What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5149137 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 5149137?

Compensation: $53.57 awarded to tenant; Property Damage: $500.00 awarded to tenant; Property Damage: $50.00 awarded to tenant; Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5149137?

The primary dispute was Exemplary damages.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5149137?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11938068-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5149137 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 5149137?

Compensation: $53.57 awarded to tenant; Property Damage: $500.00 awarded to tenant; Property Damage: $50.00 awarded to tenant; Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5149137?

The primary dispute was Exemplary damages.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5149137?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11938068-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

11 Akron Grove, Totara Park, Upper Hutt 5018 Tenancy Tribunal Case 5149137 — Exemplary damages

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5149137 — net $630.57 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Tenant	Reason
Exemplary damages – unlawful entry	$500.00	Exemplary damages – unlawful entry
Compensation	$53.57	Compensation
Exemplary damages – failure to provide all insurance details	$50.00	Exemplary damages – failure to provide all insurance details
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$630.57
Bond	$750.00
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant	$630.57

Order

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of the Tenant’s name and identifying details.
Terramark Real Estate Limited T/A Rental Managers Property Management As Agent For Ahme Ezairjawi must pay [The tenant/s] $630.57 immediately, calculated as shown in table below:
The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $750.00 ([Bond number suppressed]) to [The tenant/s] immediately.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing which was held by video conference. The landlord was represented by two people and the tenant had a support person with him.
This Order follows on from the Tribunal’s previous order dated 8 April 2025 which detailed the claims made by the tenant. I note that at the hearing on that day the landlord advised that they would be making a counterclaim against the tenant and $750.00 bond was retained at the Bond Centre for that purpose.
The landlord did not make a counterclaim and so that $750.00 is to be returned to the tenant.
The tenant’s claims are addressed below. Unlawful entry
[The tenant/s] claims the landlord has entered the premises without consent or the required notice.
A landlord may not enter the premises during the tenancy except with the tenant's consent, in an emergency, or after giving the required notice for inspections and repairs and maintenance. See section 48(1) and (2) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
Breaching this obligation is an unlawful act for which exemplary damages may be awarded up to a maximum of $1,500.00. See section 48 (4)(a) and Schedule 1A Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The background to this claim is that the tenancy was to commence on 10 November 2023. At 9.03am on that day the landlord notified the tenant that the tenant would not be able to access the property until 11.30am because chattel photos were yet to be taken and the owner of the property had not yet finished preparing the premises for the tenancy.
I accept that this was an unlawful act. The tenancy started at 12.01am on 10 November 2023. The tenants had every right of entry after that time and the landlords had no right of entry, except for when notice was given in accordance with the provisions of s48.
No such notice was given and consent was not requested from the tenant – the email merely stated that access was not available until 11.30am.
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 landlord committed this act intentionally. Insufficient notice could not be seen to be accidental or in error.
In coming to an award of exemplary damages of $500.00 I have taken into account that the landlord’s intent was to get the premises ready for the new tenant, that the tenant was greatly inconvenienced because he had arranged for help for the whole morning to get into the premises and that help was not available in the afternoon. I have also taken into account the public interest in landlord’s abiding by their obligations and being aware of their obligations under the Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
I have also awarded half a day’s rent in compensation for the tenant not being able to access the property in a timely way. Incomplete insurance details
Section 13A(2)(b)(i) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 provides that that landlord must include in the tenancy agreement information about insurance of the premises, including the amount of excess that is relevant (if any) to liability.
Section 13A(1F) provides that a breach of the above section is an unlawful act and therefore an award of exemplary damages may be made. For a breach of this particular kind, exemplary damages of up to $750.00 may be awarded.
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.
It was undisputed that the landlord did not include any excess payable in the insurance statement provided to the tenant.
While the landlord states that this was in error, I find that there was an intention not to provide it. The landlord would have put their mind to it when completing the statement and then failed to include it in the statement given to the tenant. I say this because all the rest of the insurance statement was filled in appropriately – just not this section.
In coming to an award of $50.00 in exemplary damages, I accept that there was no impact whatsoever on the tenant because he only discovered this omission once his tenancy was over.
I consider the award of $50.00 is a recognition of the public interest in landlords abiding by all obligations under the Act. Not approving assignment of tenancy
Section 43B(6) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 provides that when considering assignment of a tenancy by a tenant, the landlord must not withhold consent unreasonably or attach any unreasonable conditions to the consent.
The tenant claims $1,500.00 in exemplary damages for this breach and compensation of $4,500.00 for overpaid rent.
The brief background to this claim is that on 5 July 2024 the tenant advised the landlord that the current renters of the house that he had bought would like to rent the premises that he was vacating. He did not provide details of these potential renters.
By return email the landlord advised they would need to meet the prospective tenant and that in order to progress this assignment the tenant would need to sign a break lease form, a term of which was that $600.00 would have to be paid.
The tenant did not sign the break lease form because he considered that it was impossible at that early stage to ascertain the actual costs of the lease break.
The assignment was therefore not progressed.
Having heard the evidence provided at today’s hearing, I do not consider that the landlord breached s43B(6). The tenant had not provided contact details of the proposed assignees to the landlord, and I accept that paying a break lease fee to be a reasonable condition of considering a possible assignment.
This part of the tenant’s claim is therefore dismissed. Filing fee reimbursement and suppression of name
I am ordering the landlord to reimburse the filing fee to the tenant because the tenant was successful in two of the three claims he was making.
I am also allowing the tenant’s application for suppression of his name for the same reason. C ter Haar 05 June 2025

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5149137 — net $630.57 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Tenant	Reason
Exemplary damages – unlawful entry	$500.00	Exemplary damages – unlawful entry
Compensation	$53.57	Compensation
Exemplary damages – failure to provide all insurance details	$50.00	Exemplary damages – failure to provide all insurance details
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$630.57
Bond	$750.00
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant	$630.57

Order

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of the Tenant’s name and identifying details.
Terramark Real Estate Limited T/A Rental Managers Property Management As Agent For Ahme Ezairjawi must pay [The tenant/s] $630.57 immediately, calculated as shown in table below:
The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $750.00 ([Bond number suppressed]) to [The tenant/s] immediately.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing which was held by video conference. The landlord was represented by two people and the tenant had a support person with him.
This Order follows on from the Tribunal’s previous order dated 8 April 2025 which detailed the claims made by the tenant. I note that at the hearing on that day the landlord advised that they would be making a counterclaim against the tenant and $750.00 bond was retained at the Bond Centre for that purpose.
The landlord did not make a counterclaim and so that $750.00 is to be returned to the tenant.
The tenant’s claims are addressed below. Unlawful entry
[The tenant/s] claims the landlord has entered the premises without consent or the required notice.
A landlord may not enter the premises during the tenancy except with the tenant's consent, in an emergency, or after giving the required notice for inspections and repairs and maintenance. See section 48(1) and (2) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
Breaching this obligation is an unlawful act for which exemplary damages may be awarded up to a maximum of $1,500.00. See section 48 (4)(a) and Schedule 1A Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The background to this claim is that the tenancy was to commence on 10 November 2023. At 9.03am on that day the landlord notified the tenant that the tenant would not be able to access the property until 11.30am because chattel photos were yet to be taken and the owner of the property had not yet finished preparing the premises for the tenancy.
I accept that this was an unlawful act. The tenancy started at 12.01am on 10 November 2023. The tenants had every right of entry after that time and the landlords had no right of entry, except for when notice was given in accordance with the provisions of s48.
No such notice was given and consent was not requested from the tenant – the email merely stated that access was not available until 11.30am.
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 landlord committed this act intentionally. Insufficient notice could not be seen to be accidental or in error.
In coming to an award of exemplary damages of $500.00 I have taken into account that the landlord’s intent was to get the premises ready for the new tenant, that the tenant was greatly inconvenienced because he had arranged for help for the whole morning to get into the premises and that help was not available in the afternoon. I have also taken into account the public interest in landlord’s abiding by their obligations and being aware of their obligations under the Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
I have also awarded half a day’s rent in compensation for the tenant not being able to access the property in a timely way. Incomplete insurance details
Section 13A(2)(b)(i) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 provides that that landlord must include in the tenancy agreement information about insurance of the premises, including the amount of excess that is relevant (if any) to liability.
Section 13A(1F) provides that a breach of the above section is an unlawful act and therefore an award of exemplary damages may be made. For a breach of this particular kind, exemplary damages of up to $750.00 may be awarded.
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.
It was undisputed that the landlord did not include any excess payable in the insurance statement provided to the tenant.
While the landlord states that this was in error, I find that there was an intention not to provide it. The landlord would have put their mind to it when completing the statement and then failed to include it in the statement given to the tenant. I say this because all the rest of the insurance statement was filled in appropriately – just not this section.
In coming to an award of $50.00 in exemplary damages, I accept that there was no impact whatsoever on the tenant because he only discovered this omission once his tenancy was over.
I consider the award of $50.00 is a recognition of the public interest in landlords abiding by all obligations under the Act. Not approving assignment of tenancy
Section 43B(6) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 provides that when considering assignment of a tenancy by a tenant, the landlord must not withhold consent unreasonably or attach any unreasonable conditions to the consent.
The tenant claims $1,500.00 in exemplary damages for this breach and compensation of $4,500.00 for overpaid rent.
The brief background to this claim is that on 5 July 2024 the tenant advised the landlord that the current renters of the house that he had bought would like to rent the premises that he was vacating. He did not provide details of these potential renters.
By return email the landlord advised they would need to meet the prospective tenant and that in order to progress this assignment the tenant would need to sign a break lease form, a term of which was that $600.00 would have to be paid.
The tenant did not sign the break lease form because he considered that it was impossible at that early stage to ascertain the actual costs of the lease break.
The assignment was therefore not progressed.
Having heard the evidence provided at today’s hearing, I do not consider that the landlord breached s43B(6). The tenant had not provided contact details of the proposed assignees to the landlord, and I accept that paying a break lease fee to be a reasonable condition of considering a possible assignment.
This part of the tenant’s claim is therefore dismissed. Filing fee reimbursement and suppression of name
I am ordering the landlord to reimburse the filing fee to the tenant because the tenant was successful in two of the three claims he was making.
I am also allowing the tenant’s application for suppression of his name for the same reason. C ter Haar 05 June 2025

Tenancy Tribunal case 5149137 — Exemplary damages at 11 Akron Grove, Totara Park, Upper Hutt 5018

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 5149137 — Exemplary damages at 11 Akron Grove, Totara Park, Upper Hutt 5018

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