What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5341142 about?

The tribunal order states: [The tenant/s] to pay Arrow Property Management Limited As Agent

How much money was awarded in case 5341142?

Property Damage: $1,000.00 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $28.00 awarded to landlord; Meth Testing: $301.29 awarded to landlord; Garage Door: $498.75 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5341142?

The primary dispute was Exemplary damages. Related themes: Property damage.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5341142?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/12414729-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5341142 about?

The tribunal order states: [The tenant/s] to pay Arrow Property Management Limited As Agent

How much money was awarded in case 5341142?

Property Damage: $1,000.00 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $28.00 awarded to landlord; Meth Testing: $301.29 awarded to landlord; Garage Door: $498.75 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5341142?

The primary dispute was Exemplary damages. Related themes: Property damage.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5341142?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/12414729-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

12 Harlock Place, Huntly 3700 Tenancy Tribunal Case 5341142 — Exemplary damages

Tenantcheck Insights

Order

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5341142 — net $1,828.04 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Meth testing	$301.29	Meth testing
Repairs: Garage door	$498.75	Repairs: Garage door
Filing fee reimbursement	$28.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Exemplary damages	$1,000.00	Exemplary damages
Net award	$1,828.04
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$1,828.04

[The tenant/s] to pay Arrow Property Management Limited As Agent For Joe And [The landlord/s] $1,828.04 from the bond, calculated as shown in table below.

The Bond Centre is to pay $1,828.04 from the bond of $2,780.00 (6495379- 002) to Arrow Property Management Limited As Agent For Joe And [The landlord/s] immediately.

The balance of the bond of $951.96 is to remain at the Bond Centre.

The tenancy is terminated on 22 September 2025 and possession granted to Arrow Property Management Limited As Agent For Joe And [The landlord/s] on that day.

Reasons

The landlord attended the hearing which was conducted by video. The tenant did not attend. Two attempts to reach her by phone were unsuccessful.

The landlord has applied for termination of the tenancy for breach of the tenant’s obligations, compensation and exemplary damages.

Should the tenancy be terminated?

The Tribunal may terminate a tenancy for breach where, due to the nature or extent of the breach, it would be inequitable to refuse to terminate. See section 56(1) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

Where the breach is not capable of remedy, the landlord is not expressly required to serve a 14-day breach notice on the tenant. A breach is not capable to remedy where the thing done, or its effect, cannot be undone.

However, unless the breach is serious, the Tribunal usually requires the landlord to have warned the tenant about the likely consequences of continued breach before it will exercise its discretion to terminate.

The landlord says that the tenant has breached her obligations under section 40 of the Act by using or allowing the premises to be used for methamphetamine consumption.

Section 40(2)(b) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 says that the tenant must not use the premises, or permit the premises to be used, for any unlawful purpose. Methamphetamine use is an unlawful purpose.

The landlord produced test results showing that immediately before the start of the tenancy, there was no evidence of methamphetamine in the property. As a result of a Police callout to the property, the landlord suspected methamphetamine use at the property. A further test conducted on or about 25 August 2025 showed a composite result of 9.7 mcg per 100 m 2 .

The landlord has established on the balance of probabilities that the tenant has used or allowed the premises to be used for the consumption of methamphetamine, which is an illegal purpose.

The breach is not capable of remedy because it has already occurred. It cannot be undone.

It would be inequitable to refuse to terminate the tenancy. The landlords are entitled to protect their property from further illegal use and the risk of contamination.

The tenant has advised that she will move out on 22 September and so the tenancy is terminated on 22 September 2025 and possession granted to the landlords. Exemplary damages

The landlords also seek exemplary damages.

Section 40(3A) says that a breach of section 40(2)(b) is an unlawful act for which exemplary damages may be ordered up to a maximum of $1,800.00. See section 40(3A)(c) and Schedule 1A Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

Where a party has committed an unlawful act intentionally, the Tribunal may award exemplary damages where it is satisfied it would be just to do so, having regard to the party’s intent, the effect of the unlawful act, the interests of the other party, and the public interest. See section 109(3) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

I find that the use of or permission of use of methamphetamine is an intentional unlawful act. The impact on the landlords has been significant. They have had to have the premises tested, apply for termination of a fixed term tenancy, and may be faced with further cleaning costs.

This is a significant breach of the tenant’s obligations and it is in the public interest that such a flagrant disregard is marked with an order for exemplary damages. I order $1000 in exemplary damages. Garage door

During the tenancy the side garage door was smashed by the tenant’s boyfriend.

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. See section 49B(1) RTA.

The landlords provided an invoice for $498.75 for reglazing the garage door, which was double-glazed. That amount is ordered. Other matters

The landlords provided quotes for carpet cleaning and decontamination. Those applications have been withdrawn, but the landlord may bring a claim for further matters, including those, once the tenancy has ended.

At today’s date, the tenant is also behind on her rent. That was not an issue at the time the landlords’ application was made and so was not included in the notice of hearing. Accordingly, I have not made any determination on that issue, but the landlords may bring a claim for rent arrears, should they remain unpaid.

The landlords are advised to seek advice from Tenancy Services and review some of the case law on “decontamination” for methamphetamine.

Because Arrow Property Management Limited As Agent For Joe And [The landlord/s] has substantially succeeded with the claim I have reimbursed the filing fee.

Order

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5341142 — net $1,828.04 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Meth testing	$301.29	Meth testing
Repairs: Garage door	$498.75	Repairs: Garage door
Filing fee reimbursement	$28.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Exemplary damages	$1,000.00	Exemplary damages
Net award	$1,828.04
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$1,828.04

[The tenant/s] to pay Arrow Property Management Limited As Agent For Joe And [The landlord/s] $1,828.04 from the bond, calculated as shown in table below.

The Bond Centre is to pay $1,828.04 from the bond of $2,780.00 (6495379- 002) to Arrow Property Management Limited As Agent For Joe And [The landlord/s] immediately.

The balance of the bond of $951.96 is to remain at the Bond Centre.

The tenancy is terminated on 22 September 2025 and possession granted to Arrow Property Management Limited As Agent For Joe And [The landlord/s] on that day.

Reasons

The landlord attended the hearing which was conducted by video. The tenant did not attend. Two attempts to reach her by phone were unsuccessful.

The landlord has applied for termination of the tenancy for breach of the tenant’s obligations, compensation and exemplary damages.

Should the tenancy be terminated?

The Tribunal may terminate a tenancy for breach where, due to the nature or extent of the breach, it would be inequitable to refuse to terminate. See section 56(1) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

The landlord says that the tenant has breached her obligations under section 40 of the Act by using or allowing the premises to be used for methamphetamine consumption.

The landlord has established on the balance of probabilities that the tenant has used or allowed the premises to be used for the consumption of methamphetamine, which is an illegal purpose.

The breach is not capable of remedy because it has already occurred. It cannot be undone.

It would be inequitable to refuse to terminate the tenancy. The landlords are entitled to protect their property from further illegal use and the risk of contamination.

The tenant has advised that she will move out on 22 September and so the tenancy is terminated on 22 September 2025 and possession granted to the landlords. Exemplary damages

The landlords also seek exemplary damages.

During the tenancy the side garage door was smashed by the tenant’s boyfriend.

The landlords provided an invoice for $498.75 for reglazing the garage door, which was double-glazed. That amount is ordered. Other matters

The landlords are advised to seek advice from Tenancy Services and review some of the case law on “decontamination” for methamphetamine.

Because Arrow Property Management Limited As Agent For Joe And [The landlord/s] has substantially succeeded with the claim I have reimbursed the filing fee.

Tenancy Tribunal case 5341142 — Exemplary damages at 12 Harlock Place, Huntly 3700

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 5341142 — Exemplary damages at 12 Harlock Place, Huntly 3700

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Should the tenancy be terminated?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Property management

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Should the tenancy be terminated?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Property management

Frequently asked questions