What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5249352 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 5249352?

Bedroom Carpet: $556.20 awarded to landlord; Bins: $100.00 awarded to landlord; Cleaning: $180.00 awarded to landlord; Cleaning: $253.00 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to landlord; Lawns and Garden Work: $382.95 awarded to landlord; Lounge Carpet: $600.00 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $75.55 awarded to landlord; Waste Disposer: $126.50 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5249352?

The primary dispute was Cleanliness. Related themes: Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5249352?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/12199801-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5249352 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 5249352?

Bedroom Carpet: $556.20 awarded to landlord; Bins: $100.00 awarded to landlord; Cleaning: $180.00 awarded to landlord; Cleaning: $253.00 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to landlord; Lawns and Garden Work: $382.95 awarded to landlord; Lounge Carpet: $600.00 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $75.55 awarded to landlord; Waste Disposer: $126.50 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5249352?

The primary dispute was Cleanliness. Related themes: Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5249352?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/12199801-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

62C Cleveland Street, Edgeware, Christchurch 8013 Tenancy Tribunal Case 5249352 — Cleanliness

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62C Cleveland Street, Edgeware, Christchurch 8013 Tenancy Tribunal Case 5249352 — Cleanliness | TenantCheck

Claims & awards

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

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5249352 — net $1,414.62 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 9 March 2025	$75.55	Rent arrears to 9 March 2025
Lawns and Garden work	$382.95	Lawns and Garden work
Bins	$100.00	Bins
Cleaning	$253.00	Cleaning
Waste disposer	$126.50	Waste disposer
Carpet Cleaning	$180.00	Carpet Cleaning
Bedroom carpet	$556.20	Bedroom carpet
Lounge carpet	$600.00	Lounge carpet
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$1,414.62
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$1,414.62

Claims and awards for application 5249352 — net $1,414.62 NZD. Verify on MoJ.

Rent arrears to 9 March 2025

Amount: $75.55
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Rent arrears to 9 March 2025

Lawns and Garden work

Amount: $382.95
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Lawns and Garden work

Bins

Amount: $100.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Bins

Cleaning

Amount: $253.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Cleaning

Waste disposer

Amount: $126.50
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Waste disposer

Carpet Cleaning

Claim types — money lines allowed on this order

Carpet Cleaning Cleanliness Filing Fee Lawns And Garden Work Rent arrears

Order

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of the landlords’ names and identifying details.
Caitlin Haslam must pay [the landlords] $1,414.62 immediately, calculated as shown in the table below.
The landlords’ claims are otherwise dismissed.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
The landlord has applied for rent arrears, compensation and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy. The bond has been paid to the landlord under two previous orders made in relation to this tenancy. Credit has been given for the remaining bond ordered to be paid to the landlord under the previous order made under this application. Rent
The tenancy ended on 7 March 2025 and the landlord claimed rent to 9 March. There was discussion about when the keys were returned, and I indicated that I would not award rent for 8 and 9 March because any delay in returning the keys was inconsequential. But after looking at the rent statement I saw that rent of $75.55 was due to 7 March and so I have awarded that. The Tenants’ Other Obligations
At the end of the tenancy the tenant must leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy and remove all rubbish.
The tenant must not carelessly or intentionally damage 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.
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).
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).
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. Claims
The tenant accepted the claims for cleaning and resetting the waste disposer, carpet cleaning and for damage to the carpet in the lounge and one of the bedrooms. I have therefore awarded them in full. Garden Work
The tenant disputed the amount claimed for garden work. There were two small garden areas front and back and I agree that the cost claimed for general garden work is excessive. Two hours for that would be reasonable. The other costs are reasonable. The tenant accepted responsibility for grass damage. I have therefore awarded $382.95 instead of the $532.45 claimed. Bin Cleaning
I accept that the council bins needed emptying and cleaning, but I find that the tenant should not have to pay for removing and dumping rubbish from the shared shed. She denied that it was hers. There was no direct evidence that it was hers. Therefore, I cannot be satisfied on the evidence that it was the tenant’s rubbish in the shed. I have therefore awarded $100 for the bins alone. Cleaning
I find that the landlord’s evidence did not support the claim for cleaning costs in full. I find that four hours of cleaning is reasonable and so I have awarded $253 for cleaning. Door Damage
There was a small but obvious indent to the outside of the front door of the premises. It appears to be impact damage. The tenant said that the damage was seen and recorded in the last routine inspection before the tenancy was terminated. The landlords’ representative could not comment on that because they were not the agents at the time. The tenant said that there was no discussion with her about the damage at the time.
The damage could have been caused carelessly but it seems to me more likely that someone did it intentionally by hitting the door with something. The tenant denied any knowledge of how it happened.
The fact that the damage is to the outside of the door means that the presumption that damage caused during the tenancy is the tenant’s responsibility carries less weight. The premises were not left in a good state, but there is no suggestion that the tenant caused any damage intentionally.
In all the circumstances I find it unlikely that the tenant caused the damage and so the claim must be dismissed.
I note that if I had made an award, it would have been for the cost of repairing the door estimated at $281.75. The claim was for $3,322.24 for replacing the door but that was likely to be limited to the insurance excess of $600. Filing Fee
The landlord has had substantial success and so I have awarded the filing fee. Suppression
For the same reason I have granted the landlords name suppression.

Claims & awards

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

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5249352 — net $1,414.62 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 9 March 2025	$75.55	Rent arrears to 9 March 2025
Lawns and Garden work	$382.95	Lawns and Garden work
Bins	$100.00	Bins
Cleaning	$253.00	Cleaning
Waste disposer	$126.50	Waste disposer
Carpet Cleaning	$180.00	Carpet Cleaning
Bedroom carpet	$556.20	Bedroom carpet
Lounge carpet	$600.00	Lounge carpet
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$1,414.62
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$1,414.62

Claims and awards for application 5249352 — net $1,414.62 NZD. Verify on MoJ.

Rent arrears to 9 March 2025

Amount: $75.55
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Rent arrears to 9 March 2025

Lawns and Garden work

Amount: $382.95
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Lawns and Garden work

Bins

Amount: $100.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Bins

Cleaning

Amount: $253.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Cleaning

Waste disposer

Amount: $126.50
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Waste disposer

Carpet Cleaning

Claim types — money lines allowed on this order

Carpet Cleaning Cleanliness Filing Fee Lawns And Garden Work Rent arrears

Order

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of the landlords’ names and identifying details.
Caitlin Haslam must pay [the landlords] $1,414.62 immediately, calculated as shown in the table below.
The landlords’ claims are otherwise dismissed.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
The landlord has applied for rent arrears, compensation and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy. The bond has been paid to the landlord under two previous orders made in relation to this tenancy. Credit has been given for the remaining bond ordered to be paid to the landlord under the previous order made under this application. Rent
The tenancy ended on 7 March 2025 and the landlord claimed rent to 9 March. There was discussion about when the keys were returned, and I indicated that I would not award rent for 8 and 9 March because any delay in returning the keys was inconsequential. But after looking at the rent statement I saw that rent of $75.55 was due to 7 March and so I have awarded that. The Tenants’ Other Obligations
At the end of the tenancy the tenant must leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy and remove all rubbish.
The tenant must not carelessly or intentionally damage 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.
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).
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).
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. Claims
The tenant accepted the claims for cleaning and resetting the waste disposer, carpet cleaning and for damage to the carpet in the lounge and one of the bedrooms. I have therefore awarded them in full. Garden Work
The tenant disputed the amount claimed for garden work. There were two small garden areas front and back and I agree that the cost claimed for general garden work is excessive. Two hours for that would be reasonable. The other costs are reasonable. The tenant accepted responsibility for grass damage. I have therefore awarded $382.95 instead of the $532.45 claimed. Bin Cleaning
I accept that the council bins needed emptying and cleaning, but I find that the tenant should not have to pay for removing and dumping rubbish from the shared shed. She denied that it was hers. There was no direct evidence that it was hers. Therefore, I cannot be satisfied on the evidence that it was the tenant’s rubbish in the shed. I have therefore awarded $100 for the bins alone. Cleaning
I find that the landlord’s evidence did not support the claim for cleaning costs in full. I find that four hours of cleaning is reasonable and so I have awarded $253 for cleaning. Door Damage
There was a small but obvious indent to the outside of the front door of the premises. It appears to be impact damage. The tenant said that the damage was seen and recorded in the last routine inspection before the tenancy was terminated. The landlords’ representative could not comment on that because they were not the agents at the time. The tenant said that there was no discussion with her about the damage at the time.
The damage could have been caused carelessly but it seems to me more likely that someone did it intentionally by hitting the door with something. The tenant denied any knowledge of how it happened.
The fact that the damage is to the outside of the door means that the presumption that damage caused during the tenancy is the tenant’s responsibility carries less weight. The premises were not left in a good state, but there is no suggestion that the tenant caused any damage intentionally.
In all the circumstances I find it unlikely that the tenant caused the damage and so the claim must be dismissed.
I note that if I had made an award, it would have been for the cost of repairing the door estimated at $281.75. The claim was for $3,322.24 for replacing the door but that was likely to be limited to the insurance excess of $600. Filing Fee
The landlord has had substantial success and so I have awarded the filing fee. Suppression
For the same reason I have granted the landlords name suppression.

Tenancy Tribunal case 5249352 — Cleanliness at 62C Cleveland Street, Edgeware, Christchurch 8013

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 5249352 — Cleanliness at 62C Cleveland Street, Edgeware, Christchurch 8013

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions