What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5319460 about?

The tribunal order states: [The tenant/s] and [The tenant/s] must pay 360 Property

How much money was awarded in case 5319460?

Filing Fee: $28.00 awarded to landlord; Water Rates: $296.67 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5319460?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5319460?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/12530108-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5319460 about?

The tribunal order states: [The tenant/s] and [The tenant/s] must pay 360 Property

How much money was awarded in case 5319460?

Filing Fee: $28.00 awarded to landlord; Water Rates: $296.67 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5319460?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5319460?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/12530108-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

187 Weymouth Road, Manurewa, Auckland 2102 Tenancy Tribunal Case 5319460 — Tenancy dispute

Reasons

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5319460 — net $324.67 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Water rates: Balance as at 8/10/25	$296.67	Water rates: Balance as at 8/10/25
Filing fee reimbursement	$28.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$324.67
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$324.67

The landlord attended today’s hearing. The tenant did not attend.

The landlord has applied for termination of the tenancy for breach of the tenant’s obligations to pay the water rates on time.

The landlord says that the tenant has not paid water rates of $76.02 invoiced on 1 July (sent to the tenant on the 5 July). The landlord has issued a 14 day notice on the 29 July 2025 after the tenant failed to pay the water rates by the due date. The water rates remain unpaid, and further water rates invoices that have been rendered are also unpaid.

The tenants are required to pay for water in the tenancy agreement. The tenants should ensure that these water rates are paid promptly.

The landlord has sought termination today for the breach of the tenant’s obligation to pay water rates and the tenants’ failure to comply with the breach notice given on the 29 July.

Termination may be awarded to a landlord if a tenant is issued a 14 day breach notice under s56 RTA and fails to comply with the notice, but only if it would be inequitable to refuse to do so.

In Vincent Dean Huff v City Central Property Management [2020] NZDC 19229, the District Court considered s 56(1)(c) RTA and set out a range of factors relevant to whether it would be “inequitable to refuse” to terminate the tenancy: a. The history of the tenancy. b. Whether there had been a persistent failure after repeated warnings. c. Whether the history of breaches is such that it is unlikely the tenant would comply with their obligations in the future. d. Whether the breach was inadvertent or deliberately committed. e. The conduct of the landlord. f. The gravity of the breach. g. Whether termination is a proportionate response to the breach.

Taking the above factors into consideration I do not consider that a breach of the failure to pay water rates by the tenants allows me to terminate, I say this for the following reasons: a. The tenancy only began in March, and this is the first 14 day notice given. b. Whilst I understand from the property manager that there are a number of issues at the property, there was no evidence filed by the landlord that showed me that there were a number of breach notices that had been given. c. The gravity of this breach is relatively minor. Although I note that the tenants have now failed to ay the last 3 months of water rates. d. Termination is not proportionate to the breach.

The landlord tells me that they are very concerned about this tenancy. The phone numbers in the tenancy agreement and the email addresses do not seem to be in use by the tenants.

I urge the tenants to engage with the landlords and ensure that they meet their obligations in the tenancy agreement. The tenants should provide contact details to the landlord so that the landlord can contact them.

Because 360 Property Management Limited As Agent For Levi Noah Paul Alexander has substantially succeeded with the claim I have reimbursed the filing fee.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5319460 — net $324.67 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Water rates: Balance as at 8/10/25	$296.67	Water rates: Balance as at 8/10/25
Filing fee reimbursement	$28.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$324.67
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$324.67

Order

[The tenant/s] and [The tenant/s] must pay 360 Property Management Limited As Agent For Levi Noah Paul Alexander $324.67 immediately, calculated as shown in table below:

Reasons

The landlord attended today’s hearing. The tenant did not attend.
The landlord has applied for termination of the tenancy for breach of the tenant’s obligations to pay the water rates on time.
The landlord says that the tenant has not paid water rates of $76.02 invoiced on 1 July (sent to the tenant on the 5 July). The landlord has issued a 14 day notice on the 29 July 2025 after the tenant failed to pay the water rates by the due date. The water rates remain unpaid, and further water rates invoices that have been rendered are also unpaid.
The tenants are required to pay for water in the tenancy agreement. The tenants should ensure that these water rates are paid promptly.
The landlord has sought termination today for the breach of the tenant’s obligation to pay water rates and the tenants’ failure to comply with the breach notice given on the 29 July.
Termination may be awarded to a landlord if a tenant is issued a 14 day breach notice under s56 RTA and fails to comply with the notice, but only if it would be inequitable to refuse to do so.
In Vincent Dean Huff v City Central Property Management [2020] NZDC 19229, the District Court considered s 56(1)(c) RTA and set out a range of factors relevant to whether it would be “inequitable to refuse” to terminate the tenancy: a. The history of the tenancy. b. Whether there had been a persistent failure after repeated warnings. c. Whether the history of breaches is such that it is unlikely the tenant would comply with their obligations in the future. d. Whether the breach was inadvertent or deliberately committed. e. The conduct of the landlord. f. The gravity of the breach. g. Whether termination is a proportionate response to the breach.
Taking the above factors into consideration I do not consider that a breach of the failure to pay water rates by the tenants allows me to terminate, I say this for the following reasons: a. The tenancy only began in March, and this is the first 14 day notice given. b. Whilst I understand from the property manager that there are a number of issues at the property, there was no evidence filed by the landlord that showed me that there were a number of breach notices that had been given. c. The gravity of this breach is relatively minor. Although I note that the tenants have now failed to ay the last 3 months of water rates. d. Termination is not proportionate to the breach.
The landlord tells me that they are very concerned about this tenancy. The phone numbers in the tenancy agreement and the email addresses do not seem to be in use by the tenants.
I urge the tenants to engage with the landlords and ensure that they meet their obligations in the tenancy agreement. The tenants should provide contact details to the landlord so that the landlord can contact them.
Because 360 Property Management Limited As Agent For Levi Noah Paul Alexander has substantially succeeded with the claim I have reimbursed the filing fee.

Tenancy Tribunal case 5319460 — Tenancy dispute at 187 Weymouth Road, Manurewa, Auckland 2102

At a glance

Award balance

Tenancy Tribunal case 5319460 — Tenancy dispute at 187 Weymouth Road, Manurewa, Auckland 2102

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Property management

Frequently asked questions

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Property management

Frequently asked questions