What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5092914 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 5092914?

Cleaning: $345.00 awarded to landlord; Cleaning: $500.00 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to landlord; Lawns and Garden Work: $327.75 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $218.50 awarded to landlord; Rubbish Removal: $207.00 awarded to landlord; Rubbish Removal: $464.60 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5092914?

The primary dispute was Cleanliness. Related themes: Property damage.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5092914?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11727150-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5092914 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 5092914?

Cleaning: $345.00 awarded to landlord; Cleaning: $500.00 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to landlord; Lawns and Garden Work: $327.75 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $218.50 awarded to landlord; Rubbish Removal: $207.00 awarded to landlord; Rubbish Removal: $464.60 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5092914?

The primary dispute was Cleanliness. Related themes: Property damage.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5092914?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11727150-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 5092914 — Cleanliness

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New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 5092914 — Cleanliness | TenantCheck

Claims & awards

What this tenancy cost at tribunal — claim, category, amount, and party awarded, with reconciled net total.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5092914 — net $2,089.85 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rubbish removal	$207.00	Rubbish removal
Rubbish removal	$464.60	Rubbish removal
Cleaning	$500.00	Cleaning
Carpet Cleaning	$345.00	Carpet Cleaning
Lawns and Garden work	$327.75	Lawns and Garden work
Lock/key replacement	$218.50	Lock/key replacement
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$2,089.85
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$2,089.85

Claims and awards for application 5092914 — net $2,089.85 NZD. Verify on MoJ.

Rubbish removal

Amount: $207.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Rubbish removal

Rubbish removal

Amount: $464.60
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Rubbish removal

Cleaning

Amount: $500.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Cleaning

Carpet Cleaning

Amount: $345.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Carpet Cleaning

Lawns and Garden work

Amount: $327.75
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Lawns and Garden work

Lock/key replacement

Claim types — money lines allowed on this order

Carpet Cleaning Cleanliness Filing Fee Lawns And Garden Work Property damage Rubbish Removal

Order

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of the Landlord’s name and identifying details.
Otis Conaghan must pay [The landlord/s] $2,089.85 immediately, calculated as shown in table below.

Reasons

The landlord attended this video hearing.
The tenant did not attend the hearing by Teams video link. A telephone call was made to the tenant on the number provided at the allocated hearing time. The call went to voicemail. The Tribunal may hear matters in the absence of a party where satisfied that notice of the hearing has been given. I am satisfied that notice of the hearing was given.
This matter was part heard by the Tribunal on 25 February 2025. The matter was adjourned for further consideration of the landlord’s compensation claims.
The landlord has applied for compensation and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy.

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

Landlords are required to provide the premises to the tenant at the start of the tenancy in a reasonable state of cleanliness (see s 45(1)(a) RTA). Tenants must keep the premises reasonably clean and tidy during the tenancy, and they must return them in a reasonably clean and tidy state and remove their rubbish at the end of the tenancy (ss 40(1)(c) and (e)(iii) Residential Tenancies Act 1986) (“RTA”).
In Ace Property Management v Owens (DC Wellington, CIV-2008-085-14441, 17 December 2008) the District Court said: A tenant’s obligation pursuant to the Act to leave a property in a “reasonably clean and reasonably tidy condition” does not mean that it will necessarily be up to a standard that a landlord may consider for a new tenant. It is a mistake for landlords to confuse those two matters”.
The RTA does not require the premises to be provided or returned in a spotless or an immaculate condition. The standard is based on what an average bystander would consider reasonable; not on the subjective opinions of the landlord and tenant. There is no scientific way to determine what is reasonably clean and tidy, and the Tribunal must evaluate the evidence available, and in particular inspection reports and photographs.
The tenant did not leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy, and did not remove all rubbish.
Nitrous oxide bottles had been left at the premises at the end of the tenancy. The landlord contacted their normal rubbish removal contractor to remove the bottles. The contractor was not prepared to remove the bottles as they are a hazardous substance. A specialist contractor was engaged. An invoice was provided for $207.00. The landlord provided further photos and an invoice for $464.60 for rubbish removal that did not require the services of a specialist contractor.
The landlord provided photos of the premises which show that it had not been left reasonably clean and tidy. The landlord indicated that this was the only cleaning carried out between the end of this tenancy and the commencement of the new tenancy. The amount claimed for cleaning was $747.50. It is generally accepted by the Tribunal that the standard of reasonably clean and tidy, which the tenant is required to attain, is lower than the standard generally acceptable for premises at the commencement of a new tenancy. In those circumstances and having reviewed the photos provided by the landlord, I order compensation to the landlord of $500.00 for cleaning. A further $345.00 was claimed for having the carpets commercially cleaned. The cleaning was not required due to the carpets being dirty, but because of what the landlord referred to as a very strong odour that had not been present at the commencement of the tenancy.
The landlord provided photos of the exterior of the premises and an invoice in support of a claim for gardening of $327.75. The photos indicate that the exterior of the premises were in a poor condition at the end of the tenancy.
The tenant did not return the keys. The landlord provided an invoice from the locksmith for $218.50.
The amounts ordered are proven and are reasonable.
As [The applicant/s] has substantially succeeded with the claim I have ordered the tenant to reimburse the filing fee.
The landlord applied for name suppression. The landlord has been substantially successful in these proceedings and suppression of the landlord’s name and details is ordered.

Claims & awards

What this tenancy cost at tribunal — claim, category, amount, and party awarded, with reconciled net total.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5092914 — net $2,089.85 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rubbish removal	$207.00	Rubbish removal
Rubbish removal	$464.60	Rubbish removal
Cleaning	$500.00	Cleaning
Carpet Cleaning	$345.00	Carpet Cleaning
Lawns and Garden work	$327.75	Lawns and Garden work
Lock/key replacement	$218.50	Lock/key replacement
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$2,089.85
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$2,089.85

Claims and awards for application 5092914 — net $2,089.85 NZD. Verify on MoJ.

Rubbish removal

Amount: $207.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Rubbish removal

Rubbish removal

Amount: $464.60
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Rubbish removal

Cleaning

Amount: $500.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Cleaning

Carpet Cleaning

Amount: $345.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Carpet Cleaning

Lawns and Garden work

Amount: $327.75
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Lawns and Garden work

Lock/key replacement

Claim types — money lines allowed on this order

Carpet Cleaning Cleanliness Filing Fee Lawns And Garden Work Property damage Rubbish Removal

Order

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of the Landlord’s name and identifying details.
Otis Conaghan must pay [The landlord/s] $2,089.85 immediately, calculated as shown in table below.

Reasons

The landlord attended this video hearing.
The tenant did not attend the hearing by Teams video link. A telephone call was made to the tenant on the number provided at the allocated hearing time. The call went to voicemail. The Tribunal may hear matters in the absence of a party where satisfied that notice of the hearing has been given. I am satisfied that notice of the hearing was given.
This matter was part heard by the Tribunal on 25 February 2025. The matter was adjourned for further consideration of the landlord’s compensation claims.
The landlord has applied for compensation and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy.

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

Landlords are required to provide the premises to the tenant at the start of the tenancy in a reasonable state of cleanliness (see s 45(1)(a) RTA). Tenants must keep the premises reasonably clean and tidy during the tenancy, and they must return them in a reasonably clean and tidy state and remove their rubbish at the end of the tenancy (ss 40(1)(c) and (e)(iii) Residential Tenancies Act 1986) (“RTA”).
In Ace Property Management v Owens (DC Wellington, CIV-2008-085-14441, 17 December 2008) the District Court said: A tenant’s obligation pursuant to the Act to leave a property in a “reasonably clean and reasonably tidy condition” does not mean that it will necessarily be up to a standard that a landlord may consider for a new tenant. It is a mistake for landlords to confuse those two matters”.
The RTA does not require the premises to be provided or returned in a spotless or an immaculate condition. The standard is based on what an average bystander would consider reasonable; not on the subjective opinions of the landlord and tenant. There is no scientific way to determine what is reasonably clean and tidy, and the Tribunal must evaluate the evidence available, and in particular inspection reports and photographs.
The tenant did not leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy, and did not remove all rubbish.
Nitrous oxide bottles had been left at the premises at the end of the tenancy. The landlord contacted their normal rubbish removal contractor to remove the bottles. The contractor was not prepared to remove the bottles as they are a hazardous substance. A specialist contractor was engaged. An invoice was provided for $207.00. The landlord provided further photos and an invoice for $464.60 for rubbish removal that did not require the services of a specialist contractor.
The landlord provided photos of the premises which show that it had not been left reasonably clean and tidy. The landlord indicated that this was the only cleaning carried out between the end of this tenancy and the commencement of the new tenancy. The amount claimed for cleaning was $747.50. It is generally accepted by the Tribunal that the standard of reasonably clean and tidy, which the tenant is required to attain, is lower than the standard generally acceptable for premises at the commencement of a new tenancy. In those circumstances and having reviewed the photos provided by the landlord, I order compensation to the landlord of $500.00 for cleaning. A further $345.00 was claimed for having the carpets commercially cleaned. The cleaning was not required due to the carpets being dirty, but because of what the landlord referred to as a very strong odour that had not been present at the commencement of the tenancy.
The landlord provided photos of the exterior of the premises and an invoice in support of a claim for gardening of $327.75. The photos indicate that the exterior of the premises were in a poor condition at the end of the tenancy.
The tenant did not return the keys. The landlord provided an invoice from the locksmith for $218.50.
The amounts ordered are proven and are reasonable.
As [The applicant/s] has substantially succeeded with the claim I have ordered the tenant to reimburse the filing fee.
The landlord applied for name suppression. The landlord has been substantially successful in these proceedings and suppression of the landlord’s name and details is ordered.

Tenancy Tribunal case 5092914 — Cleanliness

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 5092914 — Cleanliness

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

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

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

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

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions