Published tribunal order
Tenancy Tribunal case 5103768 — Tenancy dispute at [Street address]
Decided 12 Mar 2025 · Published 12 Mar 2025 · Application 5103768
- Healthy homes
- Smoke alarms
Party names are redacted in the official published order.
Order
- The tenants’ names and identifying details including the tenancy address must not be published.
- Central West Property Management Limited must pay [The tenant/s] $686.01 immediately, as calculated in the table below.
- Until the landlord installs a power tick-meter for the sump pump, the landlord must reimburse the tenants for 10 percent of their power costs for the months of June through to November, inclusive. Once the landlord installs a tick-meter, the landlord must reimburse the tenants for the sump pump’s power costs.
- All other claims are dismissed
Reasons
- The tenants attended the hearing in person.
- Daisy Hu attended for the landlord.
- The tenants claim the landlord failed to insulate the premises at the beginning of the tenancy and that the landlord operates a water pump to prevent flooding from the tenants’ own power supply. They seek orders for compensation and a declaration that the landlord compensate them for accessing their power.
- The landlord claims for water arrears.
Did the landlord failed to insulate the premises?
- The tenants claim that the landlord has breached the obligations under section 45(1)(bb) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 by failing to insulate the premises in accordance with the Residential Tenancies (Smoke Alarms and Insulation) Regulations 2016.
- From 1 July 2019, all residential premises must be insulated to a minimum standard. Where the premises were insulated before 1 July 2016, the ceiling insulation must have an R-value of at least 1.9 (or 1.5 for houses of a brick or concrete block construction). The underfloor insulation must have an R-value of at least 0.9. The insulation must be in reasonable condition.
- Where insulation is installed after 1 July 2016, the minimum R-value for ceiling insulation is 2.9 in Zones 1 and 2, and 3.3 for Zone 3 (Zone 3 covers the South Island and central North Island). The minimum R-value for underfloor insulation is 1.3.
- There are exceptions to these requirements, for example, where it is not reasonably practicable, or where there is a habitable space above or below the ceiling or floor that would otherwise have to be insulated.
- The landlord failed to ensure the premises was insulated to the required standard at the beginning of the tenancy on 17 March 2023.
- The landlord did have the insulation remediated on 10 May 2023.
- I am satisfied the tenant’s suffered loss of amenity for that approximately eight- week period.
- I quantify the loss of amenity and additional power cost at five percent of the weekly rent for that period. The total amount is $318.21.
Is the landlord liable to the tenants for using their power?
- The landlord has a water pump set up to drain excessive rainwater from a sump. It is an effective system that prevents the premises from flooding.
- This is a maintenance matter, which the landlord is obliged to attend to. The tenant should not have to pay for the cost of running the pump.
- There is not separate tick-meter to measure the water pump’s power usage.
- I am going to order the landlord to reimburse the tenants in the order of 10 percent of their power cost in the wetter six months of the year which I estimate to be $28.40 per month based on the tenants’ power costs for the six months to November last year.
- The tenants have been in the premises for two Winters. That is 12 months. The total amount ordered is $340.80.
- Until the landlord installs a power tick-meter for the sump pump, the landlord must reimburse the tenants for 10 percent of their power cost for the months of June through to November, inclusive.
Are the tenants liable to the landlord for water arrears?
- The landlord seeks an order for water. However, the landlord failed to issue the tenants with water invoices until about a year ago.
- The tenants submit they should not have to pay historic water invoices.
- Landlords must ensure water invoices are regularly provided to their tenants. There is an implied term in a tenancy agreement that a landlord must present water rates invoices to tenants as they fall due. The District Court has found that if invoices are only provided at the end of the tenancy, then the tenant is likely to be found liable to pay for only the last couple of the invoices. 1
- I have regard also to the substantial merits and justice of the case in accordance with s 85(2) of the RTA. I consider it is fair and in accordance with the substantial merits and justice of this case to decline to require the tenants to make payment towards the cost of water prior to the April 2024 invoice.
- My calculation is that the tenants owe $415.32 for water up to the latest invoice dated 5 March 2025. 1 Woollams v Simpson DC Auckland CIV-2005-004-1583,16 March 2006 at [20]. Filing fee
- The tenants having substantially succeeded in their claim, the landlord must reimburse them for the filing fee.