What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4964154 about?

The tribunal order states: The claim is dismissed.

How much money was awarded in case 4964154?

Verified claim lines are listed on this page.

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4964154?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4964154?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10872520-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4964154 about?

The tribunal order states: The claim is dismissed.

How much money was awarded in case 4964154?

Verified claim lines are listed on this page.

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4964154?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4964154?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10872520-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 4964154 — Tenancy dispute

Order

The claim is dismissed.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing. [The landlord’s representative] represents the landlord company. [The tenant/s] was assisted by an interpreter.
[The tenant/s] claims the landlord is seeking rent in excess of the market rent. She says her rent of $375 is well above what she has seen it since rented at, $320. She provided evidence of a TradeMe ad for another apartment with the same specifications in her complex being rented at $320 in August. She says that had she known the price would drop soon after she moved in, 1 she would have waited and taken up on the lower price. 1 17 June 2024
[The tenant/s] apartment is in a complex managed by [The landlord/s]. There are 87 units, all of similar specification and all inclusive. [The landlord/s] advertises on their website and TradeMe. The pricing on their website is as follows:
[The landlord’s representative]’s evidence is that the standard price for the apartments is $375 per week. The price has remained at that rate throughout last year and this year apart from in July and August 2024. What occurred at that point was that they had an excess of rooms to fill and so made a last-minute decision to reduce the price on 1 July. The price remained low but at three different prices in July and August to reflect the low demand at that time. It resumed the usual rate of $375 in September when they did not have an excess of rooms available.
[The landlord’s representative]’s further evidence is that approximately 95% of the rooms are rented at a rate of $375. When [The tenant/s] enquired in April and signed the contract in May that was the price. At the time of signing there was only one room available at the time she wanted it, and that is the room she was assigned. It was not until later that they had an unprecedented number of rooms available. She says they have never had to lower the price previously, but demand was at an all time low in July and August this year. The law
Sections 25(1) and (3) Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA) provide: (1) On an application made to it at any time by the tenant, the Tribunal may, in accordance with the succeeding provisions of this section, on being satisfied that the rent payable or to become payable for the tenancy exceeds the market rent by a substantial amount, make an order reducing the rent to an amount, to be specified in the order, that is in line with the market rent. (3) For the purposes of this Act, the market rent for any tenancy shall be the rent that, without regard to the personal circumstances of the landlord or the tenant, a willing landlord might reasonably expect to receive and a willing tenant might reasonably expect to pay for the tenancy, taking into consideration the general level of rents (other than income-related rents within the meaning of section 2(1) of the Public and Community Housing Management Act 1992) for comparable tenancies of comparable premises in the locality or in similar localities and such other matters as the Tribunal considers relevant.
In such an application, [The tenant/s] as the applicant has the burden of proof. What this means is that she must prove on the balance of probabilities that the rent exceeds market rent by a “substantial amount”. The term 'substantial' is not defined in the RTA, but it is the opposite of ‘minor’ or ‘insignificant’.
The test for what is market rent is, is the amount “a willing landlord might reasonably expect to receive and a willing tenant might reasonably expect to pay for the tenancy”.
The concept of the 'market' is constrained by the requirement that both parties be 'willing', and that the rent meets their 'reasonable' expectations. These terms are not defined by the RTA. The Oxford English dictionary defines willing as: "having a ready will; disposed to consent or comply; ready to do (what is specified or implied) without reluctance"; and reasonable as "having sound judgement; sensible ... not asking for too much ... not extravagant or excessive; moderate".
The factors the Tribunal may have regard to are “the general level of rents ... for comparable tenancies of comparable premises in the locality or in similar localities and such other matters as the Tribunal considers relevant”.
The Tribunal may also consider “such other matters as [it] considers relevant” to market rent. In Housing New Zealand v Hobman (DC Lower Hutt, TT89/97, 27 November 1997) the Court said the other factors to be considered must be of the same kind as the preceding specified factors. It has been argued that the term ‘other matters’ is broad enough to cover any anything relevant to the ‘reasonable’ expectations of a ‘willing’ landlord or tenant.
While section 25(3) of the RTA lists a number of factors that the Tribunal should have regard to, no one factor should take precedence or priority over the others. Recognition must also be had that market rent assessments are not a science but one that is primarily based on the evidence available to the Tribunal. Discussion
There is no evidence available that contradicts [The landlord’s representative]’s evidence that [the landlord/s] had to temporarily reduce their prices to meet an unprecedented lack of demand in winter. Accordingly, I find that barring unusual circumstances, the market rental rate for these apartments is $375. The fact that the majority of apartments are rented for this rate and the reduction was only temporary assists me in coming to this conclusion.
At the time [The tenant/s] enquired into and applied for this apartment they were relatively scarce and were easily rented at $375. To put it another way, applicants were willing to pay $375 to live in one of these apartments. That is the case now as well. The price drop was unexpected and unprecedented, not to mention temporary, and was unfortunate to occur just after [The tenant/s] had moved in.
Therefore, I must dismiss the application.
I do however approve both parties’ applications for suppression pursuant to section 95A of the RTA. The landlord’s because they were successful in their defence to this claim, and [The tenant/s] because she is new to New Zealand and still in the process of navigating New Zealand systems. She was entitled to bring this claim given the situation as she was understandably upset to find her neighbours may be paying less than her. She was unfamiliar with the law and has done her best in the circumstances. I do not find it proportionate for her details to be published.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing. [The landlord’s representative] represents the landlord company. [The tenant/s] was assisted by an interpreter.

[The tenant/s] claims the landlord is seeking rent in excess of the market rent. She says her rent of $375 is well above what she has seen it since rented at, $320. She provided evidence of a TradeMe ad for another apartment with the same specifications in her complex being rented at $320 in August. She says that had she known the price would drop soon after she moved in, 1 she would have waited and taken up on the lower price. 1 17 June 2024

[The tenant/s] apartment is in a complex managed by [The landlord/s]. There are 87 units, all of similar specification and all inclusive. [The landlord/s] advertises on their website and TradeMe. The pricing on their website is as follows:

[The landlord’s representative]’s evidence is that the standard price for the apartments is $375 per week. The price has remained at that rate throughout last year and this year apart from in July and August 2024. What occurred at that point was that they had an excess of rooms to fill and so made a last-minute decision to reduce the price on 1 July. The price remained low but at three different prices in July and August to reflect the low demand at that time. It resumed the usual rate of $375 in September when they did not have an excess of rooms available.

[The landlord’s representative]’s further evidence is that approximately 95% of the rooms are rented at a rate of $375. When [The tenant/s] enquired in April and signed the contract in May that was the price. At the time of signing there was only one room available at the time she wanted it, and that is the room she was assigned. It was not until later that they had an unprecedented number of rooms available. She says they have never had to lower the price previously, but demand was at an all time low in July and August this year. The law

Sections 25(1) and (3) Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA) provide: (1) On an application made to it at any time by the tenant, the Tribunal may, in accordance with the succeeding provisions of this section, on being satisfied that the rent payable or to become payable for the tenancy exceeds the market rent by a substantial amount, make an order reducing the rent to an amount, to be specified in the order, that is in line with the market rent. (3) For the purposes of this Act, the market rent for any tenancy shall be the rent that, without regard to the personal circumstances of the landlord or the tenant, a willing landlord might reasonably expect to receive and a willing tenant might reasonably expect to pay for the tenancy, taking into consideration the general level of rents (other than income-related rents within the meaning of section 2(1) of the Public and Community Housing Management Act 1992) for comparable tenancies of comparable premises in the locality or in similar localities and such other matters as the Tribunal considers relevant.

In such an application, [The tenant/s] as the applicant has the burden of proof. What this means is that she must prove on the balance of probabilities that the rent exceeds market rent by a “substantial amount”. The term 'substantial' is not defined in the RTA, but it is the opposite of ‘minor’ or ‘insignificant’.

The test for what is market rent is, is the amount “a willing landlord might reasonably expect to receive and a willing tenant might reasonably expect to pay for the tenancy”.

The concept of the 'market' is constrained by the requirement that both parties be 'willing', and that the rent meets their 'reasonable' expectations. These terms are not defined by the RTA. The Oxford English dictionary defines willing as: "having a ready will; disposed to consent or comply; ready to do (what is specified or implied) without reluctance"; and reasonable as "having sound judgement; sensible ... not asking for too much ... not extravagant or excessive; moderate".

The factors the Tribunal may have regard to are “the general level of rents ... for comparable tenancies of comparable premises in the locality or in similar localities and such other matters as the Tribunal considers relevant”.

The Tribunal may also consider “such other matters as [it] considers relevant” to market rent. In Housing New Zealand v Hobman (DC Lower Hutt, TT89/97, 27 November 1997) the Court said the other factors to be considered must be of the same kind as the preceding specified factors. It has been argued that the term ‘other matters’ is broad enough to cover any anything relevant to the ‘reasonable’ expectations of a ‘willing’ landlord or tenant.

While section 25(3) of the RTA lists a number of factors that the Tribunal should have regard to, no one factor should take precedence or priority over the others. Recognition must also be had that market rent assessments are not a science but one that is primarily based on the evidence available to the Tribunal. Discussion

There is no evidence available that contradicts [The landlord’s representative]’s evidence that [the landlord/s] had to temporarily reduce their prices to meet an unprecedented lack of demand in winter. Accordingly, I find that barring unusual circumstances, the market rental rate for these apartments is $375. The fact that the majority of apartments are rented for this rate and the reduction was only temporary assists me in coming to this conclusion.

At the time [The tenant/s] enquired into and applied for this apartment they were relatively scarce and were easily rented at $375. To put it another way, applicants were willing to pay $375 to live in one of these apartments. That is the case now as well. The price drop was unexpected and unprecedented, not to mention temporary, and was unfortunate to occur just after [The tenant/s] had moved in.

Therefore, I must dismiss the application.

I do however approve both parties’ applications for suppression pursuant to section 95A of the RTA. The landlord’s because they were successful in their defence to this claim, and [The tenant/s] because she is new to New Zealand and still in the process of navigating New Zealand systems. She was entitled to bring this claim given the situation as she was understandably upset to find her neighbours may be paying less than her. She was unfamiliar with the law and has done her best in the circumstances. I do not find it proportionate for her details to be published.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4964154 — Tenancy dispute

At a glance

Claims & awards

Tenancy Tribunal case 4964154 — Tenancy dispute

At a glance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Frequently asked questions

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Frequently asked questions