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Tenancy Tribunal case 5236217 — 14-day notice

Decided 29 Aug 2025 · Published 29 Aug 2025 · Application 5236217

14-day notice
Harassment

Party names are redacted in the official published order. This page summarises the dispute only — not individual identities.

View official order on MoJ →Explore similar cases

At a glance

Key facts from the published tribunal order.

Location

New Zealand

Tribunal region

Adjudicator

N Maplesden

Claims & awards

What this tenancy cost at tribunal — claim, category, amount, and party awarded, with reconciled net total.

No individual claim amounts were reconciled for this order. View the official Ministry of Justice PDF for full detail.

Order

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of the Landlord name, witness names, and identifying details and the tenancy address.
The tenancy of [The tenant/s] at [Tenancy address suppressed] is terminated, and possession is granted to [The landlord/s], at 12 noon on Thursday 22 May 2025.
Leave is granted for the possession order to be enforced immediately pursuant to section 138(1)(b) of the District Court Act 2016 and section 106(2) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

Reasons

[The landlord’s representative/s] attended the hearing. The tenant did not attend. I continued in her absence as she has been posted notice of the hearing.
The landlord has applied for termination of the tenancy for breach of the tenancy agreement and/or of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA).
The Tribunal must terminate a tenancy if satisfied that a tenant, or a person at the premises with the tenant’s permission, has assaulted or threatened to assault the landlord, owner, agent, or a neighbour; see s55(1)(c) RTA.
The Tribunal may terminate a tenancy for breach where, due to the nature or extent of the breach, it would be inequitable to refuse to terminate. See section 56(1) RTA.
Where the breach is not capable of remedy, the landlord is not expressly required to serve a 14-day breach notice on the tenant. A breach is not capable of remedy where the thing done, or its effect, cannot be undone.
However, unless the breach is serious, the Tribunal usually requires the landlord to have warned the tenant about the likely consequences of continued breach before it will exercise its discretion to terminate. Assault on neighbour by tenant’s guest
The landlord supplied a copy of a ‘notice of anti-social behaviour’ issued to the tenant after an incident on 12 December 2024.
The notice says that a guest of the tenant assaulted a neighbour by hitting him with a small, plastic rubbish bin which split his eyelid and caused swelling to his cheekbone.
The landlord advises that the police attended the incident and photos were taken of the victim’s injury.
The person responsible was issued with a Trespass Notice. The landlord did not take further action.
I heard oral evidence from a witness to the assault, [The landlord/s], who said that he was the person who called the police that day. He told me that the person who assaulted the neighbour was staying at [Tenancy address suppressed] with the tenant and had done so on several occasions.
The RTA makes it clear that a tenant is responsible for the actions of someone at the premises with their permission; s41 RTA.
I am satisfied that a guest of the tenant assaulted a neighbour.
The law says I must terminate the tenancy; s55(1)(c) RTA.
This incident happened 5 months ago. The landlord decided to give the tenant and her guests another chance. There have been more problems since the assault, and I discuss these now. Threats to assault neighbour by tenant’s guest
The landlord supplied a copy of a ‘notice of anti-social behaviour’ issued to the tenant after an incident on 2 April 2025.
The notice says that the resident of [address redacted] was woken at 11:30pm that night by talking outside his unit. He asked the people to please move along. One of the people then told him he would bring back his [gang] mates to sort him out the next day.
I heard oral evidence from [The landlord/s]. He confirmed the events above and that the people outside his unit that night were guests of the tenant.
[The witness] also confirmed that he had been threatened by a different guest on another occasion. He said the guest “got up in his face” and told [The witness] he was “gonna get my friends over”.
[The landlord’s representative/s] was a witness to this second incident. It is recorded in another ‘notice of anti-social behaviour’ which records the event happening on 10 April 2025.
[The landlord’s representative/s] confirmed that the guest’s behaviour that day was threatening. [The landlord’s representative/s] said he thought that a punch may be thrown. Fortunately, [The witness] did not retaliate, and the guest left the property without matters escalating.
[The landlord’s representative/s] made an online police report of the incident on that date. The report was provided in evidence. I accept it as verification of the date and details of the incident.
I am satisfied that saying someone will bring [gang], or ‘friends’ over, in the context of an argument and accompanied by aggressive actions, is a threat to assault someone. Two different guests of the tenant have threatened to assault [The witness], who is a neighbour, on two separate occasions.
The law says I must terminate the tenancy; s55(1)(c) RTA.

Has the tenant breached the tenancy agreement or RTA in other ways?

The landlord has provided evidence of other breaches of the tenancy agreement or of the RTA. The evidence is: a. [The witness] told me he has seen the tenant and her guests smoking marijuana inside the premises and has often smelled marijuana coming from the windows of the premises; b. [The landlord’s representative/s] told me he has smelled marijuana coming from the premises and seen ashtrays inside with cigarette butts in (during an inspection on 16 December 2024; c. Three separate breach notices refer to smoking inside or smoking marijuana.
I find it to be more probable than not that the tenant and her guests have smoked inside the premises and have probably smoked marijuana inside the premises.
I was not referred to and cannot find a clause in the tenancy agreement prohibiting smoking inside. It is not proven that smoking cigarettes inside is a breach.
A tenant must not use, or permit the use of, tenancy premises for any unlawful purpose; s40(2)(b) RTA.
It is an offence to consume, smoke or otherwise use cannabis in New Zealand; section 7 Misuse of Drugs Act 1975.
I find the oral evidence from [The witness] and [The landlord’s representative/s] sufficient to prove that it is more probable than not that marijuana has been smoked inside the premises. This is a breach of s40(2)(b) RTA.
Arguably, this breach cannot be remedied or undone. Once the premises have been used for an unlawful purpose (smoking marijuana), this cannot be undone.
However, the use of marijuana is common in New Zealand. I would not have terminated the tenancy immediately for this breach alone. I would have expected the landlord to issue a specific breach notice to the tenant and warn her not to do this, or allow her guests to do this, or the landlord may seek to terminate her tenancy.
However, in these circumstances, where there has been an assault and at least two occasions of threatening to assault neighbours, I must terminate the tenancy.
I note that the landlord has also supplied notices of breach which refer to at least two incidents of loud parties late at night at the premises which have disrupted the neighbours. There is no other evidence to substantiate this, so these breaches are not proven. Immediate termination of the tenancy
I made an oral order during the hearing terminating the tenancy at 12 noon today, 22 May 2025.
I made an immediate order because I am concerned about the risk to neighbours and the property if the tenant is allowed to stay at the premises even for a short time. I am mostly concerned about the actions of the tenant’s guests. This is a complex of 12 units in close proximity and the safety and privacy of neighbours must not be compromised.
I grant leave for the possession order to be enforced immediately on the grounds that there is a risk to the security of others or to the property if enforcement is delayed. 1 Suppression of name and filing fee
The landlord is awarded the filing fee.
I order suppression of the landlord name, all witness details, and of the tenancy address (to protect the privacy of the neighbours).

Topics & place

Topics are dispute themes across the order (not the same as claim-type money lines).

14-day notice Harassment NO ADDRESS

Residential Tenancies Act sections

s106(2), s138(1), s40(2), s41, s55(1), s56(1), s7

Key findings

Dispute theme: termination 14day
Dispute theme: harassment

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about this Tenancy Tribunal case.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5236217 about?

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

How much money was awarded in case 5236217?

Verified claim lines are listed on this page.

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5236217?

The primary dispute was 14-day notice. Related themes: Harassment.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5236217?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11881469-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

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Order

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

The tenancy of [The tenant/s] at [Tenancy address suppressed] is terminated, and possession is granted to [The landlord/s], at 12 noon on Thursday 22 May 2025.

Leave is granted for the possession order to be enforced immediately pursuant to section 138(1)(b) of the District Court Act 2016 and section 106(2) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

Reasons

[The landlord’s representative/s] attended the hearing. The tenant did not attend. I continued in her absence as she has been posted notice of the hearing.

The landlord has applied for termination of the tenancy for breach of the tenancy agreement and/or of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA).

The Tribunal must terminate a tenancy if satisfied that a tenant, or a person at the premises with the tenant’s permission, has assaulted or threatened to assault the landlord, owner, agent, or a neighbour; see s55(1)(c) RTA.

The Tribunal may terminate a tenancy for breach where, due to the nature or extent of the breach, it would be inequitable to refuse to terminate. See section 56(1) RTA.

Where the breach is not capable of remedy, the landlord is not expressly required to serve a 14-day breach notice on the tenant. A breach is not capable of remedy where the thing done, or its effect, cannot be undone.

However, unless the breach is serious, the Tribunal usually requires the landlord to have warned the tenant about the likely consequences of continued breach before it will exercise its discretion to terminate. Assault on neighbour by tenant’s guest

The landlord supplied a copy of a ‘notice of anti-social behaviour’ issued to the tenant after an incident on 12 December 2024.

The notice says that a guest of the tenant assaulted a neighbour by hitting him with a small, plastic rubbish bin which split his eyelid and caused swelling to his cheekbone.

The landlord advises that the police attended the incident and photos were taken of the victim’s injury.

The person responsible was issued with a Trespass Notice. The landlord did not take further action.

I heard oral evidence from a witness to the assault, [The landlord/s], who said that he was the person who called the police that day. He told me that the person who assaulted the neighbour was staying at [Tenancy address suppressed] with the tenant and had done so on several occasions.

The RTA makes it clear that a tenant is responsible for the actions of someone at the premises with their permission; s41 RTA.

I am satisfied that a guest of the tenant assaulted a neighbour.

The law says I must terminate the tenancy; s55(1)(c) RTA.

This incident happened 5 months ago. The landlord decided to give the tenant and her guests another chance. There have been more problems since the assault, and I discuss these now. Threats to assault neighbour by tenant’s guest

The landlord supplied a copy of a ‘notice of anti-social behaviour’ issued to the tenant after an incident on 2 April 2025.

The notice says that the resident of [address redacted] was woken at 11:30pm that night by talking outside his unit. He asked the people to please move along. One of the people then told him he would bring back his [gang] mates to sort him out the next day.

I heard oral evidence from [The landlord/s]. He confirmed the events above and that the people outside his unit that night were guests of the tenant.

[The witness] also confirmed that he had been threatened by a different guest on another occasion. He said the guest “got up in his face” and told [The witness] he was “gonna get my friends over”.

[The landlord’s representative/s] was a witness to this second incident. It is recorded in another ‘notice of anti-social behaviour’ which records the event happening on 10 April 2025.

[The landlord’s representative/s] confirmed that the guest’s behaviour that day was threatening. [The landlord’s representative/s] said he thought that a punch may be thrown. Fortunately, [The witness] did not retaliate, and the guest left the property without matters escalating.

[The landlord’s representative/s] made an online police report of the incident on that date. The report was provided in evidence. I accept it as verification of the date and details of the incident.

I am satisfied that saying someone will bring [gang], or ‘friends’ over, in the context of an argument and accompanied by aggressive actions, is a threat to assault someone. Two different guests of the tenant have threatened to assault [The witness], who is a neighbour, on two separate occasions.

The law says I must terminate the tenancy; s55(1)(c) RTA.

Has the tenant breached the tenancy agreement or RTA in other ways?

The landlord has provided evidence of other breaches of the tenancy agreement or of the RTA. The evidence is: a. [The witness] told me he has seen the tenant and her guests smoking marijuana inside the premises and has often smelled marijuana coming from the windows of the premises; b. [The landlord’s representative/s] told me he has smelled marijuana coming from the premises and seen ashtrays inside with cigarette butts in (during an inspection on 16 December 2024; c. Three separate breach notices refer to smoking inside or smoking marijuana.

I find it to be more probable than not that the tenant and her guests have smoked inside the premises and have probably smoked marijuana inside the premises.

I was not referred to and cannot find a clause in the tenancy agreement prohibiting smoking inside. It is not proven that smoking cigarettes inside is a breach.

A tenant must not use, or permit the use of, tenancy premises for any unlawful purpose; s40(2)(b) RTA.

It is an offence to consume, smoke or otherwise use cannabis in New Zealand; section 7 Misuse of Drugs Act 1975.

I find the oral evidence from [The witness] and [The landlord’s representative/s] sufficient to prove that it is more probable than not that marijuana has been smoked inside the premises. This is a breach of s40(2)(b) RTA.

Arguably, this breach cannot be remedied or undone. Once the premises have been used for an unlawful purpose (smoking marijuana), this cannot be undone.

However, the use of marijuana is common in New Zealand. I would not have terminated the tenancy immediately for this breach alone. I would have expected the landlord to issue a specific breach notice to the tenant and warn her not to do this, or allow her guests to do this, or the landlord may seek to terminate her tenancy.

However, in these circumstances, where there has been an assault and at least two occasions of threatening to assault neighbours, I must terminate the tenancy.

I note that the landlord has also supplied notices of breach which refer to at least two incidents of loud parties late at night at the premises which have disrupted the neighbours. There is no other evidence to substantiate this, so these breaches are not proven. Immediate termination of the tenancy

I made an oral order during the hearing terminating the tenancy at 12 noon today, 22 May 2025.

I made an immediate order because I am concerned about the risk to neighbours and the property if the tenant is allowed to stay at the premises even for a short time. I am mostly concerned about the actions of the tenant’s guests. This is a complex of 12 units in close proximity and the safety and privacy of neighbours must not be compromised.

I grant leave for the possession order to be enforced immediately on the grounds that there is a risk to the security of others or to the property if enforcement is delayed. 1 Suppression of name and filing fee

The landlord is awarded the filing fee.

I order suppression of the landlord name, all witness details, and of the tenancy address (to protect the privacy of the neighbours).