rent and water rates?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions