What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 5158032?

The tribunal order states: Hammond & Co Property Limited must pay Petrina Erskine $898.77

How much money was awarded in case 5158032?

Compensation: For Breach: $575.00 awarded to tenant; Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to tenant; Reimbursement Of Power Admin Charges: $296.77 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5158032?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5158032?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/12322933-Tribunal_Order.pdf.

What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 5158032?

The tribunal order states: Hammond & Co Property Limited must pay Petrina Erskine $898.77

How much money was awarded in case 5158032?

Compensation: For Breach: $575.00 awarded to tenant; Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to tenant; Reimbursement Of Power Admin Charges: $296.77 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5158032?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5158032?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/12322933-Tribunal_Order.pdf.

Unit 413, 35 Hobson Street, Auckland Central, Auckland Tenancy Tribunal Case 5158032 — Tenancy dispute

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Order

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5158032 — net $898.77 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Tenant	Reason
Reimbursement of power admin charges	$296.77	Reimbursement of power admin charges
Compensation: for breach	$575.00	for breach
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$898.77
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant	$898.77

Hammond & Co Property Limited must pay Petrina Erskine $898.77 immediately, calculated as shown in table below: DescriptionTenant Reimbursement of power admin charges $296.77 Compensation: for breach $575.00 Filing fee reimbursement $27.00 Total award $898.77 Total payable by Landlord to Tenant $898.77

The landlord claims for compensation, exemplary damages and return of swipecards are withdrawn at the landlord’s request.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing which took place on 30 April 2025 and 27 August 2025.

The tenant has lived in this apartment block since 2021 and has lived in different units with different landlords. The tenancy that is the subject of these proceedings commenced on 20 July 2023.

The tenant filed an application in February 2025 seeking reimbursement of an administration fee on her power bills, compensation, costs, reimbursement of filing fee on a unit titles application previously filed and reimbursement of current filing fee.

The landlord cross applied in April 2025 for compensation, exemplary damages, handing over of a swipe card, and reimbursement of filing fee.

After the proceedings were filed the tenant gave notice to end the tenancy and the tenancy ended on 15 May 2025.

The tenant advised she received a full bond refund at the end of the tenancy.

The hearing was adjourned part heard and the tenant was to provide the landlord with a copy of all power invoices that include the administration fee reimbursement claimed within 14 days.

The tenant filed the required invoices on 13 June 2025 and filed an accompanying letter explaining that there had been delays in obtaining the invoices from Smart Power.

As the invoices were filed well in advance of the hearing I am satisfied that there is no disadvantage to the landlord and accept the invoices as filed.

Today the landlord advised that they were not proceeding with their claims and they are withdrawn accordingly. Was the tenant charged a fixed electricity charge that was the responsibility of the landlord?

Section 39 of The Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA) provides that the landlord is responsible for all outgoings that apply whether or not the premises is occupied. The tenant is responsible for all outgoings in respect of the tenancy premises that are exclusively attributable to the tenant’s occupation of the premises or the tenant’s use of the facilities.

The tenancy agreement states under the heading Outgoings, “The tenant agrees to pay for all outgoings exclusively attributable to the Tenant’s occupation including electricity, gas, gas to heat hot water, telephone and internet charges”.

The tenant provided a copy of the Body corporate operational rules state at clause 29 c. the owner of a unit must “Ensure all utilities from Smart Power are paid in a timely manner. Any outstanding utilities from tenants will be the responsibility of the owner of the unit.”

The power for the building is supplied by SmartPower.

The tenant stated that she noticed when she received her power invoice that there was a charge of $11.22 plus GST which was referred to as an administration fee.

The tenant stated that she queried this at the building reception and the building management put her in contact with the body corporate. She stated that she also queried the charge with her property manager at the time.

The tenant produced a copy of an email from the building manager to herself dated 20 July 2023 which states that the administration fee is a monthly fee that is charged by the body corporate as part of the SmartPower arrangement. The email details what the administration fee covers, some of which is managing communication and invoicing tenants, other details involve reviewing utility invoices and financial reporting.

The fee is a fixed amount charged the same each month regardless of the amount of power usage at the premises.

Having considered the evidence I am satisfied that the tenant has proved on the balance of probabilities that the administration fee being passed on to her each month was not exclusively attributable to her occupation of the premises or use of the power. Therefore, the landlord is in breach of section 39 by charging this to the tenant.

The landlord agrees to reimburse the tenant the amount of $296.77 for the 23 months of administration fees.

Should the landlord pay the tenant compensation for the breach?

The tenant also seeks compensation for the breach.

The Tribunal can order a landlord to pay such sum by way of damages or compensation as the Tribunal shall assess in respect of the breach of any provision of the Residential Tenancies Act (section 77(2)(n)).

The Tenants’ claim for compensation is in the nature of general damages for the stress and inconvenience of repeated communication to seek to resolve this matter. The Tribunal has jurisdiction to make such award pursuant to section 77(2)(n) of the Act: Eayrs v Hindmarsh, DC Wellington, TT223/93, 12 November 1993.

The tenant stated that the delay it has taken to resolve this matter has caused her considerable stress and she became unhappy in her unit. She felt unfairly treated by her property manager and stated that although they eventually agreed to reimburse the amount they required her to obtain every power invoice from Smart Power even though the administration fee was the same each month and this caused her added stress and delay. The tenant also stated that she was unhappy in the premises and has now moved to a different unit, however, this occurred after the proceedings were filed and was not part of her original application.

Having considered the factors in this case I find it appropriate to order the landlord to pay compensation by way of a lump sum to reflect the stress that this breach caused the tenant. Compensation is generally modest. I have taken in to account the tenant’s evidence of the stress and time this has caused her, the length of the tenancy, the modest amount of the administration charges refunded to the tenant and find that a lump amount of $575.00 being $25 per month for the 23 months of the tenancy is appropriate.

Should the landlord be ordered to pay costs?

The tenant sought payment of her time and costs in preparation for this hearing.

Section 102 of the RTA states that the Tribunal has no power to award costs except where the proceedings brought by the tenant are vexatious or frivolous, the parties are represented by counsel, the matter ought reasonably to have been settled before a mediator or a party fails to attend the hearing without notice.

As none of the above factors apply in this case the Tribunal declines to award costs. Filing fees

The tenant sought reimbursement of the $500.00 filing fee she paid previously to file an application against the Body Corporate in respect of the same matter. The tenant withdrew that application at the hearing on 11 December 2024 in order to file proceedings against the landlord pursuant to section 39 RTA. In the order dated 11 December 2024 (9058524) the Tribunal stated “If the tenant wishes to seek a refund of the filing fee paid she may apply to MBIE who will consider and make a decision regarding this.” The Tribunal does not have the power to order the landlord in this case to reimburse that fee.

The Tribunal does have the power to order the landlord to reimburse the filing fee paid for this application pursuant to section 102 (4) RTA. Because Petrina Erskine has substantially succeeded with the claim, the Tribunal orders the landlord to reimburse the filing fee on this application.

Order

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5158032 — net $898.77 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Tenant	Reason
Reimbursement of power admin charges	$296.77	Reimbursement of power admin charges
Compensation: for breach	$575.00	for breach
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$898.77
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant	$898.77