What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5351623 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 5351623?

Filing Fee: $28.00 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $2,450.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5351623?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5351623?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/12566103-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5351623 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 5351623?

Filing Fee: $28.00 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $2,450.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5351623?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5351623?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/12566103-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 5351623 — Rent arrears

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5351623 — net $2,478.00 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 16/10/2025	$2,450.00	Rent arrears to 16/10/2025
Filing fee reimbursement	$28.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$2,478.00
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$2,478.00

Order

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of the Tenant and Landlord names and identifying details.
[The tenant/s] must pay [The landlord/s] $2,478.00 immediately, as per the table below:
The application by [The tenant/s] for reduction of the term of her fixed term tenancy at [Tenancy address suppressed] is dismissed.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
The landlord has applied for rent arrears.
On the other hand, the tenant has applied for reduction of the term of the fixed- term tenancy due to end on 31/12/2025.
The tenancy was originally for a fixed term from 20/9/2024 to 31/12/2024 and was subsequently renewed until 31/12/2025.
Weekly rent is $350.00.

Does the tenant owe rent arrears?

The landlord sought rent arrears of $2,450.00 to today and provided rent records which prove the amount owing.
The tenant did not dispute the arrears, but submitted she was unable to afford the rent due to her personal circumstances.
I am satisfied from the evidence the tenant owes arrears and have made an award accordingly.

Should the term of the tenancy be reduced?

The usual legal position with a fixed-term contract is that the term of the contract will be applied strictly, and it is only in limited circumstances that a court or tribunal will interfere with it. For residential tenancies, one of those circumstances is found in s 66 Residential Tenancies Act 1986, which allows for the reduction of fixed term tenancy agreements.
There is a high threshold to be met before the Tribunal will reduce the term. In particular the applicant will need to establish that: a. there has been a change in their circumstances, b. the change was unforeseen, c. the unforeseen change will result in severe hardship to the applicant if the tenancy is not reduced, d. the severe hardship the applicant will suffer if the term is not reduced exceeds the hardship the other party will suffer if the term is reduced.
Section 66(2) provides that, if the Tribunal reduces the term of the tenancy, it may order the applicant to pay reasonable compensation to the other party for any loss or damage which results from the reduction of the term.
The weighing of relative hardship is a question of fact to be assessed objectively in each case.
In Bond v Tang Invercargill TT09/583IN the Tribunal discussed that section 66 was used to seek a balance between the competing interests of applicant tenants, for whom significant obligations under fixed-term agreements can create hardship when circumstances unexpectedly turn against them and landlords who have financial expectations arising from the same bargain. Standard of proof
This is a civil jurisdiction which means when looking at the claim the standard of proof is on the balance of probabilities. Put simply this means the tenant must establish, with evidence, that her claim is more likely than not.
The Tribunal does not need to be completely certain. All evidence presented is considered and weighed to decide what is more likely.
Where there are serious allegations, or important issues at stake, as in this case, the Tribunal needs a level of supporting evidence benefitting the matters to be decided.
The onus is on the applicant, in this case the tenant, to provide the necessary evidence to support her claim. If she fails to do so then the application will be dismissed, whether it has merit or not.

Has there been an unforeseen change in the tenant's circumstances?

I have sympathy for the position the tenant finds herself in.
However, and unfortunate as it may be for the tenant, I find the evidence does not establish there has been an unforeseen change in her circumstances.
While I note the tenant’s evidence that she suffers mental health issues from the death of her father and is unable to work more than part time, these matters arose before she signed the original tenancy agreement and later renewal.
Moreover, I consider the evidence of the witness about her niece’s health issues supports that these are not new.
Although the issues of noise and rubbish from the neighbours resulted in a complaint to the landlord, the tenant did not suggest that, apart from the incident on 17 March, these were the reason she no longer wanted to live at the premises.
I conclude that the tenant has not identified, to the necessary standard a change in her circumstances during the tenancy that has been unforeseen.
Although the landlord did not want the term reduced, I accept that they are attempting to mitigate the loss of both parties by trying to find a replacement tenant for the balance of the term.
As I have determined there has been no unforeseen change in the tenant’s circumstances, I do not need to consider the second part of the test; that is whether the severe hardship the tenant would suffer if the term of the tenancy is not reduced would be greater than the hardship the landlord would suffer if the term were reduced.
The claim by the tenant fails.
As the landlord has been successful with their claim, I have awarded the filing fee.
No filing fee is available to the tenant.
Suppression is granted to the landlord pursuant to section 95A(1) because they were also successful with the proceedings.
I have exercised the discretion available under section 95A(4) to also suppress the tenant’s name because, taking into account her circumstances I consider it is in her interests to do so.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5351623 — net $2,478.00 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 16/10/2025	$2,450.00	Rent arrears to 16/10/2025
Filing fee reimbursement	$28.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$2,478.00
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$2,478.00

Order

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of the Tenant and Landlord names and identifying details.
[The tenant/s] must pay [The landlord/s] $2,478.00 immediately, as per the table below:
The application by [The tenant/s] for reduction of the term of her fixed term tenancy at [Tenancy address suppressed] is dismissed.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
The landlord has applied for rent arrears.
On the other hand, the tenant has applied for reduction of the term of the fixed- term tenancy due to end on 31/12/2025.
The tenancy was originally for a fixed term from 20/9/2024 to 31/12/2024 and was subsequently renewed until 31/12/2025.
Weekly rent is $350.00.

Does the tenant owe rent arrears?

The landlord sought rent arrears of $2,450.00 to today and provided rent records which prove the amount owing.
The tenant did not dispute the arrears, but submitted she was unable to afford the rent due to her personal circumstances.
I am satisfied from the evidence the tenant owes arrears and have made an award accordingly.

Should the term of the tenancy be reduced?

The usual legal position with a fixed-term contract is that the term of the contract will be applied strictly, and it is only in limited circumstances that a court or tribunal will interfere with it. For residential tenancies, one of those circumstances is found in s 66 Residential Tenancies Act 1986, which allows for the reduction of fixed term tenancy agreements.
There is a high threshold to be met before the Tribunal will reduce the term. In particular the applicant will need to establish that: a. there has been a change in their circumstances, b. the change was unforeseen, c. the unforeseen change will result in severe hardship to the applicant if the tenancy is not reduced, d. the severe hardship the applicant will suffer if the term is not reduced exceeds the hardship the other party will suffer if the term is reduced.
Section 66(2) provides that, if the Tribunal reduces the term of the tenancy, it may order the applicant to pay reasonable compensation to the other party for any loss or damage which results from the reduction of the term.
The weighing of relative hardship is a question of fact to be assessed objectively in each case.
In Bond v Tang Invercargill TT09/583IN the Tribunal discussed that section 66 was used to seek a balance between the competing interests of applicant tenants, for whom significant obligations under fixed-term agreements can create hardship when circumstances unexpectedly turn against them and landlords who have financial expectations arising from the same bargain. Standard of proof
This is a civil jurisdiction which means when looking at the claim the standard of proof is on the balance of probabilities. Put simply this means the tenant must establish, with evidence, that her claim is more likely than not.
The Tribunal does not need to be completely certain. All evidence presented is considered and weighed to decide what is more likely.
Where there are serious allegations, or important issues at stake, as in this case, the Tribunal needs a level of supporting evidence benefitting the matters to be decided.
The onus is on the applicant, in this case the tenant, to provide the necessary evidence to support her claim. If she fails to do so then the application will be dismissed, whether it has merit or not.

Has there been an unforeseen change in the tenant's circumstances?

I have sympathy for the position the tenant finds herself in.
However, and unfortunate as it may be for the tenant, I find the evidence does not establish there has been an unforeseen change in her circumstances.
While I note the tenant’s evidence that she suffers mental health issues from the death of her father and is unable to work more than part time, these matters arose before she signed the original tenancy agreement and later renewal.
Moreover, I consider the evidence of the witness about her niece’s health issues supports that these are not new.
Although the issues of noise and rubbish from the neighbours resulted in a complaint to the landlord, the tenant did not suggest that, apart from the incident on 17 March, these were the reason she no longer wanted to live at the premises.
I conclude that the tenant has not identified, to the necessary standard a change in her circumstances during the tenancy that has been unforeseen.
Although the landlord did not want the term reduced, I accept that they are attempting to mitigate the loss of both parties by trying to find a replacement tenant for the balance of the term.
As I have determined there has been no unforeseen change in the tenant’s circumstances, I do not need to consider the second part of the test; that is whether the severe hardship the tenant would suffer if the term of the tenancy is not reduced would be greater than the hardship the landlord would suffer if the term were reduced.
The claim by the tenant fails.
As the landlord has been successful with their claim, I have awarded the filing fee.
No filing fee is available to the tenant.
Suppression is granted to the landlord pursuant to section 95A(1) because they were also successful with the proceedings.
I have exercised the discretion available under section 95A(4) to also suppress the tenant’s name because, taking into account her circumstances I consider it is in her interests to do so.

Tenancy Tribunal case 5351623 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 5351623 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Does the tenant owe rent arrears?

Should the term of the tenancy be reduced?

Has there been an unforeseen change in the tenant's circumstances?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Does the tenant owe rent arrears?

Should the term of the tenancy be reduced?

Has there been an unforeseen change in the tenant's circumstances?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions