What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5283459 about?

The tribunal order states: [The tenant/s] tenant/s], [The tenant/s] tenant/s], [The tenant/s] tenant/s] and

How much money was awarded in case 5283459?

Cleaning: $500.00 awarded to landlord; Cleaning: $530.00 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to landlord; Lawns and Garden Work: $287.50 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $138.00 awarded to landlord; Monies Paid By Tenant Towards Accept…: $888.00 awarded to tenant; Property Damage: $1,830.00 awarded to landlord; Rubbish Removal: $402.50 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5283459?

The primary dispute was Property damage. Related themes: Cleanliness.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5283459?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/12321835-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5283459 about?

The tribunal order states: [The tenant/s] tenant/s], [The tenant/s] tenant/s], [The tenant/s] tenant/s] and

How much money was awarded in case 5283459?

Cleaning: $500.00 awarded to landlord; Cleaning: $530.00 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to landlord; Lawns and Garden Work: $287.50 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $138.00 awarded to landlord; Monies Paid By Tenant Towards Accept…: $888.00 awarded to tenant; Property Damage: $1,830.00 awarded to landlord; Rubbish Removal: $402.50 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5283459?

The primary dispute was Property damage. Related themes: Cleanliness.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5283459?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/12321835-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

11 Nepal Place, Burnside, Christchurch 8053 Tenancy Tribunal Case 5283459 — Property damage

Tenantcheck Insights

Order

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5283459 — net $27.00 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Tenant	Reason
Carpet Cleaning: half excess amount as agreed	$500.00		Carpet Cleaning: half excess amount as agreed
Cleaning	$530.00		Cleaning
Lawns and Garden work	$287.50		Lawns and Garden work
Rubbish removal	$402.50		Rubbish removal
Lock/key replacement: garage remote control	$138.00		Lock/key replacement: garage remote control
Repairs	$1,830.00		Repairs
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00		Filing fee reimbursement
Monies paid by tenant towards accepted costs		$888.00	Monies paid by tenant towards accepted costs
Total award	$3,715.00	$888.00
Net award	$27.00
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$27.00

[The tenant/s] tenant/s], [The tenant/s] tenant/s], [The tenant/s] tenant/s] and [The tenant/s] tenant/s] must pay Rempstone Property Management On Behalf Owner Wei Qin & Jinhua Zhang $27.00 immediately, calculated as shown in table below.

The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $2,800.00 (5660641-002) to Rempstone Property Management On Behalf Owner Wei Qin & Jinhua Zhang immediately.

Reasons

Ms Sun and Ms Wang attended for the landed. The tenants did not attend the hearing.

The landlord has applied for compensation, refund of the bond, and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy.

The tenants had accepted responsibility for all of the costs prior to the hearing but as they are now based overseas, they were unable to attend.

The tenants had already made payments (totalling $888.00) towards the costs that would not be covered by the bond amount.

The tenants had also signed the bond refund form giving the bond money to the landlord in full (just prior to the hearing date), but this had not been processed by the Bond Centre due to this application.

The tenants had, therefore, repaid or arranged for the repayment of the full amount claimed prior to the hearing (excluding the filing fee).

As the matter is now before the Tribunal to determine the appropriateness of allocating the bond to the landlord and the tenant is not present, I must, nevertheless, review all landlord claims.

Did the tenant comply with their obligations at the end of the tenancy?

At the end of the tenancy the tenant must leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy, remove all rubbish, return all keys and security devices, and leave all chattels provided for their benefit. See section 40(1)(e)(ii)-(v) Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (the Act).

The tenant did not leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy and did not remove all rubbish.

The tenant did not return the garage remote control.

The landlord provided invoices, photographs, and emails to support its claims.

The cleaning, gardening and rubbish removal costs were accepted by the tenant in email conversations with the landlord prior to the work being undertaken.

The cleaning invoice of $530.00 included $200.00 for carpet cleaning and an additional $30.00 for carpet stain removal.

Not all of the carpet stains were able to be removed and the landlord provided evidence to confirm that considerable yellowish stains were left after the cleaning had been attempted.

The owner considered an insurance claim which would have resulted in a claim against the tenants for the excess of $1,000.00 as per the insurance policy and confirmed in the tenancy agreement.

The owner decided not to make a claim for the replacement of the carpet and agreed to accept compensation in the sum of $500.00 from the tenants instead.

The amounts ordered are proved and the tenants have accepted responsibility for the amounts claimed.

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to 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. See sections 40(2)(a), 41 and 49B of the Act.

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). See section 49B(3)(b) RTA. Where insurance money is irrecoverable because of the tenant's conduct, the property is treated as if it is not insured against the damage. See section 49B(3A)(a) of the Act.

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. See section 49B(1) of the Act.

Damage is intentional where a person intends to cause damage and takes the necessary steps to achieve that purpose. Damage is also intentional where a person does something, or allows a situation to continue, knowing that damage is a certainty. See Guo v Korck [2019] NZHC 1541.

The following damage was caused during the tenancy: a. Unrepairable damage to three internal doors, b. Damage caused by the removal of a tenant installed wall mounted television, c. Significant damage to an internal wall, d. Damage to an aluminium sliding door lock mechanism, e. Damage to the oven power switch, f. Replacement of two toilet role holders. g. Blocked toilet

The landlord provided invoices, photographs, an ingoing report and emails between the parties to support its claims.

The damage is more than fair wear and tear, and the tenant has not disproved liability for the damage.

The total amount claimed is $1,830.00 and a quotation for the repairs was provided to the tenants before the work began. The final invoices were for the same amount.

The amounts ordered are proved and have been accepted by the tenants.

As Rempstone Property Management On Behalf Owner Wei Qin & Jinhua Zhang has wholly succeeded with the claim I must reimburse the filing fee.

Order

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5283459 — net $27.00 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Tenant	Reason
Carpet Cleaning: half excess amount as agreed	$500.00		Carpet Cleaning: half excess amount as agreed
Cleaning	$530.00		Cleaning
Lawns and Garden work	$287.50		Lawns and Garden work
Rubbish removal	$402.50		Rubbish removal
Lock/key replacement: garage remote control	$138.00		Lock/key replacement: garage remote control
Repairs	$1,830.00		Repairs
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00		Filing fee reimbursement
Monies paid by tenant towards accepted costs		$888.00	Monies paid by tenant towards accepted costs
Total award	$3,715.00	$888.00
Net award	$27.00
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$27.00