What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5262120 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 5262120?

Refund Two Weeks Rent Paid In Advanc…: $1,360.00 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5262120?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5262120?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/12256322-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5262120 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 5262120?

Refund Two Weeks Rent Paid In Advanc…: $1,360.00 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5262120?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5262120?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/12256322-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

22 Marvan Crescent, Manurewa, Auckland 2105, base Tenancy Tribunal Case 5262120 — Tenancy dispute

Tenantcheck Insights

Reasons

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5262120 — net $4,080.00 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Tenant	Reason
Refund of bond	$2,720.00	Refund of bond
Refund two weeks rent paid in advance	$1,360.00	Refund two weeks rent paid in advance
Net award	$4,080.00
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant	$4,080.00

Only the tenant attended the hearing which was held in person at 9.30am today, 13 August 2025.

Jyoti Kaur sent an email to the Tribunal at 8.20am this morning seeking an adjournment on the basis that she is looking after a family member who went through an emergency C-section delivery on Sunday, 10 August 2025.

The adjournment request has come through very late, while the tenant was on his way to the hearing, and no explanation was provided as to why the adjournment was not requested on either Monday 11 August or Tuesday 12 August 2025.

Mr Osborne is also named as a landlord. He has not sought an adjournment for the hearing today. He was copied into Ms Kaur’s email and so must be aware that she will not be attending on his behalf. Her email was also copied to Ria Hothi, who appears to have acted as agent for the landlords throughout, but no request was made for her to attend as a representative.

In the circumstances the adjournment request is declined. The tenant is here ready to proceed. As the landlord has been served, and the adjournment request has not been granted, the hearing proceeded in the landlords’ absence. Tenant’s claim

This tenant said that he was in India in January, ready to return to New Zealand, and so asked his friend if he could assist him to find a tenancy that he could move into on his return.

The tenant’s friend attended the Tribunal as a witness. He said that he saw the property on Trademe Marketplace and contacted the landlord’s agent, Ria Hothi. He attended at the property to inspect with Ms Hothi and found that there had been a leak at the property, a light was hanging down, and that it was very unclean with mould present around all of the windows and doors. He said that Ms Hothi assured him that everything would be remedied before moving in.

The tenant said that his friend then put him in contact with Ms Hothi who sent him a blank tenancy agreement to sign on the basis that the landlord would then fill in the details. The tenant provided copies of email correspondence confirming this. He said that he then signed the agreement on 20 January 2025 and returned it to the landlord. He also paid a bond of $2,720 and two weeks’ rent in advance in the amount of $1,360 and provided evidence of payment.

The completed tenancy agreement states that the tenancy was to start on 31 January 2025 and was to be for a fixed term until 31 January 2026. Rent was $680 per week. The landlords are named as David Osborne and Jyoti Kaur. The Healthy Homes section was not completed.

The tenant said that when he arrived in New Zealand and went to move into the property he found that the issues had not been fixed. He said that the property was unclean and that there was still mould present around all windows and doors and that a kitchen cabinet and the floor appeared to be water damaged. He produced photos in evidence in the Tribunal today.

He said that he told Ms Hothi that he would not be moving in because the condition of the property was not as promised. He said that he thought that the landlords had accepted this as Ms Hothi told him that the landlord would look for new tenants. He said that he continued to correspond with Ms Hothi regarding the refund of monies paid but that she stopped responding to him. The tenant produced text messages showing his attempts to contact her.

The tenant said that he then received an email from Mr Osborne on 11 March 2025 in which he stated that the tenant had not started the tenancy and was not paying rent, and then purported to terminate the tenancy on the basis that the property was being placed on the market for sale.

Is the tenant entitled to a refund of his bond?

Section 22B(2) Residential Tenancies Act 1986 provides that, where a tenant applies for refund of the bond, and the landlord seeks payment from the bond, the landlord must file an application setting out the details of the counterclaim. Because the landlord has not filed a counterclaim the bond is refunded in full to the tenant.

The bond does not appear to have been lodged with the Bond Centre. I have therefore made an order that the landlord refund the bond of $2720.00 to the tenant directly. Is the tenant entitled to reimbursement of the two weeks’ rent paid in advance?

Under s 45(1)(a) and (b) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1969 (RTA), landlords must provide the premises reasonably clean and in a reasonable state of repair. The section relevantly provides: 45 Landlord’s responsibilities (1) The landlord shall— (a) provide the premises in a reasonable state of cleanliness; and (b) provide and maintain the premises in a reasonable state of repair having regard to the age and character of the premises and the period during which the premises are likely to remain habitable and available for residential purposes...

Under s 37 of the Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017 a party may cancel the contract if the other party breaches a term of the contract that the parties expressly or impliedly agreed was essential to the contract.

In this case the tenant’s friend, acting as his agent, discussed the condition of the property with the landlords’ agent and it was agreed that the property would be cleaned and ready to move into. The parties expressly agreed that this was essential to the contract.

The tenant was entitled to cancel the contract. He did not move into the property and is entitled to recover the two weeks’ rent paid in advance, being $1,360.00.

Reasons

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5262120 — net $4,080.00 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Tenant	Reason
Refund of bond	$2,720.00	Refund of bond
Refund two weeks rent paid in advance	$1,360.00	Refund two weeks rent paid in advance
Net award	$4,080.00
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant	$4,080.00

Only the tenant attended the hearing which was held in person at 9.30am today, 13 August 2025.

This tenant said that he was in India in January, ready to return to New Zealand, and so asked his friend if he could assist him to find a tenancy that he could move into on his return.

Is the tenant entitled to a refund of his bond?

The tenant was entitled to cancel the contract. He did not move into the property and is entitled to recover the two weeks’ rent paid in advance, being $1,360.00.

Tenancy Tribunal case 5262120 — Tenancy dispute at 22 Marvan Crescent, Manurewa, Auckland 2105, base

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 5262120 — Tenancy dispute at 22 Marvan Crescent, Manurewa, Auckland 2105, base

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Is the tenant entitled to a refund of his bond?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Is the tenant entitled to a refund of his bond?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions