Published tribunal order
Tenancy Tribunal case 5202611 — Cleanliness at 46 Innismara Avenue, Wattle Downs, Auckland 2103
Decided 18 Jun 2025 · Published 18 Jun 2025 · Application 5202611
- Cleanliness
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 tenant’s name and identifying details.
- [The tenant/s] must pay Kāinga Ora–Homes And Communities $2,290.31 immediately, calculated as shown in table below.
- The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $232.00 ([Bond number suppressed]) to Kāinga Ora–Homes And Communities immediately.
Reasons
- Both parties attended the hearing.
- The landlord has applied for compensation following the end of the tenancy. During the hearing, the landlord made an oral application for refund of the bond, to which the tenant consented.
- The parties agreed the tenancy ended on 13 February 2025.
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 (“RTA”).
- The landlord said the tenant did not leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy and did not remove all rubbish.
- The landlord claimed $102.13 for cleaning kitchen cupboards, $678.61 for cleaning the whole house, $984.72 for removal and disposal of exterior rubbish and $756.85 for removal and disposal of interior rubbish.
- The landlord provided an Entry Inspection Report dated 17 March 2017 and an Exit Inspection Report dated 13 February 2025. Both reports contained photographs of the condition of the property at that time. Cleaning claims
- The tenant consented to orders being made in relation to the landlord’s claims to clean the kitchen cupboards for $102.13 and to clean the whole house for $678.61. Whilst the tenant acknowledged that she left rubbish both inside and outside of the house at the end of the tenancy, the tenant disputed the amounts claimed for rubbish removal by the landlord. With the tenant’s consent, I award the landlord $102.13 to clean the kitchen cupboards and $678.61 to clean the whole house at the end of the tenancy. Exterior rubbish removal
- The landlord claimed $984.72 to remove and dispose of exterior rubbish left by the tenant. The landlord highlighted photographs in the Exit Inspection Report that showed plastic chairs, boxes, mattresses, cage, bins x 2 full of rubbish, wood, fadges with waste, lots of larger and other items under an outside covered area, old tyre, tables and rubbish in the shed. The landlord said that they removed and disposed of 6 cubic metres of rubbish from the outside of the property.
- The tenant said that, whilst she confirmed the end of the tenancy was 13 February 2025, she moved out a week before this and every time she returned to the property after she had moved out, she noticed different items of rubbish outside, which she assumed were left by others on the property, as it was empty. The tenant acknowledged that most of the rubbish left was hers. The tenant is responsible for the condition of the property up to the last day of the tenancy and so is responsible for any rubbish left at the property until the end of the tenancy.
- The photographs of the rubbish left outside the property show a lot of items, a number of them larger heavy items, such as mattresses, fadges, tables, chairs, cage. The landlord commented that she believed that 6 cubic metres may have been underestimating the rubbish shown in the photographs. From the evidence provided in the photographs, especially the larger and heavy items left at the property, I find that the amount claimed by the landlord to remove and dispose of 6 cubic metres of rubbish from outside the property is reasonable. As such, I award $984.72 to the landlord to remove and dispose of exterior rubbish at the end of the tenancy. Interior rubbish removal
- The landlord pointed to a number of photographs in the Exit Inspection Report which showed rubbish left inside the property at the end of the tenancy. The photographs showed a suitcase, rubbish, toys, seat, mattresses, rubbish bags with rubbish, kitchen items, food, sheets and linen left in the bedroom and laundry areas, broom decorative lights, small cabinet, towel, bathroom items, boxes. The landlord said the interior rubbish left was 5 cubic metres of rubbish in total and claimed $756.85 for this.
- The tenant acknowledged she left rubbish inside the property when she left and apologised to the landlord for this. She explained that she had tried to get assistance to clean up at the end of the tenancy but left it too late so that the landlord had closed up the property before her assistants could get in to clean and clear up. She acknowledged she bore responsibility for this and that she had not left the property clean and tidy when she left.
- Given the photographs of the rubbish left inside the property, I accept that this would have amounted to around 5 cubic metres of rubbish and find the landlord’s claim for $756.85 for this to be reasonable. Therefore, I award the landlord $756.85 to remove and dispose of the rubbish left inside the property at the end of the tenancy.
- The amounts ordered are proved. Rent credit and refund of bond
- The landlord said the tenant left the tenancy with a rent credit of $686.57, which could be applied to any order made against the tenant. The rent credit of $686.57, which will be retained by the landlord, is applied to the tenant’s credit in this order.
- During the hearing, the landlord made an oral application for refund of the bond of $232.00. The tenant agreed to this and to the Tribunal applying the bond to any debt she owed.
- The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $232.00 ([Bond number suppressed]) to Kāinga Ora–Homes And Communities immediately. Suppression
- The tenant requested name suppression.
- Section 95A(4) RTA provides that the Tribunal may, on the application of any party to proceedings or on its own initiative, having regard to the interests of the parties and to the public interest, order that all or part of the evidence given or the name or any identifying particulars of any witness or party not be published.
- The tenant said she has young children. The tenant attempted to consent to claims, where possible and mostly disputed the amounts claimed, rather than the substance of the claims. The tenant said she had tried to obtain assistance to clean and clear the property at the end of the tenancy, but it did not work out in time. She was apologetic to the landlord about the situation and wished to sort out any payment arrangements for any order made. In the circumstances and given the evidence, I find that the tenant’s interests outweigh the public interest in publishing her name. Therefore, I order that the tenant’s name and identifying details are not to be published.