What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4945893 about?

The tribunal order states: Lillian Petunia Johnson must pay [The landlord/s] $357.48 immediately,

How much money was awarded in case 4945893?

Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to landlord; Power Bill: $259.58 awarded to landlord; Water Rates: $70.90 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4945893?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4945893?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10712580-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4945893 about?

The tribunal order states: Lillian Petunia Johnson must pay [The landlord/s] $357.48 immediately,

How much money was awarded in case 4945893?

Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to landlord; Power Bill: $259.58 awarded to landlord; Water Rates: $70.90 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4945893?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4945893?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10712580-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 4945893 — Tenancy dispute

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New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 4945893 — Tenancy dispute | TenantCheck

Claims & awards

What this tenancy cost at tribunal — claim, category, amount, and party awarded, with reconciled net total.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4945893 — net $357.48 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Water rates	$70.90	Water rates
Power Bill	$259.58	Power Bill
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$357.48
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$357.48

Claims and awards for application 4945893 — net $357.48 NZD. Verify on MoJ.

Water rates

Amount: $70.90
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Water rates

Power Bill

Amount: $259.58
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Power Bill

Filing fee reimbursement

Amount: $27.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Filing fee reimbursement

Net award

Landlord $357.48

Total payable by Tenant to Landlord

Landlord $357.48

Claim types — money lines allowed on this order

Filing Fee Water Rates

Order

Lillian Petunia Johnson must pay [The landlord/s] $357.48 immediately, calculated as shown in table below: DescriptionLandlord Water rates$70.90 Power Bill$259.58 Filing fee reimbursement$27.00 Total award$357.48 Total payable by Tenant to Landlord$357.48

Reasons

The landlord attended the hearing.
The tenant did not attend. She did not join the hearing via the video link provided and did not answer calls made to the mobile phone number provided by the landlord with its application.
The landlord has claimed for power and water charges. She has provided a copy of the invoice sent to the tenant but did not provide evidence to show the actual water and power usage or the relevant unit charges. She believed that she had sent that evidence with the application. The landlord has the onus of proof and must provide the evidence necessary to prove its claims. It is not for the Tribunal to elicit the evidence from the landlord.
Because the landlord believed that she had uploaded the evidence with her application, I gave her a limited opportunity to provide that information.
The information has now been supplied to the Tribunal. The landlord claims outstanding power of $335.11. That amount includes fixed charges of $75.53. The landlord also claimed water rates of $91.88, of which $20.98 were fixed wastewater charges.
At the hearing, I indicated to the landlord that a tenant is only liable for usage costs, not fixed charges. The landlord maintained its claim for fixed charges. She did not refer me specifically to the tenancy agreement, but I note that the tenancy agreement states that fixed charges will be shared between this tenancy and a neighbouring property.
A tenant is responsible for all outgoings in respect of the premises that are exclusively attributable to their occupation of the premises or to their use of the facilities (see s 39(3) RTA). Therefore, tenants are only liable for the electricity, gas, telephone and internet they use, and for water charges based on consumption (s 39(4) RTA). They are not liable for fixed charges.
Where utilities are shared between more than one dwelling or building, the landlord will not be able calculate a tenant’s share of outgoings without a separate water meter or check meter. Even if the tenant’s electricity usage can be calculated, a strict application of s 39(3) RTA means they will not be liable for fixed line charges, as they are not exclusively attributable to their occupation of the premises. Section 11(1) RTA provides that any agreement or arrangement that is inconsistent with any provision of the Act is of no effect. I have awarded the landlord power and water based on the consumption of those utilities. I have not awarded the fixed charges.
As the landlord was substantially successful, I awarded reimbursement of the Tribunal application fee and granted its request for suppression of its details.

Claims & awards

What this tenancy cost at tribunal — claim, category, amount, and party awarded, with reconciled net total.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4945893 — net $357.48 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Water rates	$70.90	Water rates
Power Bill	$259.58	Power Bill
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$357.48
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$357.48

Claims and awards for application 4945893 — net $357.48 NZD. Verify on MoJ.

Water rates

Amount: $70.90
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Water rates

Power Bill

Amount: $259.58
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Power Bill

Filing fee reimbursement

Amount: $27.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Filing fee reimbursement

Net award

Landlord $357.48

Total payable by Tenant to Landlord

Landlord $357.48

Claim types — money lines allowed on this order

Filing Fee Water Rates

Order

Lillian Petunia Johnson must pay [The landlord/s] $357.48 immediately, calculated as shown in table below: DescriptionLandlord Water rates$70.90 Power Bill$259.58 Filing fee reimbursement$27.00 Total award$357.48 Total payable by Tenant to Landlord$357.48

Reasons

The landlord attended the hearing.
The tenant did not attend. She did not join the hearing via the video link provided and did not answer calls made to the mobile phone number provided by the landlord with its application.
The landlord has claimed for power and water charges. She has provided a copy of the invoice sent to the tenant but did not provide evidence to show the actual water and power usage or the relevant unit charges. She believed that she had sent that evidence with the application. The landlord has the onus of proof and must provide the evidence necessary to prove its claims. It is not for the Tribunal to elicit the evidence from the landlord.
Because the landlord believed that she had uploaded the evidence with her application, I gave her a limited opportunity to provide that information.
The information has now been supplied to the Tribunal. The landlord claims outstanding power of $335.11. That amount includes fixed charges of $75.53. The landlord also claimed water rates of $91.88, of which $20.98 were fixed wastewater charges.
At the hearing, I indicated to the landlord that a tenant is only liable for usage costs, not fixed charges. The landlord maintained its claim for fixed charges. She did not refer me specifically to the tenancy agreement, but I note that the tenancy agreement states that fixed charges will be shared between this tenancy and a neighbouring property.
A tenant is responsible for all outgoings in respect of the premises that are exclusively attributable to their occupation of the premises or to their use of the facilities (see s 39(3) RTA). Therefore, tenants are only liable for the electricity, gas, telephone and internet they use, and for water charges based on consumption (s 39(4) RTA). They are not liable for fixed charges.
Where utilities are shared between more than one dwelling or building, the landlord will not be able calculate a tenant’s share of outgoings without a separate water meter or check meter. Even if the tenant’s electricity usage can be calculated, a strict application of s 39(3) RTA means they will not be liable for fixed line charges, as they are not exclusively attributable to their occupation of the premises. Section 11(1) RTA provides that any agreement or arrangement that is inconsistent with any provision of the Act is of no effect. I have awarded the landlord power and water based on the consumption of those utilities. I have not awarded the fixed charges.
As the landlord was substantially successful, I awarded reimbursement of the Tribunal application fee and granted its request for suppression of its details.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4945893 — Tenancy dispute

At a glance

Award balance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4945893 — Tenancy dispute

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Frequently asked questions

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Frequently asked questions