What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4948075 about?

The tribunal order states: Tumatauenga Brown owes [The landlord] $5,076.39 (“the debt”), calculated as

How much money was awarded in case 4948075?

Cleaning: $402.50 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to landlord; Lawns and Garden Work: $55.00 awarded to landlord; Power (02/12/23 To 13/08/24: $1,021.59 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $4,605.71 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $750.00 awarded to landlord; Water Rates: $294.59 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4948075?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears. Related themes: Property damage, Cleanliness.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4948075?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10915950-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4948075 about?

The tribunal order states: Tumatauenga Brown owes [The landlord] $5,076.39 (“the debt”), calculated as

How much money was awarded in case 4948075?

Cleaning: $402.50 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to landlord; Lawns and Garden Work: $55.00 awarded to landlord; Power (02/12/23 To 13/08/24: $1,021.59 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $4,605.71 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $750.00 awarded to landlord; Water Rates: $294.59 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4948075?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears. Related themes: Property damage, Cleanliness.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4948075?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10915950-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 4948075 — Rent arrears

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4948075 — net $5,076.39 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears (to 12/09/24	$4,605.71	Rent arrears (to 12/09/24
Water rates: (02/12/23 to 23/08/24	$294.59	Water rates: (02/12/23 to 23/08/24
Power (02/12/23 to 13/08/24	$1,021.59	Power (02/12/23 to 13/08/24
Repairs: Repair holes in lounge walls and master bedroom walls	$750.00	Repairs: Repair holes in lounge walls and master bedroom walls
Cleaning	$402.50	Cleaning
Lawns and Garden work	$55.00	Lawns and Garden work
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$5,076.39
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$5,076.39

Order

Tumatauenga Brown owes [The landlord] $5,076.39 (“the debt”), calculated as shown in table below.
Tumatauenga Brown must repay the debt as follows: a. By 32 weekly payments of $150.00 each Friday, commencing on Friday 11 October 2024 and ending on 23 May 2025; and b. A final payment of $126.39, to fully repay the debt, to be paid on Friday 30 May 2025; and c. Where the tenants’ financial circumstances improve, the tenants have agreed to contact the landlord to make arrangements to increase the weekly amounts payable or make lump sum payments.
If Tumatauenga Brown fails to pay debt repayments within 2 working days of any of the due dates, the full amount of the remaining debt will fall due immediately.
The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $2,080.00 ([Bond number suppressed]) to [The landlord] immediately.
[The landlord] must take any personal documents belonging to the tenant, that have been left at the premises, to the nearest Police station and obtain a receipt for them.
The landlord shall dispose of the other goods left at the premises by the tenant after 4pm on 10 October 2024 by: a. selling all goods with a saleable value by public auction or by private contract at a reasonable market price, and b. disposing of all goods with no saleable value as the landlord sees fit.
The amount owing to the applicant out of the proceeds of any sale is $5,076.39. The landlord may add to the total debt payable, any additional costs incurred in selling and/or disposing of these items.
[The landlord] must pay the proceeds of any sale, less the amount owing, to the Bond Centre together with a copy of this order.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing. The tenant attended briefly and confirmed he was unable to attend the full hearing due to his work commitments but confirmed that he was agreeable to the hearing going ahead in his absence. Further, the tenant sent the landlord an email this morning confirming the same and committing to repaying the debt at $150.00 per week each Friday from this Friday.
The landlord has applied for rent arrears, compensation, refund of the bond, and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy.

How much is owed for rent, power and water rates?

The tenancy ended on 12 September 2024.
The landlord provided rent records, power records and water rates invoices which prove the amounts owing at the end of the tenancy.
The tenant was supposed to provide power meter readings to the landlord each month and had not done so, as such the power was in arrears by $1,021.59 at the end of the tenancy.
The tenant had not paid his water rates from 2 December 2023 to 23 August 2024 and had accrued water arrears of $294.59.
The tenant left the premise in mid-August but had a fixed term tenancy that did not end until 1 December 2024. The landlord can lawfully charge the tenant rent until the end of the fixed term or until a new tenant moves into the premise. A new tenant has not yet moved into the premise. However, the landlord has agreed to only charged the tenant rent until 12 September 2024.

Did the tenant comply with their obligations at the end of the tenancy?

At the end of the tenancy the tenant must leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy, remove all rubbish, return all keys and security devices, and leave all chattels provided for their benefit. See section 40(1)(e)(ii)-(v) Residential Tenancies Act 1986. The tenant is required to replace worn out smoke alarm batteries during the tenancy. See section 40(1)(ca) Residential Tenancies Act 1986. The tenant must also replace standard light bulbs.
The tenant did not leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy and did not remove all rubbish.
Section 40(1)(e)(iii) of the RTA confirms that on termination of the tenancy, the tenant must “leave the premises in a reasonably clean and reasonably tidy condition”. This provision does not impose an absolute standard of responsibility. The obligation is not to leave the premises in an immaculate standard of cleanliness and tidiness, nor does it mean that it will necessarily be up to the standard that a landlord might consider for a new tenant, for sale, or for the owner to re-occupy 1 : The standard will vary according to the age and condition of the premises and, in particular, the condition that they were in at the start of the tenancy 2 :The test is objective and not based on the subjective opinion of either the landlord or the tenant.
In Housing New Zealand Ltd v Holloway Auckland TT 215/93, 8 February 1993 the Tribunal stated: “‘Reasonably tidy’ grounds are not perfect ‘prizewinning’ grounds, but neither [are they] grounds that suggest a property is unoccupied, or constitute a health hazard (vermin) or fire risk. Rather [it is] something in between; grounds maintained to a standard that an average, reasonable bystander would consider ‘reasonably tidy’.”
Equally, the inside of a premise does not have to be left at hotel or motel standard, but at a standard an average, reasonable bystander would consider “reasonably clean and tidy”. 1 Face Property Management Ltd v Mike Bourne Contracting Ltd Christchurch TT 12/00532/CH, 24 August 2012. 2 Westwood v Western [1994] DCR 759.
The landlord has produced photographic evidence that the tenant has left rubbish and personal belongings at the premise that need to be disposed of. The lawns needed mowing and the garden’s tidying. The window frames, sliding door, ceilings, walls, kitchen bench, cupboards, bathroom, shower, toilet, floors and skirting boards all needed cleaning to bring the premise back to a reasonably clean and tidy condition.
The amounts ordered are proved.

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

A landlord must prove that damage to the premises occurred during the tenancy and is more than fair wear and tear. If this is established, to avoid liability, the tenant must prove they did not carelessly or intentionally cause or permit the damage. Tenants are liable for the actions of people at the premises with their permission. See sections 40(2)(a), 41 and 49B RTA.
Where the damage is careless, and occurs after 27 August 2019, section 49B RTA applies. If the landlord becomes aware of the damage after 27 August, the damage is presumed to have occurred after that date unless the tenant proves otherwise.
Where the damage is caused carelessly, and is covered by the landlord's insurance, the tenant's liability is limited to the lesser of the insurance excess or four weeks' rent (or four weeks' market rent in the case of a tenant paying income-related rent). See section 49B(3)(a) RTA.
Where the damage is careless and is not covered by the landlord's insurance, the tenant's liability is limited to four weeks' rent (or market rent). See section 49B(3)(b) RTA. Where insurance money is irrecoverable because of the tenant's conduct, the property is treated as if it is not insured against the damage. See section 49B(3A)(a) RTA.
Tenants are liable for the cost of repairing damage that is intentional or which results from any activity at the premises that is an imprisonable offence. This applies to anything the tenant does and anything done by a person they are responsible for. See section 49B(1) RTA.
Damage is intentional where a person intends to cause damage and takes the necessary steps to achieve that purpose. Damage is also intentional where a person does something, or allows a situation to continue, knowing that damage is a certainty. See Guo v Korck [2019] NZHC 1541.
The following damage was caused during the tenancy: a. Damage to the lounge and master bedroom walls that required plastering, sanding, and painting.
I am satisfied, from the photographic evidence provided by the landlord, that the damage is a result of the tenant’s careless acts or omissions and is more than fair wear and tear. The tenant has not disproved liability for the damage.
The amounts ordered are proved.
I have considered betterment and depreciation. The landlord should be returned to the position they would have been in had the tenant not breached their obligations and should not be better or worse off. In calculating depreciation, I have considered the age and condition of the items at the start of the tenancy and their likely useful lifespan. Disposal of goods
The landlord has applied for the disposal of goods that the tenant left at the premises at the end of the tenancy.
The landlord and tenant agreed on a period for the tenant was to collect the goods, but the tenant failed to collect the goods within that time.
The landlord has produced text messages that prove the landlord has tried to agree a date for the tenant to collect his personal belongings (which largely consist of work tools, a lawn mower, shovels and spades, a hammer, a large sign, a 4x4 tyre and a compressor) and the tenant agreed to collect these belonging on 16 September 2024. In that text message dated 21 September 2024, the landlord confirms that it has been storing these items since 6 August 2024 and requires them to be collected or it will apply for an order to dispose of these items. The tenant did not respond.
It is not practicable for the landlord to the return the goods to the tenant. Some of the goods have a value above the cost of storing, transporting, and selling them. The landlord must sell these goods at a reasonable market price.
The landlord may deduct any amount owing from the sale proceeds, including the cost of selling or disposing of the items and must pay the balance to the Bond Centre. See sections 62(3)(b), 62B(2),(3) and (4), 62C(1)(b),(2) and (3) Residential Tenancies Act 1986).
The landlord may dispose of any goods that have no saleable value.
The landlord has agreed to give the tenant until 4:00pm on 8 October 2024 to contact it and arrange to collect all his personal belongings by 4:00pm on 10 October 2024. After that date the landlord will dispose of these items. Reimbursement of filing fee
Because [The applicant] has wholly succeeded with the claim I must reimburse the filing fee. Name suppression
The landlord applies for non-publication of its name and identifying details.
The Tribunal must, on the application of a party that has wholly or substantially succeeded in proceedings, order that the party’s name or identifying particulars not be published, unless the Tribunal considers that publication is in the public interest or is justified because of the party’s conduct or any other circumstances of the case.
The landlord has substantially succeeded in its proceedings. I do not consider publication is in the public interest or justified because of the landlord’s conduct or any other circumstances of the case.
Non-publication is ordered.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4948075 — net $5,076.39 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears (to 12/09/24	$4,605.71	Rent arrears (to 12/09/24
Water rates: (02/12/23 to 23/08/24	$294.59	Water rates: (02/12/23 to 23/08/24
Power (02/12/23 to 13/08/24	$1,021.59	Power (02/12/23 to 13/08/24
Repairs: Repair holes in lounge walls and master bedroom walls	$750.00	Repairs: Repair holes in lounge walls and master bedroom walls
Cleaning	$402.50	Cleaning
Lawns and Garden work	$55.00	Lawns and Garden work
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$5,076.39
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$5,076.39

Order

Tumatauenga Brown owes [The landlord] $5,076.39 (“the debt”), calculated as shown in table below.
Tumatauenga Brown must repay the debt as follows: a. By 32 weekly payments of $150.00 each Friday, commencing on Friday 11 October 2024 and ending on 23 May 2025; and b. A final payment of $126.39, to fully repay the debt, to be paid on Friday 30 May 2025; and c. Where the tenants’ financial circumstances improve, the tenants have agreed to contact the landlord to make arrangements to increase the weekly amounts payable or make lump sum payments.
If Tumatauenga Brown fails to pay debt repayments within 2 working days of any of the due dates, the full amount of the remaining debt will fall due immediately.
The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $2,080.00 ([Bond number suppressed]) to [The landlord] immediately.
[The landlord] must take any personal documents belonging to the tenant, that have been left at the premises, to the nearest Police station and obtain a receipt for them.
The landlord shall dispose of the other goods left at the premises by the tenant after 4pm on 10 October 2024 by: a. selling all goods with a saleable value by public auction or by private contract at a reasonable market price, and b. disposing of all goods with no saleable value as the landlord sees fit.
The amount owing to the applicant out of the proceeds of any sale is $5,076.39. The landlord may add to the total debt payable, any additional costs incurred in selling and/or disposing of these items.
[The landlord] must pay the proceeds of any sale, less the amount owing, to the Bond Centre together with a copy of this order.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing. The tenant attended briefly and confirmed he was unable to attend the full hearing due to his work commitments but confirmed that he was agreeable to the hearing going ahead in his absence. Further, the tenant sent the landlord an email this morning confirming the same and committing to repaying the debt at $150.00 per week each Friday from this Friday.
The landlord has applied for rent arrears, compensation, refund of the bond, and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy.

How much is owed for rent, power and water rates?

The tenancy ended on 12 September 2024.
The landlord provided rent records, power records and water rates invoices which prove the amounts owing at the end of the tenancy.
The tenant was supposed to provide power meter readings to the landlord each month and had not done so, as such the power was in arrears by $1,021.59 at the end of the tenancy.
The tenant had not paid his water rates from 2 December 2023 to 23 August 2024 and had accrued water arrears of $294.59.
The tenant left the premise in mid-August but had a fixed term tenancy that did not end until 1 December 2024. The landlord can lawfully charge the tenant rent until the end of the fixed term or until a new tenant moves into the premise. A new tenant has not yet moved into the premise. However, the landlord has agreed to only charged the tenant rent until 12 September 2024.

Did the tenant comply with their obligations at the end of the tenancy?

At the end of the tenancy the tenant must leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy, remove all rubbish, return all keys and security devices, and leave all chattels provided for their benefit. See section 40(1)(e)(ii)-(v) Residential Tenancies Act 1986. The tenant is required to replace worn out smoke alarm batteries during the tenancy. See section 40(1)(ca) Residential Tenancies Act 1986. The tenant must also replace standard light bulbs.
The tenant did not leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy and did not remove all rubbish.
Section 40(1)(e)(iii) of the RTA confirms that on termination of the tenancy, the tenant must “leave the premises in a reasonably clean and reasonably tidy condition”. This provision does not impose an absolute standard of responsibility. The obligation is not to leave the premises in an immaculate standard of cleanliness and tidiness, nor does it mean that it will necessarily be up to the standard that a landlord might consider for a new tenant, for sale, or for the owner to re-occupy 1 : The standard will vary according to the age and condition of the premises and, in particular, the condition that they were in at the start of the tenancy 2 :The test is objective and not based on the subjective opinion of either the landlord or the tenant.
In Housing New Zealand Ltd v Holloway Auckland TT 215/93, 8 February 1993 the Tribunal stated: “‘Reasonably tidy’ grounds are not perfect ‘prizewinning’ grounds, but neither [are they] grounds that suggest a property is unoccupied, or constitute a health hazard (vermin) or fire risk. Rather [it is] something in between; grounds maintained to a standard that an average, reasonable bystander would consider ‘reasonably tidy’.”
Equally, the inside of a premise does not have to be left at hotel or motel standard, but at a standard an average, reasonable bystander would consider “reasonably clean and tidy”. 1 Face Property Management Ltd v Mike Bourne Contracting Ltd Christchurch TT 12/00532/CH, 24 August 2012. 2 Westwood v Western [1994] DCR 759.
The landlord has produced photographic evidence that the tenant has left rubbish and personal belongings at the premise that need to be disposed of. The lawns needed mowing and the garden’s tidying. The window frames, sliding door, ceilings, walls, kitchen bench, cupboards, bathroom, shower, toilet, floors and skirting boards all needed cleaning to bring the premise back to a reasonably clean and tidy condition.
The amounts ordered are proved.

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

A landlord must prove that damage to the premises occurred during the tenancy and is more than fair wear and tear. If this is established, to avoid liability, the tenant must prove they did not carelessly or intentionally cause or permit the damage. Tenants are liable for the actions of people at the premises with their permission. See sections 40(2)(a), 41 and 49B RTA.
Where the damage is careless, and occurs after 27 August 2019, section 49B RTA applies. If the landlord becomes aware of the damage after 27 August, the damage is presumed to have occurred after that date unless the tenant proves otherwise.
Where the damage is caused carelessly, and is covered by the landlord's insurance, the tenant's liability is limited to the lesser of the insurance excess or four weeks' rent (or four weeks' market rent in the case of a tenant paying income-related rent). See section 49B(3)(a) RTA.
Where the damage is careless and is not covered by the landlord's insurance, the tenant's liability is limited to four weeks' rent (or market rent). See section 49B(3)(b) RTA. Where insurance money is irrecoverable because of the tenant's conduct, the property is treated as if it is not insured against the damage. See section 49B(3A)(a) RTA.
Tenants are liable for the cost of repairing damage that is intentional or which results from any activity at the premises that is an imprisonable offence. This applies to anything the tenant does and anything done by a person they are responsible for. See section 49B(1) RTA.
Damage is intentional where a person intends to cause damage and takes the necessary steps to achieve that purpose. Damage is also intentional where a person does something, or allows a situation to continue, knowing that damage is a certainty. See Guo v Korck [2019] NZHC 1541.
The following damage was caused during the tenancy: a. Damage to the lounge and master bedroom walls that required plastering, sanding, and painting.
I am satisfied, from the photographic evidence provided by the landlord, that the damage is a result of the tenant’s careless acts or omissions and is more than fair wear and tear. The tenant has not disproved liability for the damage.
The amounts ordered are proved.
I have considered betterment and depreciation. The landlord should be returned to the position they would have been in had the tenant not breached their obligations and should not be better or worse off. In calculating depreciation, I have considered the age and condition of the items at the start of the tenancy and their likely useful lifespan. Disposal of goods
The landlord has applied for the disposal of goods that the tenant left at the premises at the end of the tenancy.
The landlord and tenant agreed on a period for the tenant was to collect the goods, but the tenant failed to collect the goods within that time.
The landlord has produced text messages that prove the landlord has tried to agree a date for the tenant to collect his personal belongings (which largely consist of work tools, a lawn mower, shovels and spades, a hammer, a large sign, a 4x4 tyre and a compressor) and the tenant agreed to collect these belonging on 16 September 2024. In that text message dated 21 September 2024, the landlord confirms that it has been storing these items since 6 August 2024 and requires them to be collected or it will apply for an order to dispose of these items. The tenant did not respond.
It is not practicable for the landlord to the return the goods to the tenant. Some of the goods have a value above the cost of storing, transporting, and selling them. The landlord must sell these goods at a reasonable market price.
The landlord may deduct any amount owing from the sale proceeds, including the cost of selling or disposing of the items and must pay the balance to the Bond Centre. See sections 62(3)(b), 62B(2),(3) and (4), 62C(1)(b),(2) and (3) Residential Tenancies Act 1986).
The landlord may dispose of any goods that have no saleable value.
The landlord has agreed to give the tenant until 4:00pm on 8 October 2024 to contact it and arrange to collect all his personal belongings by 4:00pm on 10 October 2024. After that date the landlord will dispose of these items. Reimbursement of filing fee
Because [The applicant] has wholly succeeded with the claim I must reimburse the filing fee. Name suppression
The landlord applies for non-publication of its name and identifying details.
The Tribunal must, on the application of a party that has wholly or substantially succeeded in proceedings, order that the party’s name or identifying particulars not be published, unless the Tribunal considers that publication is in the public interest or is justified because of the party’s conduct or any other circumstances of the case.
The landlord has substantially succeeded in its proceedings. I do not consider publication is in the public interest or justified because of the landlord’s conduct or any other circumstances of the case.
Non-publication is ordered.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4948075 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4948075 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

How much is owed for rent, power and water rates?

Did the tenant comply with their obligations at the end of the tenancy?

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

How much is owed for rent, power and water rates?

Did the tenant comply with their obligations at the end of the tenancy?

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions