What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5335502 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 5335502?

Filing Fee: $28.00 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $538.20 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $460.00 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $920.00 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $557.75 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $1,765.25 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $710.13 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $1,372.71 awarded to landlord; Smoke Alarms: $126.50 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5335502?

The primary dispute was Property damage. Related themes: Rent arrears, Leaks, Smoke alarms.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5335502?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/12456966-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5335502 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 5335502?

Filing Fee: $28.00 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $538.20 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $460.00 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $920.00 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $557.75 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $1,765.25 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $710.13 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $1,372.71 awarded to landlord; Smoke Alarms: $126.50 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5335502?

The primary dispute was Property damage. Related themes: Rent arrears, Leaks, Smoke alarms.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5335502?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/12456966-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 5335502 — Property damage

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New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 5335502 — 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 5335502 — net $5,870.54 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears	$1,372.71	Rent arrears
Lock/key replacement	$538.20	Lock/key replacement
Window replacement 1	$460.00	Window replacement 1
Carpet repair	$920.00	Carpet repair
Window replacement 2	$557.75	Window replacement 2
Wall repairs	$1,765.25	Wall repairs
Smoke alarm replacement x2	$126.50	Smoke alarm replacement x2
Plumbing repair cost	$710.13	Plumbing repair cost
Filing fee reimbursement	$28.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$5,870.54
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$5,870.54

Claims and awards for application 5335502 — net $5,870.54 NZD. Verify on MoJ.

Rent arrears

Amount: $1,372.71
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Rent arrears

Lock/key replacement

Amount: $538.20
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Lock/key replacement

Window replacement 1

Amount: $460.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Window replacement 1

Carpet repair

Amount: $920.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Carpet repair

Window replacement 2

Amount: $557.75
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Window replacement 2

Claim types — money lines allowed on this order

Filing Fee Property damage Rent arrears Replace Smoke Alarms

Order

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of the landlords name and identifying details.
The tenancy of Kevin Rua Te Tai at [Tenancy address suppressed] is terminated, and possession is granted to [The landlord/s], immediately.
The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $608.00 ([Bond number suppressed]) to [The landlord/s] immediately.
Kevin Rua Te Tai must pay [The landlord/s] $5,870.54 immediately, calculated as shown in the table below:

Reasons

DescriptionLandlord Rent arrears$1,372.71 Lock/key replacement$538.20 Window replacement 1$460.00 Carpet repair$920.00 Window replacement 2$557.75 Wall repairs$1,765.25 Smoke alarm replacement x2$126.50 Plumbing repair cost$710.13 Filing fee reimbursement$28.00 Total award$6,478.54 Minus bond$608.00 Total payable by Tenant to Landlord$5,870.54

The Tribunal must consider an application filed by the landlord.
Only the landlord appeared at the hearing. I am satisfied that the tenant has been properly notified of the hearing, and therefore I will proceed to consider the claim in his absence.

BACKGROUND

The tenancy agreement records the sole tenant as Kevin Rua Te Tai. The evidence as I will discuss below, is that the tenant fell into significant rent arrears, and during the tenancy has damaged the premises. The landlord now seeks an order from the Tribunal terminating the tenancy, and ordering compensation for the rent and damage.

RELEVANT LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS

The relevant law that applies is found in the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (“RTA”).
With any claim before the Tenancy Tribunal, the Tribunal applies the usual civil law standards and expectations.
That includes a requirement that the party bringing the claim (the applicant), establish their claims “on the balance of probabilities”. The balance of probabilities means more likely than unlikely, or in mathematical terms, has a fractionally more than 50% likelihood. The Tribunal does not need to be certain or very sure about any claim, only that what is claimed is likely.
It is the applicant that must prove their case. As noted by the District Court in Kaipo v Clarke & McCarthy (DC) TT233/02, in practical terms this means that: ... [L]ike anyone who brings an application before a Tribunal or Court, it is incumbent upon the applicant to provide the evidence necessary to prove the case. If the applicant fails to do that, then their application will be dismissed whether it has merit or not because it is up to the applicant to provide the necessary evidence. It is not up to the other parties, and it is certainly not up to the Tribunal to extract evidence.

COMPENSATION

With any compensation claim, to receive an order the party must incur a loss. In short, the compensation is intended as best money can do, to compensate for the actual loss incurred.
Where a landlord claims compensation for damage caused by a tenant, the landlord must first prove the damage is more than fair wear and tear, and that it occurred during the tenancy. 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.
Where the damage is caused carelessly, the tenant's liability is limited to the lesser of the insurance excess or four weeks' rent.
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.
Damage is intentional where a person intends to cause damage and takes the necessary steps to achieve that purpose. Damage is also intentional when a person does something, or allows a situation to continue, knowing that damage is a certainty. See the High Court decision of Guo v Korck [2019] NZHC 1541.

ANALYSIS

I will consider the claims in turn. Claim 1- Termination and rent arrears order.
The landlord seeks an order terminating the tenancy because of rent arrears. Section 55 of the RTA confirms that when the tenant is more than 21 days in arrears on the date the application is filed, the Tribunal “shall” order termination of the tenancy. In this case on the date of the application, the tenant was around 38 days behind in rent. That being the case, the tenancy must be terminated. I grant immediate possession to the landlord.
As at the date of the hearing, the rent arrears totalled $1,372.71, so rent arrears to that amount is ordered. Claim 2 – Lock replacement
The landlord claims lock replacement costs of $538.20, from a lock change in 2024. The landlord states that the tenant lost his keys, hence changing the locks. The landlord seeks to recover this cost. The tenant is liable for this cost, as he is responsible for maintaining and then returning his keys. Claim 3 – Window repair 1
During the tenancy the tenant broke the ranchslider glass. The landlord states the tenant accepted that he caused this damage.
The damage is not fair wear and tear, so the onus is on the tenant to prove it was not careless or intentional damage; he has not done so. I find the tenant is liable for the glass replacement cost of $460.00. Claim 4 – Carpet damage
The landlord seeks an order for carpet repairs. The photographs show a large burn mark in the carpet. The cost for the patch was $920.00.
Again this damage is not fair wear and tear. The tenant has not proven the damage was not careless or intentional. I find the tenant is liable for the full cost of the repair. Claim 5 – Window repair 2
This is a second broken window at the tenancy. The repair cost was $557.75. Again this window was not damaged from fair wear and tear. The tenant has not proven that the damage was not careless or intentional. Again the tenant is liable for the full replacement cost. Claim 6 – General repair costs
The landlord has claimed repair costs of $1,765.25, which relates to general damage to the premises including repairs to holes in the internal walls, and replacing missing door stoppers. The invoice from the contractor is $1,765.25. I am satisfied this damage is not fair wear and tear. The tenant has not proven it is not careless or intentional damage, so he is liable to the full repair cost. Claim 7 – Smoke alarm replacement
The landlord claims the cost of replacing two missing smoke alarms, which went missing during the tenancy. The tenant is liable for any chattels that go missing at the end of the tenancy. I accept that is the case with these two smoke alarms, to the invoiced sum of $126.50. Claim 8 – Water pipe damage
The landlord claims $710.13 for damage to the plumbing. The landlord states that the tenant placed items on the external pipework (waste pipes), that caused damage and an internal water leak. The landlord has provided an invoice from the plumber, supporting that to be the case. I am not of the view the damage would be fair wear and tear. I find it was probably careless damage, but the tenant is liable for that. This claim is established.

NAME SUPPRESSION

The Tribunal can order name suppression when a party has been wholly or substantially successful in the proceeding. In this case the landlord has been wholly successful, the landlord seeks suppression, so landlord name suppression is ordered.

FILING FEE

Because the applicant has been wholly successful in their application, I must award the filing paid to commence the proceeding in the Tribunal, which is $28.00.

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 5335502 — net $5,870.54 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears	$1,372.71	Rent arrears
Lock/key replacement	$538.20	Lock/key replacement
Window replacement 1	$460.00	Window replacement 1
Carpet repair	$920.00	Carpet repair
Window replacement 2	$557.75	Window replacement 2
Wall repairs	$1,765.25	Wall repairs
Smoke alarm replacement x2	$126.50	Smoke alarm replacement x2
Plumbing repair cost	$710.13	Plumbing repair cost
Filing fee reimbursement	$28.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$5,870.54
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$5,870.54

Claims and awards for application 5335502 — net $5,870.54 NZD. Verify on MoJ.

Rent arrears

Amount: $1,372.71
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Rent arrears

Lock/key replacement

Amount: $538.20
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Lock/key replacement

Window replacement 1

Amount: $460.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Window replacement 1

Carpet repair

Amount: $920.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Carpet repair

Window replacement 2

Amount: $557.75
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Window replacement 2

Claim types — money lines allowed on this order

Filing Fee Property damage Rent arrears Replace Smoke Alarms

Order

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of the landlords name and identifying details.
The tenancy of Kevin Rua Te Tai at [Tenancy address suppressed] is terminated, and possession is granted to [The landlord/s], immediately.
The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $608.00 ([Bond number suppressed]) to [The landlord/s] immediately.
Kevin Rua Te Tai must pay [The landlord/s] $5,870.54 immediately, calculated as shown in the table below:

Reasons

The Tribunal must consider an application filed by the landlord.
Only the landlord appeared at the hearing. I am satisfied that the tenant has been properly notified of the hearing, and therefore I will proceed to consider the claim in his absence.

BACKGROUND

The tenancy agreement records the sole tenant as Kevin Rua Te Tai. The evidence as I will discuss below, is that the tenant fell into significant rent arrears, and during the tenancy has damaged the premises. The landlord now seeks an order from the Tribunal terminating the tenancy, and ordering compensation for the rent and damage.

RELEVANT LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS

The relevant law that applies is found in the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (“RTA”).
With any claim before the Tenancy Tribunal, the Tribunal applies the usual civil law standards and expectations.
That includes a requirement that the party bringing the claim (the applicant), establish their claims “on the balance of probabilities”. The balance of probabilities means more likely than unlikely, or in mathematical terms, has a fractionally more than 50% likelihood. The Tribunal does not need to be certain or very sure about any claim, only that what is claimed is likely.
It is the applicant that must prove their case. As noted by the District Court in Kaipo v Clarke & McCarthy (DC) TT233/02, in practical terms this means that: ... [L]ike anyone who brings an application before a Tribunal or Court, it is incumbent upon the applicant to provide the evidence necessary to prove the case. If the applicant fails to do that, then their application will be dismissed whether it has merit or not because it is up to the applicant to provide the necessary evidence. It is not up to the other parties, and it is certainly not up to the Tribunal to extract evidence.

COMPENSATION

With any compensation claim, to receive an order the party must incur a loss. In short, the compensation is intended as best money can do, to compensate for the actual loss incurred.
Where a landlord claims compensation for damage caused by a tenant, the landlord must first prove the damage is more than fair wear and tear, and that it occurred during the tenancy. 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.
Where the damage is caused carelessly, the tenant's liability is limited to the lesser of the insurance excess or four weeks' rent.
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.
Damage is intentional where a person intends to cause damage and takes the necessary steps to achieve that purpose. Damage is also intentional when a person does something, or allows a situation to continue, knowing that damage is a certainty. See the High Court decision of Guo v Korck [2019] NZHC 1541.

ANALYSIS

I will consider the claims in turn. Claim 1- Termination and rent arrears order.
The landlord seeks an order terminating the tenancy because of rent arrears. Section 55 of the RTA confirms that when the tenant is more than 21 days in arrears on the date the application is filed, the Tribunal “shall” order termination of the tenancy. In this case on the date of the application, the tenant was around 38 days behind in rent. That being the case, the tenancy must be terminated. I grant immediate possession to the landlord.
As at the date of the hearing, the rent arrears totalled $1,372.71, so rent arrears to that amount is ordered. Claim 2 – Lock replacement
The landlord claims lock replacement costs of $538.20, from a lock change in 2024. The landlord states that the tenant lost his keys, hence changing the locks. The landlord seeks to recover this cost. The tenant is liable for this cost, as he is responsible for maintaining and then returning his keys. Claim 3 – Window repair 1
During the tenancy the tenant broke the ranchslider glass. The landlord states the tenant accepted that he caused this damage.
The damage is not fair wear and tear, so the onus is on the tenant to prove it was not careless or intentional damage; he has not done so. I find the tenant is liable for the glass replacement cost of $460.00. Claim 4 – Carpet damage
The landlord seeks an order for carpet repairs. The photographs show a large burn mark in the carpet. The cost for the patch was $920.00.
Again this damage is not fair wear and tear. The tenant has not proven the damage was not careless or intentional. I find the tenant is liable for the full cost of the repair. Claim 5 – Window repair 2
This is a second broken window at the tenancy. The repair cost was $557.75. Again this window was not damaged from fair wear and tear. The tenant has not proven that the damage was not careless or intentional. Again the tenant is liable for the full replacement cost. Claim 6 – General repair costs
The landlord has claimed repair costs of $1,765.25, which relates to general damage to the premises including repairs to holes in the internal walls, and replacing missing door stoppers. The invoice from the contractor is $1,765.25. I am satisfied this damage is not fair wear and tear. The tenant has not proven it is not careless or intentional damage, so he is liable to the full repair cost. Claim 7 – Smoke alarm replacement
The landlord claims the cost of replacing two missing smoke alarms, which went missing during the tenancy. The tenant is liable for any chattels that go missing at the end of the tenancy. I accept that is the case with these two smoke alarms, to the invoiced sum of $126.50. Claim 8 – Water pipe damage
The landlord claims $710.13 for damage to the plumbing. The landlord states that the tenant placed items on the external pipework (waste pipes), that caused damage and an internal water leak. The landlord has provided an invoice from the plumber, supporting that to be the case. I am not of the view the damage would be fair wear and tear. I find it was probably careless damage, but the tenant is liable for that. This claim is established.

NAME SUPPRESSION

The Tribunal can order name suppression when a party has been wholly or substantially successful in the proceeding. In this case the landlord has been wholly successful, the landlord seeks suppression, so landlord name suppression is ordered.

FILING FEE

Because the applicant has been wholly successful in their application, I must award the filing paid to commence the proceeding in the Tribunal, which is $28.00.

Tenancy Tribunal case 5335502 — Property damage

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 5335502 — Property damage

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

BACKGROUND

RELEVANT LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS

COMPENSATION

ANALYSIS

NAME SUPPRESSION

FILING FEE

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

BACKGROUND

RELEVANT LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS

COMPENSATION

ANALYSIS

NAME SUPPRESSION

FILING FEE

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions