How much money was awarded in case 5204293?

Cleaning: $1,489.99 awarded to landlord; Smoke Alarms: $1,300.00 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $150.00 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $3,064.29 awarded to landlord; Curtains And Curtain Rails: $200.00 awarded to landlord; Flooring: $2,750.00 awarded to landlord; Painting: $4,000.00 awarded to landlord; Walls: $5,000.00 awarded to landlord; Rubbish Removal: $800.00 awarded to landlord; Water Rates: $1,628.90 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5204293?

The primary dispute was Property damage. Related themes: Rent arrears, Cleanliness, Smoke alarms.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5204293?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/12004329-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

How much money was awarded in case 5204293?

Cleaning: $1,489.99 awarded to landlord; Smoke Alarms: $1,300.00 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $150.00 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $3,064.29 awarded to landlord; Curtains And Curtain Rails: $200.00 awarded to landlord; Flooring: $2,750.00 awarded to landlord; Painting: $4,000.00 awarded to landlord; Walls: $5,000.00 awarded to landlord; Rubbish Removal: $800.00 awarded to landlord; Water Rates: $1,628.90 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5204293?

The primary dispute was Property damage. Related themes: Rent arrears, Cleanliness, Smoke alarms.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5204293?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/12004329-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 5204293 — Property damage

Q: What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5204293 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 5204293 — net $17,810.18 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 20 January 2025	$3,064.29	2. The landlord’s application sought rent arrears and water rates arrears.
Water rates	$1,628.90	Water rates
Repairs: Walls	$5,000.00	Repairs: Walls
Repairs: Painting	$4,000.00	Repairs: Painting
Repairs: Flooring	$2,750.00	Repairs: Flooring
Repairs: Curtains and curtain rails	$200.00	Repairs: Curtains and curtain rails
Rubbish removal	$800.00	Rubbish removal
Cleaning	$1,489.99	9. The amount of water rates owed is proven.
Lock/key replacement	$150.00	Lock/key replacement
Exemplary damages: Interference with means of escape from fire (removal of smoke alarms	$1,300.00	40. Deprecation must apply to the cost of the curtains (not the curtain rails).
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$17,810.18
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$17,810.18

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

Deanna Leah Clarkin must pay [The landlord/s] $17,810.18 immediately, calculated as shown in table below.

The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $2,600.00 ([Bond number suppressed]) to [The landlord/s] immediately.

Reasons

Background

The tenancy began on 20 May 2021 and ended on 20 January 2025.

The landlord’s application sought rent arrears and water rates arrears.

The application was amended to include end of tenancy cleaning, rubbish removal, and substantial repairs.

The hearing took place in Whangarei on 18 June 2025.

[The landlord’s representative/s] represented the landlord. There was no appearance by the tenant. Notice of the hearing had been served on the tenant. The hearing proceeded in the tenant’s absence. 1 Rent, water

The landlord’s rent record establishes rent arrears of $3,064.29 to the end of the tenancy.

The claim seeks water rates owed for the period from the beginning of the tenancy until November 2024, per the Whangarei District Council water rates invoices for this period.

The tenant did not make any water payments during the tenancy.

The amount of water rates owed is proven. Cleaning, rubbish removal, keys

Tenants must leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy and remove all rubbish at the end of the tenancy. 2

The premises were kept in an extremely untidy state during the tenancy and the tenant failed to adequately ventilate the premises. This is discussed in more detail below.

Considering the extent of personal belongings and clothing piled up inside the house during the tenancy, the tenant did a good job of removing a large amount of rubbish by the end of the tenancy. However, [The landlord’s representative/s]’s photographs show that an amount of personal belongings and rubbish still at the property at the end of the tenancy, which justifies the landlord’s claim for $800.00 for rubbish removal.

Some parts of the interior of the premises were thick with mould (walls, ceilings). 1 Section 93 Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (“RTA”) 2 Section 40(1)(e)(iii) RTA

The mould was not due to any fault or defect with the house. There is no evidence of any leaks.

The mould was due to the tenant piling up belongings against the walls, especially clothing, and not ventilating the house. Piling up wet items against the walls has caused the walls to rot, and this is discussed in more detail below.

The cleaning claim seeks 40 hours of cleaning plus cleaning materials including bleach. The total amount claimed is $2,089.99.

Extensive cleaning was clearly justified at the end of the tenancy, having regard to the landlord’s photographs and videos. The hourly rate charged for cleaning ($50/hr) is not outside the parameters of normal in the industry, but I note that the cleaning was carried out by a company that is related to [The landlord/s]. It is analogous to cleaning carried out by the owner, which the Tribunal awards, but at a rate less than general commercial cleaning rates. I will award 40 hours of cleaning at $35 per hour plus materials.

The keys were not returned at the end of the tenancy. The cost of change of locks is proven. Damage

Tenants are liable for damage beyond fair wear and tear that occurs during the tenancy. Tenants are liable for damage caused by themselves or by anyone who is at the premises with their consent.

The claim seeks: a. Repairs to walls. The lower part of the walls throughout the house needed to be replaced. b. Painting, due to replacement of walls and mould damage. c. Re-sanding and sealing of floor. The floor was badly damaged. d. Replacement of curtains and curtain rails. e. Replacement of dishwasher.

[The landlord’s representative/s] provided photographs taken at inspections during the tenancy. The photographs show boxes, clothing, books, papers, and other household items piled up in rooms in the house, to the extent that some of the rooms are barely usable. There are makeshift curtains covering some of the windows, which are closed, and there is mould on the ceilings.

[The landlord’s representative/s]’s photographs, videos, and oral evidence show that the walls rotted due to having damp items piled up against them, with no air circulation and no opportunity for the gib to dry out.

The claim seeks $5,000.00 for repairs. No documentation was provided in support of this figure apart from [The landlord/s]’ own invoice to the tenant.

[The landlord’s representative/s] said that the actual cost of building work was more than this, but he has limited the claim to a reasonable amount.

[The landlord’s representative/s] provided photographs showing the repair work in progress. The scope of work was significant, and the photographs show that the work was done.

I am satisfied that the claim is proven, and that the amount claimed is fair and reasonable, and less than the actual cost of the work.

No depreciation applies to this part of the landlord’s claim.

Painting of the interior was necessary due to the wall replacement work and due to the extensive mould staining / damage on the parts of the walls that were not replaced.

The claim seeks $8,000.00 for this work. Again, there is no documentation in support of this figure. [The landlord’s representative/s] said that they took the opportunity to paint the exterior, so the $8,000.00 is an assessment of the portion of the work that related to the interior (the tenant is not liable for the cost of painting the exterior).

Again, I am satisfied that the work was necessary, that it was a consequence of tenant damage, and that the landlord has incurred this cost. For a claim of this size it would certainly be preferable to have some supporting invoices detailing the actual cost of the work.

Depreciation must also apply. The tenancy began in May 2021 so the paintwork was a minimum of four years old at the end of the tenancy.

I am satisfied that: a. It was necessary to repaint the interior of the house due to damage caused during the tenancy. The damage is beyond fair wear and tear. b. The amount claimed for the work is a reasonable and conservative assessment. c. Depreciation of 50% applies to the cost of the new painting work.

The end of the tenancy photographs show that the wooden floors throughout the house were badly gouged, marked, and scuffed.

[The landlord’s representative/s] said that the floors were last sanded and sealed in 2019. The beginning of tenancy photographs from 2021 show that the floor was in good condition.

The claim seeks the cost of sanding back and re-sealing the floors ($5,500.00).

The landlord’s evidence shows that the floors were damaged beyond fair wear and tear during the tenancy. Sanding and re-sealing was necessary to restore the floor to an acceptable condition.

Depreciation must apply. Based on an existing age of approximately 6 years at the end of the tenancy I will apply depreciation of 50%.

The curtains were damaged (mostly due to mould) and some of the curtain rails were damaged.

The claim for $500.00 seems reasonable but is not supported with any evidence of the cost of replacement.

Deprecation must apply to the cost of the curtains (not the curtain rails). I do not have sufficient information to accurately calculate the depreciated claim. In the absence of this information it is appropriate to take a conservative approach. I will award compensation of $200.00. Smoke alarms

It is an unlawful act for a tenant to interfere with the means of escape from fire, which includes removing or disabling smoke alarms.

The Tenancy Tribunal can award exemplary damages of up to $4,000.00 for this unlawful act.

In considering an award for exemplary damages the Tribunal must have regard to: 3 a. The intention of the person who committed the unlawful act; and b. The effect of the unlawful act; and c. The interests of the person against whom the act was committed; and d. The public interest.

The Tribunal’s usual approach to exemplary damages is to award one-third of the maximum unless there are aggravating or mitigating factors in play. 4

In this instance: a. It is proven that the smoke alarm was removed during the tenancy. This is an unlawful act and it is appropriate to award exemplary damages. b. There is no evidence of a repeated pattern of removing alarms and there is no evidence of smoking inside the house. c. I have no information about why the alarm was removed. 3 Section 109 RTA 4 Wellington Property Management Ltd v Hardie [2022] NZTT 4399281 4374781 d. There is a legitimate public interest in penalising tenants for disabling or removing smoke alarms. The tenant’s action put the house and its occupants at risk.

Having regard to these factors I will award exemplary damages of $1,300.00. Bond, filing fee, name suppression

The landlord was successful in this application. Name suppression is granted to the landlord. 5 I must also award the landlord the filing fee for the application. 6

The bond will be released to the landlord.

Order

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5204293 — net $17,810.18 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 20 January 2025	$3,064.29	2. The landlord’s application sought rent arrears and water rates arrears.
Water rates	$1,628.90	Water rates
Repairs: Walls	$5,000.00	Repairs: Walls
Repairs: Painting	$4,000.00	Repairs: Painting
Repairs: Flooring	$2,750.00	Repairs: Flooring
Repairs: Curtains and curtain rails	$200.00	Repairs: Curtains and curtain rails
Rubbish removal	$800.00	Rubbish removal
Cleaning	$1,489.99	9. The amount of water rates owed is proven.
Lock/key replacement	$150.00	Lock/key replacement
Exemplary damages: Interference with means of escape from fire (removal of smoke alarms	$1,300.00	40. Deprecation must apply to the cost of the curtains (not the curtain rails).
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$17,810.18
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$17,810.18