How much money was awarded in case 5015408?

Compensation: $600.00 awarded to tenant; Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5015408?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5015408?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11310555-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

How much money was awarded in case 5015408?

Compensation: $600.00 awarded to tenant; Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5015408?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5015408?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11310555-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 5015408 — Tenancy dispute

Q: What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5015408 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 5015408 — net $627.00 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Tenant	Reason
Dishwasher compensation	$600.00	Dishwasher compensation
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$627.00
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant	$627.00

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

Oxygen.Co.Nz Limited - As Agent For Jessie Li and Jessie Li must pay the tenant $627.00 immediately, calculated as shown in table below: DescriptionTenant Dishwasher compensation $600.00 Filing fee reimbursement $27.00 Total payable by Landlord to Tenant $627.00

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.

The tenant claims that the landlord has breached their obligations under section 45 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986. Under section 45, a landlord must maintain the premises in a reasonable state of repair and comply with all requirements in respect of smoke alarms and insulation set out in the Residential Tenancies (Smoke Alarms and Insulation) Regulations 2016.

Breaching any of these obligations is an unlawful act for which exemplary damages may be awarded up to a maximum of $7,200.00. See section 45(1A) and Schedule 1A Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA). Smoke alarms and electrical problems.

The tenant stated that the smoke alarms were not working for some time before the respondent was appointed to manage the property on 1 May 2023. However she was unable to provide evidence to support that claim. After the respondent commenced managing the property on 1 May 2023, the tenant provided a list of problems with the property, including electrical problems. She did not mention the smoke alarms in that list. Shortly after commencing management the respondent commissioned a Healthy Homes Standards (HHS) report. The report dated 11 May 2023 indicated that the premises was fully compliant with HHS. In the HHS report the inspector highlighted two hard wired smoke detectors were hanging from the ceiling and needed attention. Smoke detectors are not part of HHS regulations. After receiving the report the landlord contracted Adam Tulloch Electrical Limited to address the smoke detector fault and fully check and correct all matters the tenant raised in her list of electrical faults.

I am satisfied that the landlord promptly addressed the tenant’s concerns regarding electrical and smoke alarm maintenance. Compensation or exemplary damages are not warranted. Dishwasher

Before the respondent began managing the property the dishwasher had failed and caused damage to the premises when it failed. The dishwasher was replaced with a new one. The new dishwasher failed about a year after installation. It was covered by the manufacturer’s three year warranty. The landlord promptly addressed the dishwasher fault with a warranty application. The dishwasher was repaired but failed again. The respondent had to make two further warranty claims to the manufacturer. When the tenancy ended in February 2024 the dishwasher was not repaired because a part was on order.

The effect of the dishwasher failure was that from 3 July 2023 to 8 February 2024 there was a significant amount of time that the tenant did not have use of a dishwasher. Rent is based on the facilities provided by the landlord. The tenant was paying $870.00 per week for premises with a dishwasher. She is entitled to compensation for part of the period after the dishwasher first failed. I have assessed the value of the dishwasher to be $30.00 per week and allowed compensation for 20 weeks of the 31 weeks and 4 days she was either without or had temporary use of the dishwasher. Compensation amounts to $600.00.

The tenant has also claimed exemplary damages for the landlord’s failure to maintain.

Where a party has committed an unlawful act intentionally, the Tribunal may award exemplary damages where it is satisfied it would be just to do so, having regard to the party’s intent, the effect of the unlawful act, the interests of the other party, and the public interest.

The dishwasher failure may be considered to be a failure to maintain and an unlawful act however the evidence does not support a claim that the landlord failed to maintain intentionally. The landlord took immediate steps to have repairs carried out and was frustrated by the delays caused by the manufacturer’s warranty process. I am satisfied that the respondent did not commit an unlawful act intentionally and therefore exemplary damages should not be ordered. Waste disposal

In the email that the tenant sent regarding the dishwasher failure, she also mentioned the waste disposal was working “on and off”. In the hearing the landlord provided an email in which she requested the tenant to provide details of the waste disposal so she could have it attended to. The tenant did not reply with any details about the waste disposal and did not mention the incinerator to the landlord again from 3 July 2023 to the end of tenancy in February 2024.

I am satisfied that the tenant was given opportunity to have the waste disposal repaired but it was not important enough to her to follow up with details or any further request for it to be repaired. The claim is dismissed. HHS Report

The tenant claims that the landlord has breached their obligations under section 45 of the RTA. Under section 45, a landlord must, if requested by the tenant, supply the records or other documents that relate to work carried out on the premises for compliance with the Healthy Homes Standards within 21 days after receiving the request.

The tenant stated that she requested the landlord to provide the HHS report and the landlord did not provide it to her within 21 days. However the report is not a record of work carried out by the landlord on the premises to comply with HHS. The claim is dismissed. Appointment of an agent

The tenant claims that the owner was overseas and did not appoint an agent. That was before the owner appointed the respondent to be the property manager.

An agent does not need to be a professional property manager. It can be any person acting in the capacity of a landlord. The owner did appoint a friend as an agent when she was overseas and the tenant was informed of the agent’s name and contact details. The claim is dismissed. The Bond

The tenant claims the landlord failed to remove her daughter’s name from the bond details at the Bond Centre. Bond Centre information is usually changed when a tenant who has contributed to the bond payment, leaves the tenancy and receives part of the bond. The tenant’s daughter did not claim the bond when she left the tenancy. The effect of the change of tenants to one tenant has been irrelevant regarding the bond. The tenant would have to have paid the additional bond if her daughter wanted to be paid a share of the bond when she left. The landlord has not committed an unlawful act or a breach of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 regarding the bond. Inspections

The tenant claimed compensation because the landlord did not carry out regular inspections. The RTA does not require landlords to carry out inspections. The claim is dismissed. Filing Fee

Because the tenant has been partially successful with the claim, the filing fee of $27.00 is ordered. Name Suppression

Because the tenant has substantially succeeded with part of the claim, the tenant’s request for name suppression is granted. (see Section 95A(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986).

Order

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5015408 — net $627.00 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Tenant	Reason
Dishwasher compensation	$600.00	Dishwasher compensation
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$627.00
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant	$627.00

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

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.

I am satisfied that the landlord promptly addressed the tenant’s concerns regarding electrical and smoke alarm maintenance. Compensation or exemplary damages are not warranted. Dishwasher

The tenant has also claimed exemplary damages for the landlord’s failure to maintain.

The tenant claims that the owner was overseas and did not appoint an agent. That was before the owner appointed the respondent to be the property manager.

The tenant claimed compensation because the landlord did not carry out regular inspections. The RTA does not require landlords to carry out inspections. The claim is dismissed. Filing Fee

Because the tenant has been partially successful with the claim, the filing fee of $27.00 is ordered. Name Suppression

Because the tenant has substantially succeeded with part of the claim, the tenant’s request for name suppression is granted. (see Section 95A(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986).

Tenancy Tribunal case 5015408 — Tenancy dispute

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 5015408 — Tenancy dispute

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions