What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5073188 about?

The tribunal order states: By consent, the Tribunal orders suppression of both the Tenant and Landlord

How much money was awarded in case 5073188?

Verified claim lines are listed on this page.

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5073188?

The primary dispute was Healthy homes.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5073188?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11441929-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5073188 about?

The tribunal order states: By consent, the Tribunal orders suppression of both the Tenant and Landlord

How much money was awarded in case 5073188?

Verified claim lines are listed on this page.

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5073188?

The primary dispute was Healthy homes.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5073188?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11441929-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 5073188 — Healthy homes

Order

By consent, the Tribunal orders suppression of both the Tenant and Landlord name and identifying details.
The application is dismissed.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
The tenant seeks to reduce her rent. The tenant has been living in a 3-bed house in [Town] since 1989 and her rent has recently increased from $280.00 per week to $550.00 per week.
The Tribunal has the power to reduce rent to market rent if the amount payable exceeds market rent by a substantial amount (s.25(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA)). Market rent is defined as the rent a willing landlord might reasonably expect to receive and a willing tenant might reasonably expect to pay for the tenancy, taking into account the general level of rents for comparable premises in the locality or similar localities and such other matters as the Tribunal considers relevant.
The parties’ personal circumstances are not relevant and are not considered.
If granted, a market rent assessment cannot be backdated beyond the date of the application (s.25(4) RTA) and continues in force for a maximum period of 6 months (s.26(1)(a) RTA).
The tenant is required to establish the claim to the civil law standard of proof, on the balance of probabilities.
On 11 November 2024, the tenant received a notice of rent review increasing weekly rent from $280.00 to $550.00.
The tenant says that rent should be below lower quartile due to the age of the property and maintenance issues. The tenant says the house was built in the 1950’s, it is cold, the roof needs replacing, drains block in heavy rain, the shower over the bath needs a safety rail, the back step needs attention, windowsills are rotten, there is some peeling paintwork inside and out, and the kitchen lino is coming apart. The tenant says that the house next door has been taken over by the local Iwi and their rent is $360.00. The tenant says that the houses are identical so the rent should be the same.
The landlord says there has been no increase since 2019 and rent has been below market rent for a considerable time. The landlord says they looked at the lower quartile on Tenancy Services website and some comparisons, and they believe $550.00 as the lower quartile rent is appropriate. The landlord acknowledges there are some maintenance issues to be addressed, but the house is currently up to Healthy Homes standards. The landlord has provided a list of maintenance carried out since December 2017. The landlord confirmed they do not manage the house next door to the tenant.
I understand that for the tenant the increase is substantial and hard to accept as she has been living at the premises for nearly 36 years. I acknowledge that a weekly rent increase of 96% is substantial by any measure and there are maintenance issues which require attention. However, the issue for me to decide is whether the rent payable is substantially above market rent. The tenant faces the difficulty of establishing a comparison between the property in question and other tenancies and proving that rent exceeds market rent by a substantial amount.
The tenant relies on the fact this is a 1950’s property with what appears to be, some minor maintenance issues. However, while the age, size, location, presentation and facilities of a property is relevant, the tenant has not provided sufficient evidence to prove that rent for this property should be lower than the lower quartile. While I accept the tenant’s evidence that the house next door is lower rent, this could be for a multitude of reasons. The tenant has not provided any evidence of any other comparable properties in the locality.
Tenancy Services market rent statistics for the [Town] area for a 3-bed house currently record the lower quartile as $575.00, median as $600.00 and upper $645.00 for a total of 246 active bonds. It appears that the lower quartile has increased by $25.00 since the landlord sent their notice of rent increase.
I have considered the evidence presented by both parties. While I sympathise with the very difficult position the tenant finds themselves with such a significant weekly increase, I find they have not proved to the requisite standard that rent payable exceeds market rent by a substantial amount.
As the claim is not proven it must be dismissed.
Both parties agree to mutual name suppression.

Tenancy Tribunal case 5073188 — Healthy homes

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 5073188 — Healthy homes

At a glance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Key findings

Frequently asked questions