Published tribunal order
Tenancy Tribunal case 5153171 — Rent arrears
Decided 12 Mar 2025 · Published 12 Mar 2025 · Application 5153171
- Rent arrears
Party names are redacted in the official published order.
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 hearing is adjourned.
- Ashleigh Tai Mane Bevin must pay $627.00 (“the debt”), being $600 rent arrears and $27 filing fee, by Friday 14 March 2025.
- Payments will be allocated first to the rent arrears and then to the filing fee.
- If the tenant fails to pay the rent arrears by 14 March 2025 - a. The tenancy at 56A Sawyers Arms Road, Northcote, Christchurch 8052 will terminate, and the landlord will have immediate possession of the premises. b. The balance of the debt will be payable immediately.
- If the tenant fails to pay the filing fee within 2 working days of the due date, the filing fee will be payable immediately.
Reasons
- The hearing was conducted by telephone. Only the landlord attended. Calls to the tenant at the time of the hearing went straight to voice mail.
- The landlord has applied for termination of the tenancy, rent arrears and payment of the bond.
- This tenancy began in November 2024 and landlord has served three breach notices for rent arrears since then. The rent payable is $600 per week.
- When the application was filed, the arrears were $1,200, two weeks rent. By 26 February 2025, the arrears were $3,000, six weeks rent. On 27 February the tenant paid $600. On 6 March, WINZ paid $3,000. That paid rent to 11 March. Rent was due today and has not been paid. The landlord has not received an assurance that rent will be paid as it falls due and there has been no recent communication from the tenant.
- The Tribunal may terminate a tenancy for breach where, due to the nature or extent of the breach, it would be inequitable to refuse to terminate. Where the breach is capable of remedy the landlord must first serve a notice on the tenant requiring them to remedy the breach within at least 14 days and establish that the tenant has failed to do so.
- The tenant has breached her obligations by not paying her rent when it was due. The tenant has not remedied the breach, by paying the rent due, within the required period.
- Arguably, it would be fair to terminate the tenancy now given the high level of the rent arrears until recently and the poor payment record in this early stage of the tenancy. But the landlord does not seek immediate termination. He wants this week’s rent paid and some assurance that rent will be paid on time in the future.
- I have therefore made an order for payment of this week’s rent by Friday 15 March. Failing that the tenancy will terminate and the landlord will be entitled to possession.
- I have adjourned the application so that termination can be considered after seeing the record of rent payments between now and the next hearing. I recommend that the tenant communicates with the landlord and provides assurance that the rent will be paid on time in the future.
- Because the landlord has had success with the claim, I have reimbursed the filing fee.
- For the same reason I have granted the landlord name suppression.