What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5088768 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 5088768?

Cleaning: $368.00 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to landlord; Lounge Painting: $172.50 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $9,986.43 awarded to landlord; Water Rates: $511.52 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5088768?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears. Related themes: Cleanliness.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5088768?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11899932-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5088768 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 5088768?

Cleaning: $368.00 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to landlord; Lounge Painting: $172.50 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $9,986.43 awarded to landlord; Water Rates: $511.52 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5088768?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears. Related themes: Cleanliness.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5088768?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11899932-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 5088768 — Rent arrears

Tenantcheck Insights

Reasons

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5088768 — net $7,605.45 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 31 January 2025	$9,986.43	Rent arrears to 31 January 2025
Water rates	$511.52	Water rates
Lounge painting	$172.50	Lounge painting
Cleaning and gardening	$368.00	Cleaning and gardening
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$7,605.45
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$7,605.45

Both parties attended the hearing. Background

The fixed term tenancy commenced on 17 March 2024 and was due to end on 22 March 2025.

The tenant stopped paying rent in November 2024 and the landlord issued a 14-day notice to remedy the tenant breach.

The landlord says that when the tenant stopped paying rent for a period, they went to the property and discovered there were no longer any belongings at the property.

They contacted the tenant who advised them he wanted to end the tenancy and the landlord told the tenant that as it was a fixed term tenancy he would be responsible for paying break lease fees and rent until a new tenant was found.

The landlord accordingly seeks rent until a new tenant was found (31 January 2025), together with outstanding water rates and vacated damages.

The tenant says that he was forced to vacate the property early due to unresolved maintenance and health and safety issues with the property including the front sliding door, hot water and stove and as a result he should not be required to pay rent until a new tenant was found. He has provided evidence of raising maintenance items for repair through the tenancy.

The tenant says that although he accepts rent is payable until late December 2024, he does not accept that he is liable for any rent after this date.

The keys were provided to the landlord on 23 December 2025.

How much is owed for rent and water rates?

No evidence has been provided that the tenant gave any formal written notice to vacate the tenancy. It appears from the correspondence that in late 2024 and early 2025, the landlord knew the tenant wanted to end the fixed term tenancy, and I am satisfied that the tenant was advised of the implications of doing so.

The landlord advised that they advertised as soon as possible and worked to find a replacement tenant, however it was the Christmas/New Year period which made it difficult.

Although the tenant has said they the property left due to outstanding maintenance, I cannot see any formal notice given to the landlord of the same. Text messages in March, June and October 2024 show that maintenance items were raised and although some may have taken a few weeks to resolve, they were remedied by the landlord.

The tenant had essentially abandoned the property. I am therefore satisfied that they are liable for rent until the end of the rental period or when a new tenant was found. See section 61(3) Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA).

The landlord advises that a new tenant was found for the property on 1 February 2025.

The tenancy therefore ended on 31 January 2025. The landlord provided rent records and water rates invoices which prove the amounts owing of $9,986.43 for rent and $511.52 for outstanding water rates at the end of the tenancy.

Did the tenant comply with their obligations at the end of the tenancy?

At the end of the tenancy the tenant must leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy, remove all rubbish, return all keys and security devices, and leave all chattels provided for their benefit. See section 40(1)(e)(ii)-(v) RTA.

The landlord claims that the tenant did not leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy, and they were required to carry out additional cleaning work. This included cleaning to the kitchen floor, living room walls, bathrooms, ceilings, stove and oven at an invoiced cost of $230.00. There was also garden weeding and lawn mowing required at a cost of $138.00. Photographs have been provided in support of these claims.

The tenant disputes this claim and says that they engaged professional cleaners and that they had done the gardening work prior to leaving the property.

I have reviewed the photographs provided and have determined that further cleaning and gardening was required to reach the level of reasonably clean and tidy.

The amounts ordered are proved.

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

A landlord must prove that damage to the premises occurred during the tenancy and is more than fair wear and tear. If this is established, to avoid liability, the tenant must prove they did not carelessly or intentionally cause or permit the damage. Tenants are liable for the actions of people at the premises with their permission. See sections 40(2)(a), 41 and 49B RTA.

Where the damage is careless, and occurs after 27 August 2019, section 49B RTA applies. If the landlord becomes aware of the damage after 27 August, the damage is presumed to have occurred after that date unless the tenant proves otherwise.

Where the damage is caused carelessly, and is covered by the landlord's insurance, the tenant's liability is limited to the lesser of the insurance excess or four weeks' rent (or four weeks' market rent in the case of a tenant paying income-related rent). See section 49B(3)(a) RTA.

Where the damage is careless and is not covered by the landlord's insurance, the tenant's liability is limited to four weeks' rent (or market rent). See section 49B(3)(b) RTA. Where insurance money is irrecoverable because of the tenant's conduct, the property is treated as if it is not insured against the damage. See section 49B(3A)(a) RTA.

Tenants are liable for the cost of repairing damage that is intentional or which results from any activity at the premises that is an imprisonable offence. This applies to anything the tenant does and anything done by a person they are responsible for. See section 49B(1) RTA.

Damage is intentional where a person intends to cause damage and takes the necessary steps to achieve that purpose. Damage is also intentional where a person does something, or allows a situation to continue, knowing that damage is a certainty. See Guo v Korck [2019] NZHC 1541.

The landlord claims for repair works to rectify damage caused by the tenant to the sliding door, outside gate and living room wall.

The landlord says that the damage to the outside gate was through careless or rough use and cost $115.00 to repair. In addition, the inside sliding door appeared as though someone had tried to smash it in. They say repair was required amounting to $172.50.

In addition, in the living room, painting was done to a wall, but it was a different colour to the rest of the room and so remedial painting was required at a cost of $172.50.

The tenant doesn’t dispute the painting claim, but disputes the other items, and says that when they were last at the property in December 2024, the outside gate was not damaged and that they had raised previous concerns about the sliding door, which they say was maintenance work rather than caused by anything they did. They have provided copies of correspondence raising concerns about the sliding door.

I have reviewed the photographs and can see that the hinge of the outside gate was old and rusted, and it is likely that this could have been damaged through reasonable use. In my view, this was more likely than not to be fair wear and tear, or landlord’s general maintenance and this claim is dismissed.

With respect to the sliding door, I can see from the correspondence that the tenant has provided that this was an issue earlier in the tenancy. In my view, the tenant has proven that this was landlord maintenance or fair wear and tear, and this claim is also dismissed.

The claim for painting has been accepted by the tenant, and it is also evident in the provided photographs. The amount of $172.50 is awarded for this.

The following damage was caused during the tenancy: lounge wall (painting disparity). The damage is more than fair wear and tear, and the tenant has not disproved liability for the damage.

The amounts ordered are proved.

Because [The applicant/s] has wholly succeeded with the claim I must reimburse the filing fee.

Both parties sought name suppression. As the landlord has been wholly successful, this is awarded to the landlord. The tenant has not proven that their interests outweigh the public interest of publication and as a result I have declined to award the tenant name suppression. See section 95A of the RTA. R Harvey-Lane 27 May 2025

Reasons

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5088768 — net $7,605.45 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 31 January 2025	$9,986.43	Rent arrears to 31 January 2025
Water rates	$511.52	Water rates
Lounge painting	$172.50	Lounge painting
Cleaning and gardening	$368.00	Cleaning and gardening
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$7,605.45
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$7,605.45

Both parties attended the hearing. Background

The fixed term tenancy commenced on 17 March 2024 and was due to end on 22 March 2025.

The tenant stopped paying rent in November 2024 and the landlord issued a 14-day notice to remedy the tenant breach.

The landlord says that when the tenant stopped paying rent for a period, they went to the property and discovered there were no longer any belongings at the property.

The landlord accordingly seeks rent until a new tenant was found (31 January 2025), together with outstanding water rates and vacated damages.

The tenant says that although he accepts rent is payable until late December 2024, he does not accept that he is liable for any rent after this date.

The keys were provided to the landlord on 23 December 2025.

How much is owed for rent and water rates?

The landlord advised that they advertised as soon as possible and worked to find a replacement tenant, however it was the Christmas/New Year period which made it difficult.

The landlord advises that a new tenant was found for the property on 1 February 2025.

Did the tenant comply with their obligations at the end of the tenancy?

The tenant disputes this claim and says that they engaged professional cleaners and that they had done the gardening work prior to leaving the property.

I have reviewed the photographs provided and have determined that further cleaning and gardening was required to reach the level of reasonably clean and tidy.

The amounts ordered are proved.

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

The landlord claims for repair works to rectify damage caused by the tenant to the sliding door, outside gate and living room wall.

In addition, in the living room, painting was done to a wall, but it was a different colour to the rest of the room and so remedial painting was required at a cost of $172.50.

The claim for painting has been accepted by the tenant, and it is also evident in the provided photographs. The amount of $172.50 is awarded for this.

The following damage was caused during the tenancy: lounge wall (painting disparity). The damage is more than fair wear and tear, and the tenant has not disproved liability for the damage.

The amounts ordered are proved.

Because [The applicant/s] has wholly succeeded with the claim I must reimburse the filing fee.

Tenancy Tribunal case 5088768 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 5088768 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

How much is owed for rent and water rates?

Did the tenant comply with their obligations at the end of the tenancy?

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

How much is owed for rent and water rates?

Did the tenant comply with their obligations at the end of the tenancy?

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions