Published tribunal order
Tenancy Tribunal case 5341084 — Property damage
Decided 8 May 2026 · Published 8 May 2026 · Application 5341084
- Property damage
Party names are redacted in the official published order.
Order
- The landlord’s name and identifying details, including the tenancy address must not be published.
- Mareta Poleka must pay [the landlord] $12,755.31 immediately, calculated as shown in table below.
- The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $568.00 ([Bond number suppressed]) to [the landlord] immediately. DescriptionLandlord Power costs$257.17 Replace curtains$632.50 Internal walls paintwork$3,850.00 Door replacement and repair$2,999.89 Carpet replacement$1,902.87 Cleaning and rubbish removal$1,595.63 Lawns and garden work$279.75 Skip bins and further rubbish removal$1,777.50 Filing fee reimbursement$28.00 Total award$13,323.31 Bond$568.00 Total amount tenant must pay the landlord$12,755.31
Reasons
- [The landlord’s representatives] attended the hearing for the landlord.
- The tenant did not attend.
- The landlord has applied for compensation, reimbursement of the filing fee, any payment out fund of the bond following the end of the tenancy.
How much does the tenant owe for power?
- The landlord assisted the tenant with the cost of power. The tenancy ended on 18 June 2025. The landlord provided invoices which prove the amount the tenant owes for power at the end of the tenancy.
Did the tenant comply with their obligations at the end of the tenancy?
- At the end of the tenancy the tenant must remove their belongings, leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy, remove all rubbish, and leave all chattels provided for their benefit. 1
- The tenant did remove all their belongings, did not leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy, and did not remove all their rubbish, and removed several curtains and curtain rails.
- The amounts ordered for cleaning, rubbish removal, and lawn and garden work, and curtain replacement are proved.
Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?
- During the tenancy, the premises’ walls were extensively scrawled on, 10 doors were badly damaged, and the carpets throughout the premises were heavily stained.
- The landlord was not insured for the damage
- 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. 2 1 Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA) s 40(1)(e). 2 RTA s 49B(1).
- 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. 3
- The damage to the premises occurred during the tenancy and is more than fair wear and tear. I am not satisfied that the tenant or people who the tenant permitted to be at the premises did not intentionally cause or the damage. 4
- The Tribunal has accounted for betterment and depreciation. The landlord should be returned to the position they would have been in had the tenant not breached their obligations and should not be better or worse off. In calculating depreciation, the Tribunal has considered the age and condition of the items at the start of the tenancy and their likely useful lifespan.
- The amounts ordered are proved. Filing fee
- The tenant must reimburse the landlord for the filing fee. Non-publication
- The landlord’s identifying details including the tenancy address must not be published because the landlord has wholly succeeded in proceedings and the Tribunal does not consider that publication is in the public interest or is justified because of the landlord’s conduct or any other circumstances of the case. 5