What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5342334 about?

The tribunal order states: The Tribunal orders suppression of the Tenants’ and Landlord’s names and

How much money was awarded in case 5342334?

Cleaning: $184.00 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $229.75 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $1,396.43 awarded to landlord; Heat Pump Remote: $51.75 awarded to landlord; Replace Furnishings: Curtains: $600.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5342334?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears. Related themes: Property damage, Cleanliness.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5342334?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/12771670-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5342334 about?

The tribunal order states: The Tribunal orders suppression of the Tenants’ and Landlord’s names and

How much money was awarded in case 5342334?

Cleaning: $184.00 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $229.75 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $1,396.43 awarded to landlord; Heat Pump Remote: $51.75 awarded to landlord; Replace Furnishings: Curtains: $600.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5342334?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears. Related themes: Property damage, Cleanliness.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5342334?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/12771670-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 5342334 — Rent arrears

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5342334 — net $661.93 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears	$1,396.43	Rent arrears
Cleaning	$184.00	Cleaning
Window repairs	$229.75	Window repairs
Repairs: Heat pump remote	$51.75	Repairs: Heat pump remote
Replace furnishings: Curtains	$600.00	Replace furnishings: Curtains
Net award	$661.93
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$661.93

Order

The Tribunal orders suppression of the Tenants’ and Landlord’s names and identifying details.
The Bond Centre is to release to bond of $1,800 to [The applicant/s]
[The tenant/s] must pay [The landlord/s] $661.93 immediately, calculated as shown in table below.

Reasons

Background

This tenancy was assigned to the Tenants on 6 June 2023. The previous tenants were family members who had entered into the tenancy agreement with the Landlord in May 2019.
The tenancy ended in August this year. The Landlord says that the Tenants owe rent arrears, that the carpet was stained and required replacement, several walls were damaged, two windows were broken, the curtains throughout the premises had been removed, a heat pump remote was damaged, and the premises required cleaning, including pest control.
The Landlord now seeks the following amounts from the Tenants: Rent arrears$1,396.43 Repairs: Replace stained carpet$3,534.30 Repairs: Damage to walls$862.50 Repairs: Smashed windows$503.45 Replace furnishings: Curtains$2,384.70 Repairs: Replace damaged heat pump remote$51.75 Cleaning: Pest control$440.00 Cleaning$184.00 Lawns and Garden work$373.49 The Issues
The issues I must determine in this case are: (a)What rent is the Landlord entitled to recover? (b)Are the Tenants liable for any damage caused before the tenancy was assigned to them? (c)What cleaning costs can the Landlord recover from the Tenants? (d)What repair costs can the Landlord recover from the Tenants? (e)What costs can the Landlord recover for the missing curtains?

What rent is the Landlord entitled to recover?

The Landlord has provided a rent summary, which shows unpaid rent of $1,396.43. The Tenants did not pay rent from 16 July 2025 until the end of the tenancy. The Tenants agree that they owe this amount. I order accordingly. Are the Tenants liable for damage caused before the tenancy was assigned to them?
In 2019, the Landlord entered into a tenancy agreement with relatives of the Tenants. That tenancy agreement was then assigned to the Tenants on 6 June 2023. The Tenants are not liable for anything that occurred before the tenancy was assigned to them. The previous tenants are.
The Tenants say that much of the damage the Landlords complain of was already present when the tenancy was assigned to them. They say that there was a hole in a bedroom wall, the carpets were already badly stained, wallpaper was peeling from the walls and a window in the garage was cracked. Aside from some minor carpet stains, the Tenants deny causing this damage and say it was all present when they took over the premises
The Tenants say that when the tenancy was assigned to them, they paid for the hole in the bedroom wall to be repaired and the carpet to be cleaned as part of an agreement with the previous tenants. In return for the Tenants paying for those repairs, the previous tenants assigned the $1,800 bond to the Tenants. The Tenants say the property manager at that time (who no longer works for the Landlord’s property management company) agreed to and facilitated this arrangement, including by arranging for the carpet cleaning and wall repairs.
Given the Tenants’ denial of liability, the Landlord bears the onus of proving that the damage occurred after the tenancy was assigned. It has not.
The Landlord produced no evidence to demonstrate the condition of the property when the tenancy was assigned to the Tenants in June 2023. It seems that no inspection was performed at that time, or if one was performed, no records were kept.
I therefore find that the Landlord has not proven that much of the damage it now complains of occurred after the tenancy was assigned to the Tenants. Its claim for damage relating to the carpet, the hole in the bedroom wall, the broken garage window and the damage to the other walls – which appears to be peeling wallpaper - is dismissed.
The Tenants accept that they caused a small amount of damage to the carpet (for example, some children’s paint on the carpet in one bedroom) but that damage appears relatively minor compared to the extensive staining elsewhere, which the Tenants say happened before the tenancy was assigned.
Given the extent of the staining that occurred before the Tenancy was assigned, I find it likely that the Landlord would have replaced the carpet even if that incidental staining had not occurred during the Tenants’ occupancy. I therefore make no orders requiring the Tenants to compensate the Landlord for the cost of replacing the carpet or any other damage that occurred before the tenancy was assigned.

What cleaning costs can the Landlord recover?

The Tenants were obliged to leave the premises in a reasonably clean and reasonable tidy condition and remove, or arrange for the removal of, all rubbish. 1 If the Tenants’ breached this obligation, the Landlord is entitled to recover the reasonable cost of returning the premises to a reasonably clean and reasonably tidy condition and removing all rubbish.
The Landlord has produced photographs from the end of the tenancy. Those photographs show that although the Tenants tried to clean and tidy the premises, there were areas that were not left in a reasonably clean and reasonably tidy condition. In particular, those photographs show unclean cupboards and drawers and cobwebs around windows.
The Landlord seeks to recover the $184 it paid to Desy’s Cleaning and Property Maintenance Services to clean the premises. It is entitled to recover that amount.
The Landlord also seeks to recover $440 it paid to have the premises treated for cockroach and mice infestation at the end of the tenancy. The Tenants will only be liable if the presence of the cockroaches and mice was due to the Tenants failing to keep the premises reasonably clean and reasonably tidy or otherwise breaching their obligations under the Residential Tenancies Act.
The Tenants say they kept the premises generally clean and tidy. They say that there were pests in the premises when the tenancy was assigned to them, and that the Landlord arranged for pest control at that time. They also suspect that the cockroaches and mice may have been drawn to the premises by rubbish (including used baby nappies) that had been left under the verandah by the previous tenants.
Given the Tenants’ evidence as to the possible causes of the cockroach and mice problem, the Landlord bears the onus of proving that the presence of cockroach and mice was due to the Tenants’ failure to keep the premises reasonably clean and reasonably tidy after the tenancy was assigned to them.
Other than the exit photographs showing a few unclean cupboards and drawers and cobwebs around windows, and a property manager’s evidence that she had noticed that the kitchen was messy during one inspection, the Landlord has not proven that the Tenants failed to keep the premises reasonably clean and reasonably tidy to the extent that their failure caused a cockroach and mouse infestation. I therefore find that the Landlord has not proven that the cockroach and mice infestation was caused by the Tenants, and the Tenants are not liable for the pest control costs.
The Landlord is not entitled to the lawns and garden and rubbish removal costs it seeks. Although I accept that the Tenants left a small amount of rubbish behind, that areas of the lawn were damaged and the gardens required weeding, I am 1 Residential Tenancies Act 1986, s 40(1)(e)(iii) not satisfied that the Landlord has, or that it will, incur any cost in remedying those issues.
The Landlord provided two estimates for the work it says is required. The property managers who appeared at the hearing advised that they no longer manage the property and do not know whether the Landlord has incurred or intends to incur those costs. In the absence of evidence to show that the Landlord has incurred or will incur those costs, I decline to award those costs to the Landlord.

What repair costs can the Landlord recover?

There is a general principle that a tenant has no liability or obligation to meet the cost of any damage to the premises. 2 However, relevant to the facts of this case, a tenant can be liable where: (a) the Landlord proves that the damage was caused during the tenancy and was not fair wear and tear; and (b) the Tenant does not prove that the damage was not caused by any careless act or omission. 3
The Tenants broke the living room window while moving furniture. This damage is not fair wear and tear and was careless. The Tenants should have exercised more care when moving the couch. The Landlord is therefore entitled to recover the $229.75 it paid to Peter Ryan Glass Ltd to replace the window.
The Tenants also damaged the heat pump remote. That damage was more than fair wear and tear. The damage was caused when one of the Tenants’ children carelessly dropped the remote onto a concrete table. The Landlord is entitled to recover the $51.75 it paid to replace the remote.

What costs can the Landlord recover for the missing curtains?

The Tenants were required to leave all chattels provided by the Landlord at the premises at the end of the tenancy. 4 The tenancy agreement signed by the previous tenants and assigned to these Tenants says that the curtains were chattels provided by the Landlord.
The Tenants say that, by the end of the tenancy, the curtains were old and that the backing was becoming detached. They say that they did not realise that the curtains belonged to the Landlord, so they removed the curtains to clean them.
The Landlord asked for the curtains to be returned. The Tenants did not return the curtains. The Landlord then paid $2,384.70 to purchase and install new curtains. 2 Residential Tenancies Act 1986, s 49A 3 Residential Tenancies Act 1986, s 49b 4 Residential Tenancies Act 1986, s 40(1)(e)
I am told that the curtains were new in 2019. They would have depreciated significantly in value in those six years, and I must take that depreciation into account when determining how much the Landlord may recover.
The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) publishes a depreciation rate guide (IR 265). That guide states that curtains have an estimated useful life of 8 years, with a “straight line” depreciation rate of 17.5 per cent a year.
Applying that guidance, I calculate the depreciated value of the curtains to be about $600. That is the amount that I award to the Landlord. Although they paid more than $2,000 to replace the curtains, they were replacing chattels that had depreciated in value. Any award of more than $600 would have resulted in betterment. Filing fees and name suppression
Each party has had success with this claim. I therefore make no award for the payment of the filing fee. I also grant name suppression to both parties, given their respective successes.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5342334 — net $661.93 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears	$1,396.43	Rent arrears
Cleaning	$184.00	Cleaning
Window repairs	$229.75	Window repairs
Repairs: Heat pump remote	$51.75	Repairs: Heat pump remote
Replace furnishings: Curtains	$600.00	Replace furnishings: Curtains
Net award	$661.93
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$661.93

Order

The Tribunal orders suppression of the Tenants’ and Landlord’s names and identifying details.
The Bond Centre is to release to bond of $1,800 to [The applicant/s]
[The tenant/s] must pay [The landlord/s] $661.93 immediately, calculated as shown in table below.

Reasons

Background

This tenancy was assigned to the Tenants on 6 June 2023. The previous tenants were family members who had entered into the tenancy agreement with the Landlord in May 2019.
The tenancy ended in August this year. The Landlord says that the Tenants owe rent arrears, that the carpet was stained and required replacement, several walls were damaged, two windows were broken, the curtains throughout the premises had been removed, a heat pump remote was damaged, and the premises required cleaning, including pest control.
The Landlord now seeks the following amounts from the Tenants: Rent arrears$1,396.43 Repairs: Replace stained carpet$3,534.30 Repairs: Damage to walls$862.50 Repairs: Smashed windows$503.45 Replace furnishings: Curtains$2,384.70 Repairs: Replace damaged heat pump remote$51.75 Cleaning: Pest control$440.00 Cleaning$184.00 Lawns and Garden work$373.49 The Issues
The issues I must determine in this case are: (a)What rent is the Landlord entitled to recover? (b)Are the Tenants liable for any damage caused before the tenancy was assigned to them? (c)What cleaning costs can the Landlord recover from the Tenants? (d)What repair costs can the Landlord recover from the Tenants? (e)What costs can the Landlord recover for the missing curtains?

What rent is the Landlord entitled to recover?

The Landlord has provided a rent summary, which shows unpaid rent of $1,396.43. The Tenants did not pay rent from 16 July 2025 until the end of the tenancy. The Tenants agree that they owe this amount. I order accordingly. Are the Tenants liable for damage caused before the tenancy was assigned to them?
In 2019, the Landlord entered into a tenancy agreement with relatives of the Tenants. That tenancy agreement was then assigned to the Tenants on 6 June 2023. The Tenants are not liable for anything that occurred before the tenancy was assigned to them. The previous tenants are.
The Tenants say that much of the damage the Landlords complain of was already present when the tenancy was assigned to them. They say that there was a hole in a bedroom wall, the carpets were already badly stained, wallpaper was peeling from the walls and a window in the garage was cracked. Aside from some minor carpet stains, the Tenants deny causing this damage and say it was all present when they took over the premises
The Tenants say that when the tenancy was assigned to them, they paid for the hole in the bedroom wall to be repaired and the carpet to be cleaned as part of an agreement with the previous tenants. In return for the Tenants paying for those repairs, the previous tenants assigned the $1,800 bond to the Tenants. The Tenants say the property manager at that time (who no longer works for the Landlord’s property management company) agreed to and facilitated this arrangement, including by arranging for the carpet cleaning and wall repairs.
Given the Tenants’ denial of liability, the Landlord bears the onus of proving that the damage occurred after the tenancy was assigned. It has not.
The Landlord produced no evidence to demonstrate the condition of the property when the tenancy was assigned to the Tenants in June 2023. It seems that no inspection was performed at that time, or if one was performed, no records were kept.
I therefore find that the Landlord has not proven that much of the damage it now complains of occurred after the tenancy was assigned to the Tenants. Its claim for damage relating to the carpet, the hole in the bedroom wall, the broken garage window and the damage to the other walls – which appears to be peeling wallpaper - is dismissed.
The Tenants accept that they caused a small amount of damage to the carpet (for example, some children’s paint on the carpet in one bedroom) but that damage appears relatively minor compared to the extensive staining elsewhere, which the Tenants say happened before the tenancy was assigned.
Given the extent of the staining that occurred before the Tenancy was assigned, I find it likely that the Landlord would have replaced the carpet even if that incidental staining had not occurred during the Tenants’ occupancy. I therefore make no orders requiring the Tenants to compensate the Landlord for the cost of replacing the carpet or any other damage that occurred before the tenancy was assigned.

What cleaning costs can the Landlord recover?

The Tenants were obliged to leave the premises in a reasonably clean and reasonable tidy condition and remove, or arrange for the removal of, all rubbish. 1 If the Tenants’ breached this obligation, the Landlord is entitled to recover the reasonable cost of returning the premises to a reasonably clean and reasonably tidy condition and removing all rubbish.
The Landlord has produced photographs from the end of the tenancy. Those photographs show that although the Tenants tried to clean and tidy the premises, there were areas that were not left in a reasonably clean and reasonably tidy condition. In particular, those photographs show unclean cupboards and drawers and cobwebs around windows.
The Landlord seeks to recover the $184 it paid to Desy’s Cleaning and Property Maintenance Services to clean the premises. It is entitled to recover that amount.
The Landlord also seeks to recover $440 it paid to have the premises treated for cockroach and mice infestation at the end of the tenancy. The Tenants will only be liable if the presence of the cockroaches and mice was due to the Tenants failing to keep the premises reasonably clean and reasonably tidy or otherwise breaching their obligations under the Residential Tenancies Act.
The Tenants say they kept the premises generally clean and tidy. They say that there were pests in the premises when the tenancy was assigned to them, and that the Landlord arranged for pest control at that time. They also suspect that the cockroaches and mice may have been drawn to the premises by rubbish (including used baby nappies) that had been left under the verandah by the previous tenants.
Given the Tenants’ evidence as to the possible causes of the cockroach and mice problem, the Landlord bears the onus of proving that the presence of cockroach and mice was due to the Tenants’ failure to keep the premises reasonably clean and reasonably tidy after the tenancy was assigned to them.
Other than the exit photographs showing a few unclean cupboards and drawers and cobwebs around windows, and a property manager’s evidence that she had noticed that the kitchen was messy during one inspection, the Landlord has not proven that the Tenants failed to keep the premises reasonably clean and reasonably tidy to the extent that their failure caused a cockroach and mouse infestation. I therefore find that the Landlord has not proven that the cockroach and mice infestation was caused by the Tenants, and the Tenants are not liable for the pest control costs.
The Landlord is not entitled to the lawns and garden and rubbish removal costs it seeks. Although I accept that the Tenants left a small amount of rubbish behind, that areas of the lawn were damaged and the gardens required weeding, I am 1 Residential Tenancies Act 1986, s 40(1)(e)(iii) not satisfied that the Landlord has, or that it will, incur any cost in remedying those issues.
The Landlord provided two estimates for the work it says is required. The property managers who appeared at the hearing advised that they no longer manage the property and do not know whether the Landlord has incurred or intends to incur those costs. In the absence of evidence to show that the Landlord has incurred or will incur those costs, I decline to award those costs to the Landlord.

What repair costs can the Landlord recover?

There is a general principle that a tenant has no liability or obligation to meet the cost of any damage to the premises. 2 However, relevant to the facts of this case, a tenant can be liable where: (a) the Landlord proves that the damage was caused during the tenancy and was not fair wear and tear; and (b) the Tenant does not prove that the damage was not caused by any careless act or omission. 3
The Tenants broke the living room window while moving furniture. This damage is not fair wear and tear and was careless. The Tenants should have exercised more care when moving the couch. The Landlord is therefore entitled to recover the $229.75 it paid to Peter Ryan Glass Ltd to replace the window.
The Tenants also damaged the heat pump remote. That damage was more than fair wear and tear. The damage was caused when one of the Tenants’ children carelessly dropped the remote onto a concrete table. The Landlord is entitled to recover the $51.75 it paid to replace the remote.

What costs can the Landlord recover for the missing curtains?

The Tenants were required to leave all chattels provided by the Landlord at the premises at the end of the tenancy. 4 The tenancy agreement signed by the previous tenants and assigned to these Tenants says that the curtains were chattels provided by the Landlord.
The Tenants say that, by the end of the tenancy, the curtains were old and that the backing was becoming detached. They say that they did not realise that the curtains belonged to the Landlord, so they removed the curtains to clean them.
The Landlord asked for the curtains to be returned. The Tenants did not return the curtains. The Landlord then paid $2,384.70 to purchase and install new curtains. 2 Residential Tenancies Act 1986, s 49A 3 Residential Tenancies Act 1986, s 49b 4 Residential Tenancies Act 1986, s 40(1)(e)
I am told that the curtains were new in 2019. They would have depreciated significantly in value in those six years, and I must take that depreciation into account when determining how much the Landlord may recover.
The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) publishes a depreciation rate guide (IR 265). That guide states that curtains have an estimated useful life of 8 years, with a “straight line” depreciation rate of 17.5 per cent a year.
Applying that guidance, I calculate the depreciated value of the curtains to be about $600. That is the amount that I award to the Landlord. Although they paid more than $2,000 to replace the curtains, they were replacing chattels that had depreciated in value. Any award of more than $600 would have resulted in betterment. Filing fees and name suppression
Each party has had success with this claim. I therefore make no award for the payment of the filing fee. I also grant name suppression to both parties, given their respective successes.

Tenancy Tribunal case 5342334 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 5342334 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

What rent is the Landlord entitled to recover?

What cleaning costs can the Landlord recover?

What repair costs can the Landlord recover?

What costs can the Landlord recover for the missing curtains?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

What rent is the Landlord entitled to recover?

What cleaning costs can the Landlord recover?

What repair costs can the Landlord recover?

What costs can the Landlord recover for the missing curtains?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions