What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5081628 about?

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

How much money was awarded in case 5081628?

Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $3,900.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5081628?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5081628?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11592946-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5081628 about?

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

How much money was awarded in case 5081628?

Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $3,900.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5081628?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5081628?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11592946-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 5081628 — Rent arrears

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5081628 — net $3,927.00 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 27.10.2024	$3,900.00	Rent arrears to 27.10.2024
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$3,927.00
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$3,927.00

Order

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of the landlord’s name and identifying details.
Fabio Mohammadi Amir Sorena must pay [The landlord/s] $3,927.00 immediately, calculated as shown in the table below:
All other claims are dismissed.

Reasons

[The landlord/s] attended the teleconference hearing. The phone number for the tenant, the last three digits being 007, was called twice without any response. Another phone number for the tenant, the last three digits being 005 was also called without response. As the tenant was served, the hearing proceeded in his absence.
The landlord has applied for rent arrears, compensation and for reimbursement of the filing fee.
The landlord said the tenancy ended on 27 October 2024, despite it being a fixed-term tenancy which was to go until 1 March 2025. [The landlord/s] said the tenant gave him 3 weeks’ notice, which he said went to 27 October 2024. [The landlord/s] said he managed to re-tenant the property towards the end of November 2024.
The landlord has provided rent records which prove the amount owing to 27 October 2024, which is $3,900.00. The landlord confirmed his rent arrears claim only goes up to 27 October 2024. Agent’s letting fee claim
The landlord said that, because there was a fixed-term tenancy, he had to retain an agent to find another tenant for him as soon as possible. He said he had to agree to a reduced rent because of this, at $595.00 per week, rather than the weekly rent of this tenancy, which was $650.00. The landlord said the property management firm that assists him with the tenancy, sent him an invoice for $1,190.00, which was the equivalent of 2 weeks’ rent at the lower new weekly rent of $595.00, to find him a new tenant. The landlord said he wanted to claim $747.50 for paying to have the agent find him a new tenant, which was one week’s rent for this tenancy @ $650.00, plus GST. This of course differs from the invoice provided from the property management firm to find a tenant, even if that invoiced is halved. There was no evidence of the landlord disputing the notice period given by the tenant.
Parties enter into a fixed term tenancy for security. For tenants this is security of tenure; they can be sure they have a home for at least the agreed term. For landlords it is security of income; they can rely on a set amount of income from their investment.
If a tenant defaults on that contract, and the landlord accepts the repudiation, then the tenancy ends on the terms agreed. In such a situation of surrender the landlord does not have to agree and can stipulate terms provided they are reasonable.
The requirements around recovery of expenses incurred by a landlord when agreeing to end a fixed term tenancy early are set out in section 44A of the RTA. S44A states that a landlord is entitled to recover from an outgoing tenant any expenses reasonably incurred by the landlord in respect of the agreement.
There is no clause in the tenancy agreement that provides for the payment by the tenant of any specified expenses or costs in the event of the tenant breaking a fixed-term tenancy. The landlord acknowledged this.
Given there was no evidence that the landlord disputed the tenant giving the notice period he did, I find the landlord is deemed to have accepted the repudiation of the contract by the tenant.
The landlord did not provide any evidence of the tenant agreeing to pay for re- tenanting expenses. Even if the landlord had done so, he would need to comply with the requirements of section 44A RTA.
Section 44A(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (“RTA”) provides that a landlord who consents to termination of the tenancy by the tenant, in accordance with section 50(1)(d), is entitled to recover from the outgoing tenant any expenses reasonably incurred by the landlord in respect of the parting with possession or termination.
Subsection 44A(2) RTA provides that a landlord who seeks to recover expenses from a tenant in accordance with subsection (1) must first provide an itemised account of the expenses to the tenant.
The landlord did not provide any evidence of any itemised account of such expenses given to the tenant by him.
Subsection 44A(3) RTA provides that a landlord who takes any step to recover expenses referred to in subsection (1) without providing an itemised account of expenses to the tenant commits an unlawful act.
I have found the landlord did not provide any evidence of disputing the tenant’s notice period given, and so is deemed to have accepted the tenant’s repudiation of the contract, nor did he provide any evidence of any agreement by the tenant to pay any re-tenanting expenses. Thus, I find the landlord has not proved the claim for the agent’s letting fee and dismiss this claim. Filing fee
Because [The landlord/s] has been mostly successful with the claim I must reimburse the filing fee. Suppression
The landlord requested name suppression. As he has been mostly successful with the claim, the landlord is entitled to name suppression. Therefore, I order that the landlord’s name and identifying details and the tenancy address are not to be published.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5081628 — net $3,927.00 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 27.10.2024	$3,900.00	Rent arrears to 27.10.2024
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$3,927.00
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$3,927.00

Order

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of the landlord’s name and identifying details.
Fabio Mohammadi Amir Sorena must pay [The landlord/s] $3,927.00 immediately, calculated as shown in the table below:
All other claims are dismissed.

Reasons

[The landlord/s] attended the teleconference hearing. The phone number for the tenant, the last three digits being 007, was called twice without any response. Another phone number for the tenant, the last three digits being 005 was also called without response. As the tenant was served, the hearing proceeded in his absence.
The landlord has applied for rent arrears, compensation and for reimbursement of the filing fee.
The landlord said the tenancy ended on 27 October 2024, despite it being a fixed-term tenancy which was to go until 1 March 2025. [The landlord/s] said the tenant gave him 3 weeks’ notice, which he said went to 27 October 2024. [The landlord/s] said he managed to re-tenant the property towards the end of November 2024.
The landlord has provided rent records which prove the amount owing to 27 October 2024, which is $3,900.00. The landlord confirmed his rent arrears claim only goes up to 27 October 2024. Agent’s letting fee claim
The landlord said that, because there was a fixed-term tenancy, he had to retain an agent to find another tenant for him as soon as possible. He said he had to agree to a reduced rent because of this, at $595.00 per week, rather than the weekly rent of this tenancy, which was $650.00. The landlord said the property management firm that assists him with the tenancy, sent him an invoice for $1,190.00, which was the equivalent of 2 weeks’ rent at the lower new weekly rent of $595.00, to find him a new tenant. The landlord said he wanted to claim $747.50 for paying to have the agent find him a new tenant, which was one week’s rent for this tenancy @ $650.00, plus GST. This of course differs from the invoice provided from the property management firm to find a tenant, even if that invoiced is halved. There was no evidence of the landlord disputing the notice period given by the tenant.
Parties enter into a fixed term tenancy for security. For tenants this is security of tenure; they can be sure they have a home for at least the agreed term. For landlords it is security of income; they can rely on a set amount of income from their investment.
If a tenant defaults on that contract, and the landlord accepts the repudiation, then the tenancy ends on the terms agreed. In such a situation of surrender the landlord does not have to agree and can stipulate terms provided they are reasonable.
The requirements around recovery of expenses incurred by a landlord when agreeing to end a fixed term tenancy early are set out in section 44A of the RTA. S44A states that a landlord is entitled to recover from an outgoing tenant any expenses reasonably incurred by the landlord in respect of the agreement.
There is no clause in the tenancy agreement that provides for the payment by the tenant of any specified expenses or costs in the event of the tenant breaking a fixed-term tenancy. The landlord acknowledged this.
Given there was no evidence that the landlord disputed the tenant giving the notice period he did, I find the landlord is deemed to have accepted the repudiation of the contract by the tenant.
The landlord did not provide any evidence of the tenant agreeing to pay for re- tenanting expenses. Even if the landlord had done so, he would need to comply with the requirements of section 44A RTA.
Section 44A(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (“RTA”) provides that a landlord who consents to termination of the tenancy by the tenant, in accordance with section 50(1)(d), is entitled to recover from the outgoing tenant any expenses reasonably incurred by the landlord in respect of the parting with possession or termination.
Subsection 44A(2) RTA provides that a landlord who seeks to recover expenses from a tenant in accordance with subsection (1) must first provide an itemised account of the expenses to the tenant.
The landlord did not provide any evidence of any itemised account of such expenses given to the tenant by him.
Subsection 44A(3) RTA provides that a landlord who takes any step to recover expenses referred to in subsection (1) without providing an itemised account of expenses to the tenant commits an unlawful act.
I have found the landlord did not provide any evidence of disputing the tenant’s notice period given, and so is deemed to have accepted the tenant’s repudiation of the contract, nor did he provide any evidence of any agreement by the tenant to pay any re-tenanting expenses. Thus, I find the landlord has not proved the claim for the agent’s letting fee and dismiss this claim. Filing fee
Because [The landlord/s] has been mostly successful with the claim I must reimburse the filing fee. Suppression
The landlord requested name suppression. As he has been mostly successful with the claim, the landlord is entitled to name suppression. Therefore, I order that the landlord’s name and identifying details and the tenancy address are not to be published.

Tenancy Tribunal case 5081628 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 5081628 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Dismissed claims

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Dismissed claims

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions