What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5093769 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 5093769?

Property Damage: $800.00 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5093769?

The primary dispute was State of repair.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5093769?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11880190-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5093769 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 5093769?

Property Damage: $800.00 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5093769?

The primary dispute was State of repair.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5093769?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11880190-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

16 Wright Road, Point Chevalier, Auckland 1022 Tenancy Tribunal Case 5093769 — State of repair

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5093769 — net $800.00 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Tenant	Reason
Exemplary damages: Failure to maintain	$800.00	Failure to maintain
Net award	$800.00
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant	$800.00

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5093769 — net $800.00 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Tenant	Reason
Exemplary damages: Failure to maintain	$800.00	Failure to maintain
Net award	$800.00
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant	$800.00

Order

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of the Tenant name and identifying details.
An order is made granting the landlord access to the premises to carry out work on the roof after giving the tenant 14 days written notice.
By consent, the landlord must carry out the following work to the premises, which must be completed by 30 June 2025: a. Reinstate the concrete path to the washing line OR install a new washing line by the driveway and repair the area of the path to the old washing line with topsoil. b. Repair the laundry window which has no latch and is nailed shut. c. Repair the draughts in the two small top windows in the bedroom. d. Investigate whether the toilet seat is too small for the bowl and if it is replace it with one of the correct size.
Kāinga Ora–Homes And Communities must pay [The tenant/s] $800.00 immediately.
All remaining claims are dismissed.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
The landlord applied for an order providing access to investigate or carry out repairs or maintenance to the roof.
The tenant has applied for a work order, compensation and exemplary damages. Landlord application
The landlord sought half a day’s access to the roof of the premises. At the hearing the tenant agreed to provide access. The landlord is to give 14 days’ notice of when the access is required. Tenant application
The tenant claims that the landlord did not fix the concrete path to the washing line, repair the laundry window, fix the draughts from the bedroom window or check whether the toilet seat fit the bowl. The tenant wants the problem fixed.
Under section 45(1)(a) - (ca) Residential Tenancies Act 1986, the landlord has an obligation to provide and maintain certain standards and to comply with applicable requirements.
Where the Tribunal finds the landlord has failed to comply with any of these obligations, it may make an order for the landlord to carry out the work. See section 78(1)(e) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
If the work order is not being made by consent of both parties, the Tribunal must also make a monetary order as an alternative to compliance with the work order. This provision does not apply to any work order, or part of a work order, in relation to smoke alarms, insulation, a failure to comply with a standard of fitness under section 120C Health Act 1956, or a failure to comply with any health or safety legislative requirement. See sections 78(2) and 78(2AA) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

Has the landlord failed to comply with their obligations?

The path for the washing line and the window latch were to be repaired in 2022 but in December 2022 the work order was cancelled. The landlord had removed the path due to drainage work and it was never reinstated. The landlord said that the work order was cancelled because the trades couldn’t arrange access. The documents produced by the landlord do not show any evidence of access being denied by the tenant. The only reference to the access issues was an entry stating, “cancelled due to tenant’s behaviour as per MP’s notes”. The notes were not provided as evidence.
The tenant was not advised that the work order was cancelled until she phoned a month later (6 January 2023) to enquire about the work required. The communication records show that the tenant had phoned the landlord on many occasions about these issues.
The inspection carried out on 3 October 2024 shows the area where the path once was. The ground is uneven.
The tenant had requested that her bedroom window latch be repaired. The landlord did not repair it. As it was a window at the front of the premises the tenant moved the latch from the sitting room onto the bedroom window. Then the tenant put the latch from the laundry into the sitting room. At the time of the hearing the laundry window does not have a latch and the tenant has nailed the window shut for security and to prevent draughts.
The tenant said that there are draughts coming from the two small windows in the bedroom. The tenant has used duct tape to cover the gaps which cause draughts. The tenant said that she does not sleep in the bedroom as it is too cold and instead sleeps in the lounge where the heat pump is located.
The tenant reports that the toilet seat is too small for the bowl and comes away from the bowl.
The landlord has agreed to carry out the work by 30 June 2025. Compensation
The tenant sought compensation for costs for a venetian blind ($14) and a gate chain ($5) which the tenant said were broken by a contractor. These were broken in 2021 and 2022. The tenant did not provide any evidence that these were broken or of the cost to repair. Given the lack of evidence I am unable to award compensation. That claim is dismissed. Exemplary damages
[The tenant/s] claims that the landlord has breached their obligations under section 45 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
Under section 45, a landlord must provide and maintain the premises in a reasonable state of repair
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.
The landlord has failed to maintain the premises in relation to the footpath to the washing line and the window latch. I find they have committed an unlawful act.
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. See section 109(3) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The repairs were to be carried out on the footpath and the window latch in 2022 but the work order was cancelled. The tenant was not advised when the work order was cancelled. Instead, a month later she phoned the landlord to enquire about when the work was to be done. That is when she was advised. Prior to this the tenant had made many phone calls about the repairs.
The landlord has relied on the argument that the tenant has not allowed access. At the hearing no evidence was produced to support this from 2022 when the work order was cancelled.
Even if access proves challenging the landlord still has a responsibility to maintain the premises. The Act provides the landlord with the ability to give notice to attend to repairs. Where that is not successful the landlord can apply to the Tribunal, which it has done in relation to the work to be carried out on the roof.
This failure to maintain has had an impact on the tenant. She has some mobility issues and the uneven ground to the clothesline presents challenges for her. The uneven ground was created by the landlord’s contractors when they carried out drainage work so it should have been remedied at the time, not years later.
In relation to the window latch this has impacted on the tenant’s safety and warmth in the premises. She has used other latches in the premises to replace the broken one. The tenant should not have needed to carry out this work.
In the circumstances I consider that exemplary damages are warranted and that an award of $800.00 is reasonable.
The tenant claimed for exemplary damages for several other alleged unlawful acts, but I determine that the acts were either not unlawful or the date of commission of the unlawful acts were more than 12 months prior to the tenant’s application and therefore section 109(2)(b) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 applies and the applications cannot be made. Those claims are dismissed.
Because both parties have had some success with their applications I make no award for reimbursement of the filing fee. For the same reason I suppress the tenant’s name as sought.

Tenancy Tribunal case 5093769 — State of repair at 16 Wright Road, Point Chevalier, Auckland 1022

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 5093769 — State of repair at 16 Wright Road, Point Chevalier, Auckland 1022

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Has the landlord failed to comply with their obligations?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Property management

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Has the landlord failed to comply with their obligations?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Property management

Frequently asked questions