How much money was awarded in case 5172914?

Cleaning: $471.63 awarded to landlord; Cleaning: $250.00 awarded to landlord; Previous Balance Owed (Accepted By T…: $1,171.94 awarded to landlord; Holes In The Walls: $280.81 awarded to landlord; Replace Furnishings: Shower Curtain: $41.75 awarded to landlord; Replace Furnishings: Toilet Seat: $59.66 awarded to landlord; Rubbish Removal: $151.37 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5172914?

The primary dispute was Cleanliness. Related themes: Property damage.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5172914?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/12016134-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

How much money was awarded in case 5172914?

Cleaning: $471.63 awarded to landlord; Cleaning: $250.00 awarded to landlord; Previous Balance Owed (Accepted By T…: $1,171.94 awarded to landlord; Holes In The Walls: $280.81 awarded to landlord; Replace Furnishings: Shower Curtain: $41.75 awarded to landlord; Replace Furnishings: Toilet Seat: $59.66 awarded to landlord; Rubbish Removal: $151.37 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5172914?

The primary dispute was Cleanliness. Related themes: Property damage.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5172914?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/12016134-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 5172914 — Cleanliness

Q: What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5172914 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 5172914 — net $2,427.16 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Cleaning	$471.63	Cleaning
Rubbish removal	$151.37	Rubbish removal
Replace furnishings: shower curtain	$41.75	Replace furnishings: shower curtain
Replace furnishings: Toilet seat	$59.66	Replace furnishings: Toilet seat
Repairs: Holes in the walls	$280.81	Repairs: Holes in the walls
Cleaning	$250.00	Cleaning
Previous balance owed (accepted by tenant	$1,171.94	Previous balance owed (accepted by tenant
Net award	$2,427.16
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$2,427.16

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of both parties’ name and identifying details.

[The tenant/s] must pay [The landlord/s] $2,427.16 immediately, calculated as shown in table below.

The tenant must pay the debt in order 1 at the rate of $20.00 per week.

The first payment must be made on Wednesday 2 nd July and payments must continue every Wednesday until the debt is paid in full.

If the tenant fails to make any payment within 2 working days of the due date, the balance of the debt owing will be payable immediately and can be enforced through the District Court.

Reasons

Both parties attended todays in person hearing.

The landlord has applied for compensation for cleaning, rubbish removal, replacement toilet seat, shower curtain and curtains and repairs of holes in the walls following the end of the tenancy.

Did the tenant comply with their obligations at the end of the tenancy?

At the end of the tenancy the tenant must leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy, remove all rubbish, return all keys and security devices, and leave all chattels provided for their benefit. See section 40(1)(e)(ii)-(v) Residential Tenancies Act 1986. The tenant is required to replace worn out smoke alarm batteries during the tenancy. See section 40(1)(ca) Residential Tenancies Act 1986. The tenant must also replace standard light bulbs.

The tenant did not leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy and did not remove all rubbish.

The tenant says she had to move quickly, and her family helped her move out. She accepts that some items were left behind and the property needed cleaning.

The photographs taken by the landlord at the end of the tenancy show a property that requires considerable cleaning to bring it up to a reasonable standard.

The shower curtain was missing at the end of the tenancy:

The amounts ordered are proved.

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

A landlord must prove that damage to the premises occurred during the tenancy and is more than fair wear and tear. If this is established, to avoid liability, the tenant must prove they did not carelessly or intentionally cause or permit the damage. Tenants are liable for the actions of people at the premises with their permission. See sections 40(2)(a), 41 and 49B RTA.

Where the damage is caused carelessly, and is covered by the landlord's insurance, the tenant's liability is limited to the lesser of the insurance excess or four weeks' rent (or four weeks' market rent in the case of a tenant paying income-related rent). See section 49B(3)(a) RTA.

Where the damage is careless and is not covered by the landlord's insurance, the tenant's liability is limited to four weeks' rent (or market rent). See section 49B(3)(b) RTA. Where insurance money is irrecoverable because of the tenant's conduct, the property is treated as if it is not insured against the damage. See section 49B(3A)(a) RTA.

Tenants are liable for the cost of repairing damage that is intentional or which results from any activity at the premises that is an imprisonable offence. This applies to anything the tenant does and anything done by a person they are responsible for. See section 49B(1) RTA.

Damage is intentional where a person intends to cause damage and takes the necessary steps to achieve that purpose. Damage is also intentional where a person does something, or allows a situation to continue, knowing that damage is a certainty. See Guo v Korck [2019] NZHC 1541.

The following damage was caused during the tenancy: holes in the dining room, and two bedrooms. The damage is more than fair wear and tear, and the tenant has not disproved liability for the damage.

The landlord also sought the cost of replacement curtains. In the photographs taken at the end of the tenancy, some of the curtains have come off the rails, but the curtains do not appear ripped or unusable. I accept that the curtains are dirty, but I do not consider them damaged.

I have therefore awarded an amount to reflect that the curtains would have required washing and rehanging.

The amounts ordered are proved.

I have taken into account betterment and depreciation. The landlord should be returned to the position they would have been in had the tenant not breached their obligations and should not be better or worse off. In calculating depreciation, I have taken into account the age and condition of the items at the start of the tenancy and their likely useful lifespan.

The tenant accepted that she already owed the landlord money that she has been paying off other works that the landlord completed before the end of the tenancy. The balance owed is added to the award made today.

The tenant has been paying off her debt at $8.00 per week, she would like to increase this to $20.00 per week.

I have granted name suppression today at the request of both parties. This is due to some social media posts that have been made about this tenant by another of the landlord’s tenants. I consider that suppression is necessary to prevent an inflammation of a dispute the tenant has with her old neighbour. I understand that the landlord was unaware of the nature of the social media posts until today.

Order

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5172914 — net $2,427.16 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Cleaning	$471.63	Cleaning
Rubbish removal	$151.37	Rubbish removal
Replace furnishings: shower curtain	$41.75	Replace furnishings: shower curtain
Replace furnishings: Toilet seat	$59.66	Replace furnishings: Toilet seat
Repairs: Holes in the walls	$280.81	Repairs: Holes in the walls
Cleaning	$250.00	Cleaning
Previous balance owed (accepted by tenant	$1,171.94	Previous balance owed (accepted by tenant
Net award	$2,427.16
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$2,427.16

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of both parties’ name and identifying details.

[The tenant/s] must pay [The landlord/s] $2,427.16 immediately, calculated as shown in table below.

The tenant must pay the debt in order 1 at the rate of $20.00 per week.

The first payment must be made on Wednesday 2 nd July and payments must continue every Wednesday until the debt is paid in full.

If the tenant fails to make any payment within 2 working days of the due date, the balance of the debt owing will be payable immediately and can be enforced through the District Court.

Reasons

Both parties attended todays in person hearing.

The landlord has applied for compensation for cleaning, rubbish removal, replacement toilet seat, shower curtain and curtains and repairs of holes in the walls following the end of the tenancy.

Did the tenant comply with their obligations at the end of the tenancy?

The tenant did not leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy and did not remove all rubbish.

The tenant says she had to move quickly, and her family helped her move out. She accepts that some items were left behind and the property needed cleaning.

The photographs taken by the landlord at the end of the tenancy show a property that requires considerable cleaning to bring it up to a reasonable standard.

The shower curtain was missing at the end of the tenancy:

The amounts ordered are proved.

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

The following damage was caused during the tenancy: holes in the dining room, and two bedrooms. The damage is more than fair wear and tear, and the tenant has not disproved liability for the damage.

I have therefore awarded an amount to reflect that the curtains would have required washing and rehanging.

The amounts ordered are proved.

The tenant has been paying off her debt at $8.00 per week, she would like to increase this to $20.00 per week.

Tenancy Tribunal case 5172914 — Cleanliness

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 5172914 — Cleanliness

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Did the tenant comply with their obligations at the end of the tenancy?

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Did the tenant comply with their obligations at the end of the tenancy?

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions