What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5138670 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 5138670?

Break Lease Reasonable Costs: $460.00 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $400.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5138670?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5138670?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11591377-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5138670 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 5138670?

Break Lease Reasonable Costs: $460.00 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $400.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5138670?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5138670?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11591377-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 5138670 — Rent arrears

Reasons

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5138670 — net $887.00 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears (one week of rent for the week 8 to 14 January 2025	$400.00	Rent arrears (one week of rent for the week 8 to 14 January 2025
Break lease reasonable costs	$460.00	Break lease reasonable costs
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$887.00
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$887.00

Both parties attended the hearing which was held by phone.

The landlord said that on 23 December 2024 the tenant signed a tenancy agreement for a fixed term tenancy commencing on 8 January 2025 and expiring on 8 January 2025.

However the day before the start of the tenancy the tenant advised that she would not be moving in. The landlord immediately readvertised the property and new tenants moved in on 15 January 2025.

The landlord seeks rent from the date of the start of the fixed term until the date the new tenants moved in, a period of one week. The rent per week is $400.

The landlord also claims “break-lease expenses” as follows:

The tenant said that she loved the property and was excited about moving in but when she went to WINZ to arrange payment of the bond she was told that WINZ would not approve the payment because she did not have sufficient income. She then ended up in hospital and was not able to advise the landlord until the day before she was due to move in.

The tenant said that she did not understand the implications of signing a fixed term tenancy agreement.

The landlord responded by saying that the tenant had a support worker present when she signed the tenancy agreement and the terms were carefully explained to her.

Is the landlord entitled to rent arrears?

The usual legal position with a fixed-term contract is that the term of the contract will be applied strictly. The landlord will usually be entitled to rent payments from the start until the end of the fixed term. It is only in limited circumstances that a court or tribunal will interfere with a fixed term tenancy.

I am satisfied that the tenant was aware that she was signing a fixed term tenancy.

In this case the landlord has taken immediate steps to find a new tenant and so the impact on the tenant is fairly limited. The landlord is entitled to one week of rent being the week from 8 January 2025 to 14 January 2025 before a new tenant moved in. Is the landlord entitled to a “break-lease expenses”

When a landlord agrees to end a fixed term early, as in this case, they are entitled to recover “any expenses reasonably incurred” from the outgoing tenant (see section 44A(1) Residential Tenancies Act 1986).

In this case the landlord had to re-advertise, show prospective tenants through the property, do reference and credit checks and prepare new tenancy agreement. These expenses together total $460.00 and I consider that they are all reasonably incurred.

I do not however consider that additional methamphetamine and smoke alarm testing were “reasonably incurred” and can be recovered from the outgoing tenant. These tests had already been done prior to the start of the tenancy.

In this case the tenant never received a key and did not take possession of the property. New tenants moved in only one week after her tenancy was due to begin.

At the hearing the landlord said that further testing was required because people had been through the property for viewings. However these viewings are of very limited duration and take place with the landlord’s agent present. Name suppression and filing fee

Because [The applicant/s] has substantially succeeded with the claim I have reimbursed the filing fee. The landlord also sought an order for name suppression and is entitled to an order pursuant to section 95A RTA. Payment arrangement of order

At the hearing the parties discussed entering into a payment arrangement so that the tenant could pay the debt owing to the landlord over time. I am unable to make any orders regarding payment arrangements but encourage the parties to discuss further to see if they are able to reach agreement.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5138670 — net $887.00 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears (one week of rent for the week 8 to 14 January 2025	$400.00	Rent arrears (one week of rent for the week 8 to 14 January 2025
Break lease reasonable costs	$460.00	Break lease reasonable costs
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$887.00
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$887.00

Order

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of the Landlord’s name and identifying details.
Maryanne Barlow must pay [The landlord/s] $887.00 immediately, calculated as shown in table below.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing which was held by phone.
The landlord said that on 23 December 2024 the tenant signed a tenancy agreement for a fixed term tenancy commencing on 8 January 2025 and expiring on 8 January 2025.
However the day before the start of the tenancy the tenant advised that she would not be moving in. The landlord immediately readvertised the property and new tenants moved in on 15 January 2025.
The landlord seeks rent from the date of the start of the fixed term until the date the new tenants moved in, a period of one week. The rent per week is $400.
The landlord also claims “break-lease expenses” as follows:
The tenant said that she loved the property and was excited about moving in but when she went to WINZ to arrange payment of the bond she was told that WINZ would not approve the payment because she did not have sufficient income. She then ended up in hospital and was not able to advise the landlord until the day before she was due to move in.
The tenant said that she did not understand the implications of signing a fixed term tenancy agreement.
The landlord responded by saying that the tenant had a support worker present when she signed the tenancy agreement and the terms were carefully explained to her.

Is the landlord entitled to rent arrears?

The usual legal position with a fixed-term contract is that the term of the contract will be applied strictly. The landlord will usually be entitled to rent payments from the start until the end of the fixed term. It is only in limited circumstances that a court or tribunal will interfere with a fixed term tenancy.
I am satisfied that the tenant was aware that she was signing a fixed term tenancy.
In this case the landlord has taken immediate steps to find a new tenant and so the impact on the tenant is fairly limited. The landlord is entitled to one week of rent being the week from 8 January 2025 to 14 January 2025 before a new tenant moved in. Is the landlord entitled to a “break-lease expenses”
When a landlord agrees to end a fixed term early, as in this case, they are entitled to recover “any expenses reasonably incurred” from the outgoing tenant (see section 44A(1) Residential Tenancies Act 1986).
In this case the landlord had to re-advertise, show prospective tenants through the property, do reference and credit checks and prepare new tenancy agreement. These expenses together total $460.00 and I consider that they are all reasonably incurred.
I do not however consider that additional methamphetamine and smoke alarm testing were “reasonably incurred” and can be recovered from the outgoing tenant. These tests had already been done prior to the start of the tenancy.
In this case the tenant never received a key and did not take possession of the property. New tenants moved in only one week after her tenancy was due to begin.
At the hearing the landlord said that further testing was required because people had been through the property for viewings. However these viewings are of very limited duration and take place with the landlord’s agent present. Name suppression and filing fee
Because [The applicant/s] has substantially succeeded with the claim I have reimbursed the filing fee. The landlord also sought an order for name suppression and is entitled to an order pursuant to section 95A RTA. Payment arrangement of order
At the hearing the parties discussed entering into a payment arrangement so that the tenant could pay the debt owing to the landlord over time. I am unable to make any orders regarding payment arrangements but encourage the parties to discuss further to see if they are able to reach agreement.

Tenancy Tribunal case 5138670 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 5138670 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Is the landlord entitled to rent arrears?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Is the landlord entitled to rent arrears?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions