What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 5127871?

The tribunal order states: Mary Elizabeth Cook must pay Finest Property Management Limited $2,699.43

How much money was awarded in case 5127871?

Cleaning: $687.00 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to landlord; Smoke Alarms: $114.00 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $2,871.43 awarded to landlord; Rubbish Removal: $1,000.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5127871?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears. Related themes: Cleanliness, Smoke alarms.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5127871?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11876711-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 5127871?

The tribunal order states: Mary Elizabeth Cook must pay Finest Property Management Limited $2,699.43

How much money was awarded in case 5127871?

Cleaning: $687.00 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to landlord; Smoke Alarms: $114.00 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $2,871.43 awarded to landlord; Rubbish Removal: $1,000.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5127871?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears. Related themes: Cleanliness, Smoke alarms.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5127871?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11876711-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

82 Aotea Crescent, Tokoroa 3420 Tenancy Tribunal Case 5127871 — Rent arrears

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82 Aotea Crescent, Tokoroa 3420 Tenancy Tribunal Case 5127871 — Rent arrears | 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 5127871 — net $2,699.43 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 27.1.25	$2,871.43	Rent arrears to 27.1.25
Cleaning	$687.00	Cleaning
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Rubbish removal	$1,000.00	Rubbish removal
Light bulbs/batteries: smoke alarms	$114.00	Light bulbs/batteries: smoke alarms
Net award	$2,699.43
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$2,699.43

Claims and awards for application 5127871 — net $2,699.43 NZD. Verify on MoJ.

Rent arrears to 27.1.25

Amount: $2,871.43
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Rent arrears to 27.1.25

Cleaning

Amount: $687.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Cleaning

Filing fee reimbursement

Amount: $27.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Filing fee reimbursement

Rubbish removal

Amount: $1,000.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Rubbish removal

Light bulbs/batteries: smoke alarms

Amount: $114.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Light bulbs/batteries: smoke alarms

Claim types — money lines allowed on this order

Cleanliness Filing Fee Replace Smoke Alarms Rent arrears Rubbish Removal

Order

Mary Elizabeth Cook must pay Finest Property Management Limited $2,699.43 immediately, calculated as shown in table below.
The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $2,000.00 (3318798-005) to Finest Property Management Limited immediately.

Reasons

Only the landlord attended the hearing. Three calls were placed to the tenant. The first call appeared as if it may have connected but then the second two went to voicemail.
The landlord has applied for rent arrears, compensation, refund of the bond, and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy.

How much is owed for rent?

The tenancy ended on 17 January 2025. The landlord provided rent records and water rates invoices which prove the amount owing at the end of the tenancy as ordered above.

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) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The tenant did not leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy, and did not remove all rubbish.
The tenant removed smoke alarms from the property.
The amounts ordered above are proven.

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 the tenant damaged the carpet during the tenancy by staining the carpet in a large number of areas throughout the house.
The landlord said the carpet was only one year old at the outset of the tenancy however photographs produced showing the condition of the property at the beginning of the tenancy show it even then in a very stained condition. Those photographs are themselves not very detailed and are fairly grainy in parts. They are only of a limited number.
The landlord has failed to prove on the balance of probabilities that the carpet was stained during the tenancy by the tenant.
This claim is therefore declined. Even if I had accepted the landlord’s claim I would have had to have taken into account depreciation. I would have wanted to see an invoice for the cost of the carpet when it was initially purchased.
Because Finest Property Management Limited has substantially succeeded with the claim I have reimbursed the filing fee. It does not seek name suppression.

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 5127871 — net $2,699.43 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 27.1.25	$2,871.43	Rent arrears to 27.1.25
Cleaning	$687.00	Cleaning
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Rubbish removal	$1,000.00	Rubbish removal
Light bulbs/batteries: smoke alarms	$114.00	Light bulbs/batteries: smoke alarms
Net award	$2,699.43
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$2,699.43

Claims and awards for application 5127871 — net $2,699.43 NZD. Verify on MoJ.

Rent arrears to 27.1.25

Amount: $2,871.43
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Rent arrears to 27.1.25

Cleaning

Amount: $687.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Cleaning

Filing fee reimbursement

Amount: $27.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Filing fee reimbursement

Rubbish removal

Amount: $1,000.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Rubbish removal

Light bulbs/batteries: smoke alarms

Amount: $114.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Light bulbs/batteries: smoke alarms

Claim types — money lines allowed on this order

Cleanliness Filing Fee Replace Smoke Alarms Rent arrears Rubbish Removal

Order

Mary Elizabeth Cook must pay Finest Property Management Limited $2,699.43 immediately, calculated as shown in table below.
The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $2,000.00 (3318798-005) to Finest Property Management Limited immediately.

Reasons

Only the landlord attended the hearing. Three calls were placed to the tenant. The first call appeared as if it may have connected but then the second two went to voicemail.
The landlord has applied for rent arrears, compensation, refund of the bond, and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy.

How much is owed for rent?

The tenancy ended on 17 January 2025. The landlord provided rent records and water rates invoices which prove the amount owing at the end of the tenancy as ordered above.

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) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The tenant did not leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy, and did not remove all rubbish.
The tenant removed smoke alarms from the property.
The amounts ordered above are proven.

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 the tenant damaged the carpet during the tenancy by staining the carpet in a large number of areas throughout the house.
The landlord said the carpet was only one year old at the outset of the tenancy however photographs produced showing the condition of the property at the beginning of the tenancy show it even then in a very stained condition. Those photographs are themselves not very detailed and are fairly grainy in parts. They are only of a limited number.
The landlord has failed to prove on the balance of probabilities that the carpet was stained during the tenancy by the tenant.
This claim is therefore declined. Even if I had accepted the landlord’s claim I would have had to have taken into account depreciation. I would have wanted to see an invoice for the cost of the carpet when it was initially purchased.
Because Finest Property Management Limited has substantially succeeded with the claim I have reimbursed the filing fee. It does not seek name suppression.

Tenancy Tribunal case 5127871 — Rent arrears at 82 Aotea Crescent, Tokoroa 3420

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 5127871 — Rent arrears at 82 Aotea Crescent, Tokoroa 3420

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

How much is owed for rent?

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

Property management

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

How much is owed for rent?

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

Property management

Frequently asked questions