How much money was awarded in case 5163591?

Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $199.76 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $6,080.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5163591?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears. Related themes: Property damage.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5163591?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11502008-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

How much money was awarded in case 5163591?

Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $199.76 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $6,080.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5163591?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears. Related themes: Property damage.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5163591?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11502008-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 5163591 — Rent arrears

Q: What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5163591 about?

The tribunal order states: An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal

Tenantcheck Insights

Order

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5163591 — net $5,306.76 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 17/02/25	$6,080.00	Rent arrears to 17/02/25
Lock/key replacement	$199.76	Lock/key replacement
Filing fee	$27.00	Filing fee
Net award	$5,306.76
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$5,306.76

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of the tenant’s and landlord’s names and identifying details. The order is also extended to reference to the tenant’s family members.

By consent of the tenant, the landlord shall dispose of all personal documents and belongings left at the premises by the tenant.

By way of declaration, the tenancy was not assigned to [The tenant's son] on 20 November 2024 and [Tenant 1] remained the tenant until 17 February 2025.

The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $1,000.00 (bond number to be provided to the Bond Centre by the landlord [Bond number suppressed]) to [The landlord/s] immediately.

[The tenant/s] must pay [The landlord/s] $5,306.76 immediately, calculated as shown in table below:

Property manager, [The property manager/s] represented the landlord. The property owners [The owner/s] also attended the phone hearing.

Following the end of the tenancy, the landlord has applied for rent arrears, compensation for replacement of the lock, refund of the bond, and reimbursement of the filing fee.

In submissions filed in response, the tenant says the tenancy was, with the written consent of the landlord, assigned to her son, [The tenant's son], on 20 November 2024. [Tenant 1] therefore denies liability for rent arrears which accrued from 16 December 2024 until the end of the tenancy on 17 February 2025. Matters not in dispute

[Tenant 1], and her now deceased husband, [Tenant 2], commenced the tenancy on 22 March 2021. The parties sometimes refer to the property address as [Address redacted], however it is agreed the correct (legal) address is [Tenancy address suppressed], as recorded in the tenancy agreement.

Between 2 and 3 November 2024, [Tenant 1]’s husband, [Tenant 2], passed away.

On 19 November 2024, [Tenant 1] emailed the landlords to tell them she was “moving over” to Australia. Her email is produced below: [Redacted]

In the above email, [Tenant 1] said her son, [The tenant's son] was settled in the home and [Tenant 1] expressed her hope that the landlords would “allow [The tenant's son] to stay on here at [Tenancy address suppressed] for the next 5/6 months taking on the responsibility of rent etc.”

The landlord replied to [Tenant 1] by email expressing their sympathy to [Tenant 1] and saying they would discuss between them. On 20 November 2024, [The owner] replied again stating, “happy for him to stay as long as he wants, can you let us know the move out date in due course. No rush.”

[Tenant 1] was in Australia from approximately 28 November 2024 until she returned to New Zealand on approximately 10 February 2025. 1 [The tenant's son] lived in the property during that period. 1 As per a letter dated 20 February 2025 from the person [Tenant 1] stayed with in Australia.

The tenancy ended on 17 February 2025 when [The tenant's son] left the property and the landlord regained possession.

The landlord provided rent records which prove $6,080.00 was owing in rent at the end of the tenancy. The arrears began to accrue from 16 December 2024. No rent was paid between 16 December 2024 and the end of the tenancy.

At the end of the tenancy, the keys were not returned to the landlord. A locksmith attended the premises on 17 February 2025 and fitted new locks. An invoice filed by the landlord shows the cost of replacing the locks was $199.76.

At the end of the tenancy, the landlord disposed of items of no value left by the tenant. The landlord put aside four boxes of personal items belonging to the tenant.

During the hearing, [Tenant 1] declined the offer made by the landlord for [Tenant 1] to collect the four boxes of personal items, or alternatively for the landlord or landlord’s agent to deliver them to an address within a reasonable distance.

[Tenant 1] confirmed she did not want the personal items and consented to the landlord disposing of them. Issue in dispute

The issue for me to determine is whether the tenancy was assigned by [Tenant 1] to her son [The tenant's son] on 20 November 2024 with the written consent of the landlord, and consequently, whether [Tenant 1] is liable, or not, for the rent arrears and cost of changing the locks. The law

Section 43B of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA) states: (1)A tenant may, at any time during the tenancy, assign the tenancy— (a) with the prior written consent of the landlord; and (b) in accordance with any reasonable conditions attached to that consent by the landlord. (2) Subsection (1) does not apply in the circumstances described in section 43A(2). 2 (3) A tenant commits an unlawful act if the tenant assigns the tenancy— (a) without the prior written consent of the landlord; or (b) if the tenancy is a tenancy described in section 53B(1)(a), in contravention of a provision described in section 43A(2). 2 Section 43A(2) relates to social housing tenancies. (4) If a tenant makes a written request for the landlord’s consent to an assignment and the request identifies, and includes contact details for, the proposed assignee, the landlord must respond in writing to the request within a reasonable period of time. (5) A landlord who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with subsection (4) commits an unlawful act. (6) The landlord must not— (a) withhold consent unreasonably; or (b) attach any unreasonable conditions to the consent. (7) A landlord’s consent must not be taken to have been withheld unreasonably if, instead of consenting to an assignment, the landlord offers to accept a surrender of the tenancy on reasonable terms. (8) A landlord’s consent must be taken to have been withheld unreasonably if the withholding of the consent is an unlawful act under section 12 (discrimination to be unlawful act).

The following commentary from Residential Tenancy Law in New Zealand is of some assistance: 3 An assignment occurs where the tenant (the assignor) arranges for someone else (the assignee) to be the tenant in the assignor’s place. In such a case, the assignor then has nothing more to do with the tenancy. The landlord’s submissions

The landlord says the communications by email in late November 2024 did not amount to an assignment of the tenancy. They say [Tenant 1] simply said she was leaving the country for three to four months and her son would be living in the property while she was away.

The landlords say that it is clear from the communications that an assignment was never suggested or agreed to, and the owners understood [Tenant 1] would be away for a short period, but that she would return to [City]. They say they made contact with [The tenant's son] regarding rent as [Tenant 1] had indicated he would take responsibility for that while she was overseas, but that that did not amount to an acknowledgement that he was a tenant.

The landlord says when rent was behind they issued 14-day notices to both [Tenant 1] and [The tenant's son], but received no reply from either party.

The landlords say the formal process of assignment was never completed (or started). They say no agreement was signed with [The tenant's son], and the landlords did not conduct credit checks or other due diligence on [The tenant's son] which would have been completed if an assignment had been agreed to. 3 See S Benson, Residential Tenancy Law in New Zealand, 2018, paragraph 3.10.

The landlords also say that, if an assignment of the tenancy had been agreed, they would have expected to refund [Tenant 1] her bond, and obtain a new bond from [The tenant's son], and for [Tenant 1] to return the keys, neither of which happened.

The landlord says [Tenant 1]’s furniture and belongings remained in the home until the end of the tenancy (and after). Had [Tenant 1] assigned the tenancy, they would have expected her to move out, including taking her belongings, and her pet dog which remained at the home for a period. They say that when [The tenant's son] left the property on 17 February 2025, he took only a small amount of personal belongings.

In short, the landlord’s say they never agreed to an assignment of the tenancy to [The tenant's son] and, while they communicated with him while [Tenant 1] was overseas on matters such as the rent, they always considered [Tenant 1] the tenant as per the tenancy agreement. They say [Tenant 1] is therefore liable to pay rent arrears and the cost of the new lock and key. The tenant’s submissions

The tenant says the email correspondence of 19 and 20 November 2024 meets the requirements of s43B of the RTA in that [Tenant 1] sought the landlord’s consent to assign the tenancy to her son, and, by [The owner]’s reply on 20 November 2024, the landlord’s granted their written consent. They say the landlords did not attach any conditions to their consent and there are no other formal requirements required under s43B(1).

Mr Martin submitted [Tenant 1]’s request that [The tenant's son] live in the property and take responsibility for paying rent was a request for an assignment. They say the landlord took time to consider the request and confirmed the following the day that it was agreed. Mr Martin submitted there was no other formality required.

Mr Martin says if the landlord was unclear, they should have sought clarification once [Tenant 1] emailed on 29 November 2024 to confirm she had moved to Australia and that her son was in the property. 4 In that email, [Tenant 1] repeated that her son and his partner, “are now all moved in and taking on all the responsibilities of rent etc for [Tenancy address suppressed] as previously organised and consented to by you earlier this month.”

Mr Martin says [Tenant 1] left furniture at the home for her son’s use, and that that should not be taken as any indication she intended to return to the home. Indeed they say, it was made clear in her email of 19 November 2024 that her son would be dealing with the personal items and finding a new place to live. 4 Exhibit F of the tenant’s evidence. The tenant also says she made inquiries about having her dog moved to Australia but left the dog with her son while she settled there.

Mr Martin says the landlords accepted some payments of rent from [The tenant's son], and that that, along with their communications with him regarding rent, can be taken as indication they considered [The tenant's son] to be the assigned tenant. They say the landlords dealt with [The tenant's son] for several months, and it is only after the tenancy came to an end that they have pursued [Tenant 1] as the tenant responsible for rent arrears and the cost of changing the locks. My decision

I am not satisfied the written communications between [Tenant 1] and the landlord in late November 2024 amounted to an assignment of the tenancy under s43B. [Tenant 1]’s request did not clearly seek to assign all of her responsibilities as a tenant to her son, [The tenant's son]. The landlord’s response did not amount to consent to an assignment of the tenancy to [The tenant's son].

While s43B does not require that a tenant specifically request an “assignment” of the tenancy, it does anticipate that a tenant’s request to assign a tenancy will be clearly made, in writing, and that the details of the proposed assignee will be provided to the landlord in the written request.

Section 43B(4) states: If a tenant makes a written request for the landlord’s consent to an assignment and the request identifies, and includes contact details for, the proposed assignee, the landlord must respond in writing to the request within a reasonable time.

[Tenant 1]’s request on 19 November 2024 that the landlords “allow [The tenant's son] to stay on here at [Tenancy address suppressed] for the next 5/6 months taking on the responsibility of rent etc” was in writing. However, referred only to “responsibility of rent etc” and did not clearly propose that [The tenant's son] be an assignee, nor did it provide the landlords with [The tenant's son]’s contact details.

A tenant’s responsibilities under a tenancy agreement are extensive. They are not confined to “responsibility of rent”, therefore, I do not accept that [Tenant 1]’s request can be interpreted as a request for assignment of the tenancy. While I accept the landlord did later receive [The tenant's son]’s contact details, and make contact with him, those details were not provided with the purported request for assignment, as anticipated by s43B(4). As a result, I accept the landlords were not on notice that [Tenant 1]’s email of 19 November 2024 was a request for an assignment of the tenancy.

As a general observation, it seems clear to me that, following the passing of [Tenant 2] in early November 2024, the landlords were sympathetic to [Tenant 1]’s situation. The landlords agreed to [The tenant's son] living in the home, and to accepting payment of rent from [The tenant's son] while [Tenant 1] was in Australia for a few months, however, that does not equate to an agreement that [The tenant's son] had been assigned all rights and responsibilities as the tenant.

I am satisfied [Tenant 1] remained the tenant until the end of the tenancy and no assignment was made to [The tenant's son]. As a result, [Tenant 1] is liable for the rent arrears and the cost of the new lock and key. Filing fee

As the landlord has succeeded with the claim the tenant must reimburse the filing fee. N Small 28 February 2025

Order

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5163591 — net $5,306.76 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 17/02/25	$6,080.00	Rent arrears to 17/02/25
Lock/key replacement	$199.76	Lock/key replacement
Filing fee	$27.00	Filing fee
Net award	$5,306.76
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$5,306.76