What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5145710 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 5145710?

Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $12,092.86 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5145710?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5145710?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11607915-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5145710 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 5145710?

Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $12,092.86 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5145710?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5145710?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11607915-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 5145710 — Rent arrears

Reasons

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5145710 — net $8,819.86 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 19/2/25	$12,092.86	Rent arrears to 19/2/25
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$8,819.86
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$8,819.86

The landlord attended the hearing by video call.

The tenant was telephoned on the phone number provided but the phone call went unanswered. I am satisfied the tenant was properly served with notice of the hearing. The hearing proceeded in her absence.

The landlord has applied for termination of the tenancy, rent arrears, payment of the bond, reimbursement of the filing fee and name suppression. Termination

At the hearing the landlord advised that the tenant has vacated the premises on 19 February 2025. Accordingly, termination was not sought and the application for termination is dismissed. Rent arrears and mitigation of loss

Where a party to a tenancy agreement breaches any provisions of the agreement or the RTA, the other party shall take all reasonable steps to limit damage or loss arising from that breach, in accordance with the rules of law relating to mitigation of loss or damage upon breach of contract. 1 This means that they must take actions to limit any loss from a breach by the other party. When rent arrears occur, a reasonable landlord will mitigate that loss by applying to the Tenancy Tribunal to have the rent arrears paid, or the tenancy terminated.

Where rent arrears are accumulating, ordinarily, the Tribunal would expect to see an application being brought within around 6-8 weeks, 10 at the most. There is then usually a short period before the hearing can take place.

In Huang v Ashworth 2 the District Court confirmed there is a duty to mitigate for rent arrears. The Court confirmed the test of what the landlord ought to do to mitigate its loss is a factual one and depends on whether the landlord took all reasonable steps to mitigate its loss; and more particularly, whether it acted reasonably having regard to all the circumstances of the case. In Huang v Ashworth the Court reduced the rent arrears (accumulated over approximately a year) by a third to take into account a failure by the landlord to mitigate loss.

At the hearing I raised my concern that the landlord had failed to mitigate their loss in respect of the rent arrears and outlined the recent case law above.

The tenancy commenced on 28 August 2024.

The tenant paid her bond and one weeks rent, however following this she made one payment for rent in the following 9-week period.

The landlord indicated there had been communication with the tenant regarding rent arrears and in November 2024, over a period of a week, the tenant paid 1 Section 49 RTA. 2 Huang v Ashworth [2024] NZDC 15726 $4,000 towards the rent arrears. I consider this indicated to the landlord that the tenant was going to start paying the rent arrears and her rent.

The last payment in November was on 13 November 2024.

A 14-day notice was served on the tenant on 3 December 2024 for the rent arrears. The rent arrears breach was not remedied.

The landlord filed their application to the Tribunal on 24 January 2025.

The hearing was then scheduled for 20 March 2025.

I consider the landlord should have filed their application earlier, but also consider the above circumstances of this case are relevant to the issue of mitigation and I do not consider a 1/3 deduction applied in Huang v Ashworth would be reasonable in the circumstances of this case.

The landlord claimed $14,092.86 for rent arrears to 19 February 2025

Having regard to the landlords’ failure to mitigate its loss I consider that it is appropriate to reduce the rent arrears by $2,000.00. The total rent arrears ordered $12,092.86. Bond

The bond is to be paid to the landlord immediately to offset the rent arrears. Filing fee

Because the landlord has wholly succeeded with the claim, I must reimburse the filing fee. Suppression

The landlord sought suppression and as the application is successful, I have made an order accordingly.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5145710 — net $8,819.86 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 19/2/25	$12,092.86	Rent arrears to 19/2/25
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$8,819.86
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$8,819.86

Order

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of the landlord’s name and identifying details.
The application for termination is dismissed.
Storm Brown must pay [The landlord/s] $8,819.86 immediately, calculated as shown in table below.

Reasons

The landlord attended the hearing by video call.
The tenant was telephoned on the phone number provided but the phone call went unanswered. I am satisfied the tenant was properly served with notice of the hearing. The hearing proceeded in her absence.
The landlord has applied for termination of the tenancy, rent arrears, payment of the bond, reimbursement of the filing fee and name suppression. Termination
At the hearing the landlord advised that the tenant has vacated the premises on 19 February 2025. Accordingly, termination was not sought and the application for termination is dismissed. Rent arrears and mitigation of loss
Where a party to a tenancy agreement breaches any provisions of the agreement or the RTA, the other party shall take all reasonable steps to limit damage or loss arising from that breach, in accordance with the rules of law relating to mitigation of loss or damage upon breach of contract. 1 This means that they must take actions to limit any loss from a breach by the other party. When rent arrears occur, a reasonable landlord will mitigate that loss by applying to the Tenancy Tribunal to have the rent arrears paid, or the tenancy terminated.
Where rent arrears are accumulating, ordinarily, the Tribunal would expect to see an application being brought within around 6-8 weeks, 10 at the most. There is then usually a short period before the hearing can take place.
In Huang v Ashworth 2 the District Court confirmed there is a duty to mitigate for rent arrears. The Court confirmed the test of what the landlord ought to do to mitigate its loss is a factual one and depends on whether the landlord took all reasonable steps to mitigate its loss; and more particularly, whether it acted reasonably having regard to all the circumstances of the case. In Huang v Ashworth the Court reduced the rent arrears (accumulated over approximately a year) by a third to take into account a failure by the landlord to mitigate loss.
At the hearing I raised my concern that the landlord had failed to mitigate their loss in respect of the rent arrears and outlined the recent case law above.
The tenancy commenced on 28 August 2024.
The tenant paid her bond and one weeks rent, however following this she made one payment for rent in the following 9-week period.
The landlord indicated there had been communication with the tenant regarding rent arrears and in November 2024, over a period of a week, the tenant paid 1 Section 49 RTA. 2 Huang v Ashworth [2024] NZDC 15726 $4,000 towards the rent arrears. I consider this indicated to the landlord that the tenant was going to start paying the rent arrears and her rent.
The last payment in November was on 13 November 2024.
A 14-day notice was served on the tenant on 3 December 2024 for the rent arrears. The rent arrears breach was not remedied.
The landlord filed their application to the Tribunal on 24 January 2025.
The hearing was then scheduled for 20 March 2025.
I consider the landlord should have filed their application earlier, but also consider the above circumstances of this case are relevant to the issue of mitigation and I do not consider a 1/3 deduction applied in Huang v Ashworth would be reasonable in the circumstances of this case.
The landlord claimed $14,092.86 for rent arrears to 19 February 2025
Having regard to the landlords’ failure to mitigate its loss I consider that it is appropriate to reduce the rent arrears by $2,000.00. The total rent arrears ordered $12,092.86. Bond
The bond is to be paid to the landlord immediately to offset the rent arrears. Filing fee
Because the landlord has wholly succeeded with the claim, I must reimburse the filing fee. Suppression
The landlord sought suppression and as the application is successful, I have made an order accordingly.

Tenancy Tribunal case 5145710 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 5145710 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions