How much money was awarded in case 5012869?

Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $7,188.03 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5012869?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5012869?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11324096-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

How much money was awarded in case 5012869?

Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $7,188.03 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5012869?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5012869?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11324096-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

269 Mahia Road, Weymouth, Auckland 2103 Tenancy Tribunal Case 5012869 — Rent arrears

Q: What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5012869 about?

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

Order

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5012869 — net $5,881.03 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears	$7,188.03	Rent arrears
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$5,881.03
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$5,881.03

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

Forli Mina Reweti must pay [The landlord/s] $5,382.95 immediately, being rent arrears 30 July 2024, and reimbursement of the filing fee, less the bond, as calculated in the table below:

The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $1,334.00 ([Bond number suppressed]) to [The landlord/s] immediately.

Reasons

The landlord attended the hearing. The tenant did not attend the hearing. The tenant has not communicated with the Tribunal as to why the tenant would not attend the hearing. The hearing proceeded in the tenant’s absence.

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

Who are the parties to these proceedings?

When the tenancy started, there were two tenants named on the tenancy agreement; Mr Reweti and Ms Reweti. However, in July 2022, Ms Reweti left the premises and, at Mr Reweti’s request, the landlord refunded Ms Reweti’s share of the bond to her. It was after this that the tenant fell into rent arrears.

Following the hearing, the landlord confirmed that when he refunded half of the bond to Ms Reweti, the intention was to release her from the tenancy and for the tenancy to continue in the name of Mr Reweti only. I have removed Ms Reweti as a party to these proceedings.

How much is owed for rent?

The tenancy ended on 30 July 2024. The landlord has provided rent records in the form of a rent ledger which show that at the end of the tenancy, the amount of the rent arrears was $9557.00.

The rent ledger also shows that the tenant was in continuous rent arrears from 22 October 2022. Given that the rent arrears are substantial and were allowed to accumulate over a significant period, it is necessary for me to consider if the landlord complied with its duty to mitigate its losses.

Parties to a tenancy agreement have a duty to mitigate their losses. Section 49 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA) provides: Where any party to a tenancy agreement breaches any of the provisions of the agreement or of this Act, the other party shall take all reasonable steps to limit the damage or loss arising from that breach, in accordance with the rules of law relating to mitigation of loss or damage upon breach of contract.

The landlord’s obligation is to take all reasonable steps to mitigate its losses. 1 In the District Court decision of David Huang v Carne Ashworth [2024] NZDC 15726 [3 July 2024], Judge NJ Sainsbury held that where the issue is significant rent arrears, mitigation can include terminating the tenancy: ... where the tenant fails to pay rent owing, there is an obligation the landlord to mitigate the loss. This can be achieved by not allowing the arrears to continue to accrue, instead ending the tenancy and reletting the premises thereby preventing ongoing loss. 1 See British Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Co Ltd v Underground Electric Railways Co of London [1912] AC 673 (HL) at 689.

Section 55(1)(a) of the RTA provides that where rent is 21 days in arrears, the landlord may apply to the Tribunal to end the tenancy. The landlord could have applied to the Tribunal to terminate the tenancy as early as October 2022.

There is no evidence that the landlord applied to the Tribunal to terminate the tenancy. The agent representing the landlord at the hearing said he thought the landlord allowed the arrears to accumulate because he was “very giving in nature”.

In David Huang v Carne Ashworth, Judge NJ Sainsbury decided that landlord had failed to mitigate his losses and said: [w]here a tenant repeatedly breaches promises to make up arrears and instead additional arears are incurred there comes a point when it is being naïve or careless to your owner interest to persist given the tenant more time to pay.

In my view, the landlord has not acted reasonably to mitigate its losses. As a result, the landlord has incurred losses which would have been avoidable otherwise.

I have decided that rent arrears should be reduced by one quarter to reflect the failure to mitigate. In reaching this decision, I have considered the amount of the arrears and the fact that arrears were allowed to accumulate over a period of over 21 months. Reimbursement of the filing fee:

[The applicant/s] has wholly succeeded with the claim. For this reason, I must order reimbursement of the filing fee.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5012869 — net $5,881.03 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears	$7,188.03	Rent arrears
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$5,881.03
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$5,881.03

Order

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of the landlord’s name and identifying details.
Forli Mina Reweti must pay [The landlord/s] $5,382.95 immediately, being rent arrears 30 July 2024, and reimbursement of the filing fee, less the bond, as calculated in the table below:
The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $1,334.00 ([Bond number suppressed]) to [The landlord/s] immediately.

Reasons

The landlord attended the hearing. The tenant did not attend the hearing. The tenant has not communicated with the Tribunal as to why the tenant would not attend the hearing. The hearing proceeded in the tenant’s absence.
The landlord has applied for rent arrears, refund of the bond, and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy.

Who are the parties to these proceedings?

When the tenancy started, there were two tenants named on the tenancy agreement; Mr Reweti and Ms Reweti. However, in July 2022, Ms Reweti left the premises and, at Mr Reweti’s request, the landlord refunded Ms Reweti’s share of the bond to her. It was after this that the tenant fell into rent arrears.
Following the hearing, the landlord confirmed that when he refunded half of the bond to Ms Reweti, the intention was to release her from the tenancy and for the tenancy to continue in the name of Mr Reweti only. I have removed Ms Reweti as a party to these proceedings.

How much is owed for rent?

The tenancy ended on 30 July 2024. The landlord has provided rent records in the form of a rent ledger which show that at the end of the tenancy, the amount of the rent arrears was $9557.00.
The rent ledger also shows that the tenant was in continuous rent arrears from 22 October 2022. Given that the rent arrears are substantial and were allowed to accumulate over a significant period, it is necessary for me to consider if the landlord complied with its duty to mitigate its losses.
Parties to a tenancy agreement have a duty to mitigate their losses. Section 49 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA) provides: Where any party to a tenancy agreement breaches any of the provisions of the agreement or of this Act, the other party shall take all reasonable steps to limit the damage or loss arising from that breach, in accordance with the rules of law relating to mitigation of loss or damage upon breach of contract.
The landlord’s obligation is to take all reasonable steps to mitigate its losses. 1 In the District Court decision of David Huang v Carne Ashworth [2024] NZDC 15726 [3 July 2024], Judge NJ Sainsbury held that where the issue is significant rent arrears, mitigation can include terminating the tenancy: ... where the tenant fails to pay rent owing, there is an obligation the landlord to mitigate the loss. This can be achieved by not allowing the arrears to continue to accrue, instead ending the tenancy and reletting the premises thereby preventing ongoing loss. 1 See British Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Co Ltd v Underground Electric Railways Co of London [1912] AC 673 (HL) at 689.
Section 55(1)(a) of the RTA provides that where rent is 21 days in arrears, the landlord may apply to the Tribunal to end the tenancy. The landlord could have applied to the Tribunal to terminate the tenancy as early as October 2022.
There is no evidence that the landlord applied to the Tribunal to terminate the tenancy. The agent representing the landlord at the hearing said he thought the landlord allowed the arrears to accumulate because he was “very giving in nature”.
In David Huang v Carne Ashworth, Judge NJ Sainsbury decided that landlord had failed to mitigate his losses and said: [w]here a tenant repeatedly breaches promises to make up arrears and instead additional arears are incurred there comes a point when it is being naïve or careless to your owner interest to persist given the tenant more time to pay.
In my view, the landlord has not acted reasonably to mitigate its losses. As a result, the landlord has incurred losses which would have been avoidable otherwise.
I have decided that rent arrears should be reduced by one quarter to reflect the failure to mitigate. In reaching this decision, I have considered the amount of the arrears and the fact that arrears were allowed to accumulate over a period of over 21 months. Reimbursement of the filing fee:
[The applicant/s] has wholly succeeded with the claim. For this reason, I must order reimbursement of the filing fee.

Tenancy Tribunal case 5012869 — Rent arrears at 269 Mahia Road, Weymouth, Auckland 2103

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 5012869 — Rent arrears at 269 Mahia Road, Weymouth, Auckland 2103

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Who are the parties to these proceedings?

How much is owed for rent?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Who are the parties to these proceedings?

How much is owed for rent?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions