What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5324619 about?

The tribunal order states: [The tenant/s] tenant/s] must pay Barfoot & Thompson Limited As Agent For Martin &

How much money was awarded in case 5324619?

Filing Fee: $28.00 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $256.45 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5324619?

The primary dispute was Property damage.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5324619?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/12689557-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5324619 about?

The tribunal order states: [The tenant/s] tenant/s] must pay Barfoot & Thompson Limited As Agent For Martin &

How much money was awarded in case 5324619?

Filing Fee: $28.00 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $256.45 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5324619?

The primary dispute was Property damage.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5324619?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/12689557-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

Unit/Flat 2, 6 Tohitapu Road, Paihia, Paihia 0200 Tenancy Tribunal Case 5324619 — Property damage

Tenantcheck Insights

Unit/Flat 2, 6 Tohitapu Road, Paihia, Paihia 0200 Tenancy Tribunal Case 5324619 — Property damage | 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 5324619 — net $284.45 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Lock/key replacement	$256.45	Lock/key replacement
Filing fee reimbursement	$28.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$284.45
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$284.45

Claims and awards for application 5324619 — net $284.45 NZD. Verify on MoJ.

Lock/key replacement

Amount: $256.45
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Lock/key replacement

Filing fee reimbursement

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

Net award

Landlord $284.45

Total payable by Tenant to Landlord

Landlord $284.45

Dismissed claims

Cleaning
Lightbulbs

Claim types — money lines allowed on this order

Filing Fee Property damage Cleanliness

Order

[The tenant/s] tenant/s] must pay Barfoot & Thompson Limited As Agent For Martin & Melanie Binnie $284.45 immediately, calculated as shown in table below.
All other clams are dismissed.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing. The tenant hung up when I asked him to stop recording.
The landlord has applied for compensation and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy.

Did the tenant comply with his 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 (RTA).
The landlord said no keys were returned at the end of the tenancy. The claim for replacement keys is proved and allowed.
There is a claim for additional cleaning to some quite specific parts of the premises. The RTA does not require the premises to be provided or returned in a spotless or an immaculate condition. The standard is based on what an average bystander would consider reasonable, not on the subjective opinions of the landlord and tenant. There is no scientific way to determine what is reasonably clean and tidy, and the Tribunal must evaluate the evidence available, and in particular inspection reports and photographs.
This is the landlord’s claim to prove. I find there is no real difference between the photos taken of the rug and the sofa at the start and the end of the tenancy. I find that cleaning the kitchen extractor fan and the venetian blind at the end of a two year tenancy is a landlord maintenance job. The landlord has not proved the claim for additional cleaning and it is dismissed.
There is also a claim for two replacement light bulbs in the bedroom and one light in the middle of the extractor fan unit in the bathroom. It seems likely these just stopped working during the tenancy because there is no evidence of damage. I find the tenant is not responsible for replacing the bulbs at the end of the tenancy because the RTA does not place any responsibility on the tenant unless there is damage. I note that some adjudicators do allow claims for the replacement of ordinary light bulbs. There is nothing on the invoice to confirm the bulbs were ordinary bulbs. This claim is dismissed.
Because the landlord has substantially succeeded with the claim I have reimbursed the filing fee.

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 5324619 — net $284.45 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Lock/key replacement	$256.45	Lock/key replacement
Filing fee reimbursement	$28.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$284.45
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$284.45

Claims and awards for application 5324619 — net $284.45 NZD. Verify on MoJ.

Lock/key replacement

Amount: $256.45
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Lock/key replacement

Filing fee reimbursement

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

Net award

Landlord $284.45

Total payable by Tenant to Landlord

Landlord $284.45

Dismissed claims

Cleaning
Lightbulbs

Claim types — money lines allowed on this order

Filing Fee Property damage Cleanliness

Order

[The tenant/s] tenant/s] must pay Barfoot & Thompson Limited As Agent For Martin & Melanie Binnie $284.45 immediately, calculated as shown in table below.
All other clams are dismissed.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing. The tenant hung up when I asked him to stop recording.
The landlord has applied for compensation and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy.

Did the tenant comply with his 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 (RTA).
The landlord said no keys were returned at the end of the tenancy. The claim for replacement keys is proved and allowed.
There is a claim for additional cleaning to some quite specific parts of the premises. The RTA does not require the premises to be provided or returned in a spotless or an immaculate condition. The standard is based on what an average bystander would consider reasonable, not on the subjective opinions of the landlord and tenant. There is no scientific way to determine what is reasonably clean and tidy, and the Tribunal must evaluate the evidence available, and in particular inspection reports and photographs.
This is the landlord’s claim to prove. I find there is no real difference between the photos taken of the rug and the sofa at the start and the end of the tenancy. I find that cleaning the kitchen extractor fan and the venetian blind at the end of a two year tenancy is a landlord maintenance job. The landlord has not proved the claim for additional cleaning and it is dismissed.
There is also a claim for two replacement light bulbs in the bedroom and one light in the middle of the extractor fan unit in the bathroom. It seems likely these just stopped working during the tenancy because there is no evidence of damage. I find the tenant is not responsible for replacing the bulbs at the end of the tenancy because the RTA does not place any responsibility on the tenant unless there is damage. I note that some adjudicators do allow claims for the replacement of ordinary light bulbs. There is nothing on the invoice to confirm the bulbs were ordinary bulbs. This claim is dismissed.
Because the landlord has substantially succeeded with the claim I have reimbursed the filing fee.

Tenancy Tribunal case 5324619 — Property damage at Unit/Flat 2, 6 Tohitapu Road, Paihia, Paihia 0200

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 5324619 — Property damage at Unit/Flat 2, 6 Tohitapu Road, Paihia, Paihia 0200

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Dismissed claims

Order

Reasons

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

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Property management

Frequently asked questions

Reduce avoidable tribunal risk with proper tenant checks.

Award balance

Claims & awards

Dismissed claims

Order

Reasons

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

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Property management

Frequently asked questions

Reduce avoidable tribunal risk with proper tenant checks.