Tenantcheck Insights · Case study
Tenancy Tribunal case 5292279 — Exemplary damages
Decided 3 Sept 2025 · Published 3 Sept 2025 · Application 5292279
- Exemplary damages
At a glance
Key facts from the published tribunal order.
Location
New Zealand
Tribunal region
Adjudicator
C Price
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’s name and identifying details.
- The tenancy of [The tenant/s] at [Tenancy address suppressed] is terminated, and possession is granted to [The landlord/s], immediately.
Reasons
- [The property manager], representing the landlord, and [The tenant/s], the tenant, both attended the teleconference hearing.
- The landlord has applied for termination and possession of the premises following a termination notice being issued to the tenant.
- The landlord said they issued a termination notice to the tenant dated 20 February 2025, with her last day at the property being 25 May 2025, based on the landlord having to complete extensive renovations of the property. The landlord indicated they extended the last day for the tenant as she was sick around 25 May 2025 and so allowed the tenant to remain at the property until 21 June 2025. The landlord said the tenant is still living in the property at the hearing date.
- The tenant acknowledged receiving the termination notice and extension. She said there were communication issues between her and the landlord, as she viewed another property with the landlord’s property manager, and said she was led to believe she would get that property and so stopped looking for other places to live. She continued that she now realises she must look for other places and is doing so, but there have been family deaths and other stressful issues for her recently.
- The landlord pointed out that their system confirmed the tenant’s application for the other place she referred to had been declined on 25 June 2025 and an email was sent to her that day confirming this. The tenant eventually said she saw there was such an email, though she had felt overwhelmed with the paperwork required for the search for a new property and may have missed it.
- The landlord highlighted that, in terms of other tenancy applications made by the tenant with their property management firm, she had only started looking for new places to live after the initial termination date of 25 May 2025, and not when she got the termination notice in February 2025.
- I acknowledge the tenant has experienced some challenges in communication with the landlord about her other tenancy applications and is struggling to find a new place to live. However, the landlord issued a valid termination notice, then agreed to extend it until 21 June 2025 and now seeks immediate possession of the property.
- A tenant must vacate the premises on the termination of the tenancy. See section 40(1)(e)(i) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
- In the circumstances, and given the evidence, I find it reasonable that the landlord is to have possession of the property back immediately.
- The landlord did not seek exemplary damages for the tenant not leaving the property on the termination date. Suppression
- The tenant did not request name suppression. The landlord requested name suppression. As the landlord has been successful with the claim, they are entitled to name suppression. Therefore, I order that the landlord’s name and identifying details and the tenancy address are not to be published. See section 95A(1) RTA.
Topics & place
Topics are dispute themes across the order (not the same as claim-type money lines).
Residential Tenancies Act sections
s40(1), s95A(1)
Key findings
- Dispute theme: exemplary damages
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about this Tenancy Tribunal case.
What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5292279 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 5292279?
Verified claim lines are listed on this page.
What type of tenancy dispute was case 5292279?
The primary dispute was Exemplary damages.
Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5292279?
The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/12153171-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.
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