What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5281780 about?

The tribunal order states: The Tribunal orders suppression of the tenant’s name and identifying details.

How much money was awarded in case 5281780?

Property Damage: $1,300.00 awarded to tenant; Filing Fee: $28.00 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5281780?

The primary dispute was Exemplary damages.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5281780?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/12579130-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5281780 about?

The tribunal order states: The Tribunal orders suppression of the tenant’s name and identifying details.

How much money was awarded in case 5281780?

Property Damage: $1,300.00 awarded to tenant; Filing Fee: $28.00 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5281780?

The primary dispute was Exemplary damages.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5281780?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/12579130-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

Unit/Flat 401B, 770A Great South Road, Wiri, Auckland Tenancy Tribunal Case 5281780 — Exemplary damages

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Unit/Flat 401B, 770A Great South Road, Wiri, Auckland Tenancy Tribunal Case 5281780 — Exemplary damages | 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 5281780 — net $2,848.00 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Tenant	Reason
Refund of bond (not lodged	$1,520.00	Refund of bond (not lodged
Exemplary damages: non lodgment of bond	$1,300.00	non lodgment of bond
Filing fee reimbursement	$28.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$2,848.00
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant	$2,848.00

Claims and awards for application 5281780 — net $2,848.00 NZD. Verify on MoJ.

Refund of bond (not lodged

Amount: $1,520.00
Awarded to: Tenant
Reason: Refund of bond (not lodged

Exemplary damages: non lodgment of bond

Amount: $1,300.00
Awarded to: Tenant
Reason: non lodgment of bond

Filing fee reimbursement

Amount: $28.00
Awarded to: Tenant
Reason: Filing fee reimbursement

Net award

Tenant $2,848.00

Total payable by Landlord to Tenant

Tenant $2,848.00

Claim types — money lines allowed on this order

Exemplary damages Filing Fee

Order

The Tribunal orders suppression of the tenant’s name and identifying details.
Marsden Manukau Limited must pay [The tenant/s] $2,848.00 immediately, calculated as shown in table below:

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
[The tenant/s] claims the landlord has not lodged the bond with the Bond Centre within the required time. The tenant seeks the return of her bond.
A landlord must send any bond payment to the Bond Centre within 23 working days after the payment is received. See section 19(1) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
Breaching this obligation is an unlawful act for which the Tribunal may award exemplary damages up to a maximum of $1,500.00. See section 19(2) and Schedule 1A Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The landlord received the bond of $1,520.00 at the start of the tenancy in April 2022. The tenancy ended in March 2024. Despite repeated request for the bond to be refunded, the landlord failed to return the bond.
I find the landlord have committed an unlawful act of failure to lodge the bond during the entire period of the tenancy.
Where a party has committed an unlawful act intentionally, the Tribunal may award exemplary damages where it is satisfied it would be just to do so, having regard to the party’s intent, the effect of the unlawful act, the interests of the other party, and the public interest. See section 109(3) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The landlord says the failure to lodge the bond was due to an oversight and human error. The staff who received the bond no longer works for Ramada.
Marsden Manukau Limited t/a Ramada is an experienced and professional landlord.
As a professional property management company, an audit ought to be conducted on bond lodgements on their entire portfolio to ensure that any overlooked and unlodged bonds will be remedied by bond lodgment immediately.
Because bond lodgment calls upon positive action on part of the landlord, this obligation to do so cannot be so easily circumvented by a plea of mere oversight before the Tribunal.
Another aggravating factor that counts against the landlord is despite the tenancy having ended in 2024 and the tenant repeatedly asking for her return of the bond, the landlord still failed to return the bond to date.
Having regard to the above factors, I find it just to award exemplary damages on the higher end of the scale of $1,300.00 against the landlord. In doing so, I have had regard to the professional property manager’s assertion of the reason for non-lodgment, the effect of the unlawful act to the tenant, the interests of the tenant, and the public interest to tenants in general to be assured that all landlords, especially professional landlords, lodge the bond within 23 working days from the receipt of the bond.
Because [The applicant/s] has wholly succeeded with the claim I must reimburse the filing fee.
I also order the tenant’s name to be suppressed.

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 5281780 — net $2,848.00 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Tenant	Reason
Refund of bond (not lodged	$1,520.00	Refund of bond (not lodged
Exemplary damages: non lodgment of bond	$1,300.00	non lodgment of bond
Filing fee reimbursement	$28.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$2,848.00
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant	$2,848.00

Claims and awards for application 5281780 — net $2,848.00 NZD. Verify on MoJ.

Refund of bond (not lodged

Amount: $1,520.00
Awarded to: Tenant
Reason: Refund of bond (not lodged

Exemplary damages: non lodgment of bond

Amount: $1,300.00
Awarded to: Tenant
Reason: non lodgment of bond

Filing fee reimbursement

Amount: $28.00
Awarded to: Tenant
Reason: Filing fee reimbursement

Net award

Tenant $2,848.00

Total payable by Landlord to Tenant

Tenant $2,848.00

Claim types — money lines allowed on this order

Exemplary damages Filing Fee

Order

The Tribunal orders suppression of the tenant’s name and identifying details.
Marsden Manukau Limited must pay [The tenant/s] $2,848.00 immediately, calculated as shown in table below:

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
[The tenant/s] claims the landlord has not lodged the bond with the Bond Centre within the required time. The tenant seeks the return of her bond.
A landlord must send any bond payment to the Bond Centre within 23 working days after the payment is received. See section 19(1) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
Breaching this obligation is an unlawful act for which the Tribunal may award exemplary damages up to a maximum of $1,500.00. See section 19(2) and Schedule 1A Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The landlord received the bond of $1,520.00 at the start of the tenancy in April 2022. The tenancy ended in March 2024. Despite repeated request for the bond to be refunded, the landlord failed to return the bond.
I find the landlord have committed an unlawful act of failure to lodge the bond during the entire period of the tenancy.
Where a party has committed an unlawful act intentionally, the Tribunal may award exemplary damages where it is satisfied it would be just to do so, having regard to the party’s intent, the effect of the unlawful act, the interests of the other party, and the public interest. See section 109(3) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The landlord says the failure to lodge the bond was due to an oversight and human error. The staff who received the bond no longer works for Ramada.
Marsden Manukau Limited t/a Ramada is an experienced and professional landlord.
As a professional property management company, an audit ought to be conducted on bond lodgements on their entire portfolio to ensure that any overlooked and unlodged bonds will be remedied by bond lodgment immediately.
Because bond lodgment calls upon positive action on part of the landlord, this obligation to do so cannot be so easily circumvented by a plea of mere oversight before the Tribunal.
Another aggravating factor that counts against the landlord is despite the tenancy having ended in 2024 and the tenant repeatedly asking for her return of the bond, the landlord still failed to return the bond to date.
Having regard to the above factors, I find it just to award exemplary damages on the higher end of the scale of $1,300.00 against the landlord. In doing so, I have had regard to the professional property manager’s assertion of the reason for non-lodgment, the effect of the unlawful act to the tenant, the interests of the tenant, and the public interest to tenants in general to be assured that all landlords, especially professional landlords, lodge the bond within 23 working days from the receipt of the bond.
Because [The applicant/s] has wholly succeeded with the claim I must reimburse the filing fee.
I also order the tenant’s name to be suppressed.

Tenancy Tribunal case 5281780 — Exemplary damages at Unit/Flat 401B, 770A Great South Road, Wiri, Auckland

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 5281780 — Exemplary damages at Unit/Flat 401B, 770A Great South Road, Wiri, Auckland

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