Published tribunal order
Tenancy Tribunal case 5210512 — Rent arrears
Decided 20 May 2025 · Published 20 May 2025 · Application 5210512
- Rent arrears
- 14-day notice
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 and the tenancy address.
- [The tenant/s] owes Kāinga Ora–Homes And Communities $2,750.00 (“the debt”), being rent arrears to 26 May 2025.
- [The tenant/s] must pay rent and the debt as follows: a. By fortnightly payments of $450.00, being $410.00 for fortnightly rent and $40.00 per fortnight towards the debt, starting on Wednesday 21 May 2025 and continuing every second Wednesday until the debt is paid in full.
- Payments will be allocated in the following order: rent and rent arrears.
- If the tenant fails to pay rent and rent arrears within 2 working days of the due dates: a. The tenancy at [Tenancy address suppressed] will terminate and the landlord will have immediate possession of the premises. b. The balance of the debt will be payable immediately.
Reasons
- Both parties attended the teleconference hearing.
- The landlord has applied for termination of the tenancy and rent arrears. The tenant wants to repay the debt to avoid immediate termination.
Should a conditional termination order be made?
- Where rent is at least 21 days in arrears on the date the application was filed, the Tribunal must make either a final or a conditional termination order. See section 55(1)(a) and (1A) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
- I am satisfied the tenant will pay the debt within the period specified in the order and is unlikely to commit any further relevant breach. I have granted a conditional termination order.
- The conditional termination order will lapse if it is fully complied with. If the tenant breaches the order, the possession order may be enforced for 90 days from the first breach. See section 64(4)(b) Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (“RTA”). Suppression
- The tenant requested name suppression. Section 95A(4) RTA provides that the Tribunal may, on the application of a party to proceedings or on its own initiative, having regards to the interest 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order that all or part of the evidence given or the name or any identifying particulars of any witness or party not be published.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 gave evidence of issues with her family, including her son’s mental health issues and attempted suicide and other family issues, which impacted on her past ability to pay rent. From the landlord’s rent summary, it appears the tenant has been paying rent and money towards the debt mostly consistently for a few months. The tenant said she now has steady full-time work and has arranged for an automatic payment for the rent. The tenant added that the family issues have stabilised, and things are going much better now. Given the evidence, I find the tenant’s interests outweigh the public interest in publishing her name.
- Therefore, I order that the tenant’s name and identifying details and the tenancy address are not to be published.