What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5351766 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 5351766?

Filing Fee: $28.00 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $2,692.14 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5351766?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5351766?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/12628533-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5351766 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 5351766?

Filing Fee: $28.00 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $2,692.14 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5351766?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5351766?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/12628533-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 5351766 — Rent arrears

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5351766 — net $1,500.14 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 29/10/2025	$2,692.14	Rent arrears to 29/10/2025
Filing fee reimbursement	$28.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$1,500.14
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$1,500.14

Order

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of the Landlord name and identifying details.
Apeksha Anpurna Charan must pay [The landlord/s] $1,500.14 immediately, calculated as shown in table below:
The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $1,220.00 ([Bond number suppressed]) to [The landlord/s] immediately.
The application by Apeksha Anpurna Charan to end the tenancy and refund of her bond is dismissed.

Reasons

The landlord and tenant both attended the hearing, the latter by telephone.
On 24/9/2025 the landlord sought rent arrears because no assignment of the tenancy had been completed.
In response, on 29/9/2025 the tenant sought a refund of her bond because she believed the tenancy had ended.
The tenancy began on 1/1/2024 for a twelve month fixed term and was renewed to end on 31/12/2025 at a rent of $315.00 per week.

Was the tenancy validly assigned?

The tenant submitted that on 30/7/2025 she told the landlord she would be moving out of the premises “due to ongoing issues with a roommate which had made the living situation increasingly difficult and stressful”.
The tenant left the premises on 8/8/2025 after advising the landlord the day before of the name and contact details of a person who wanted urgently to move in.
As it took the landlord three weeks to advise her, on 1/9/2025, that the proposed replacement tenant had not completed an application form, the tenant thought the transfer had been completed.
The tenant believed it was unfair of the landlord to continue to hold her responsible for the rent when she had taken steps to find a replacement.
On the other hand, the landlord pointed out that on 1/8/2025 they had set out the requirements for finding a replacement flat mate, which did not include couples for the studio room.
Further the landlord submitted that they advised the tenant via an email dated 12/8/2025 that the possible tenant had not submitted an application, and they were not able to proceed any further at that time.
The landlord followed with a further email on 1/9/2025 confirming no application had been made and asking the tenant to look for someone else.
In that email the landlord advised the tenant she was liable for the full weekly rent until she had been signed off the tenancy.
After receiving details of a possible other replacement from the tenant the landlord again confirmed on 5/9/2025 that she was liable for the weekly rent until a change of tenant was signed.
Subsequently the landlord advised on 9/9/2025 that after viewing the other possible replacement decided not to take the room.
On 12/9/2025 the landlord issued a 14 day notice for rent arrears to the tenant.
Section 43B(1) provides a tenant may, at any time during a tenancy, assign the tenancy- a. With the prior written consent of the landlord; and b. In accordance with any reasonable conditions attached to that consent by the landlord.
Under section 44A a landlord who, among other matters, consents to assignment of a tenancy are entitled to recover from the outgoing tenant any expenses reasonably incurred by the landlord in respect of the assignment.
Clause 7 in Section 4 Standard Terms and Conditions of the tenancy agreement sets out the conditions under which the landlord would agree to the transfer of a tenancy.
Two of these conditions is that the incoming tenant complete an application form about their financial circumstances and sign an acknowledgement they will be bound by the terms of the tenancy agreement.
Unfortunate as it may be for the tenant, I am not persuaded by the evidence that all the requirements were fulfilled for replacing herself as a tenant.
The email evidence supports that the landlord advised the tenant four days after she left the premises that the possible replacement had not made an application and did so again three weeks later.
While the tenant found a possible replacement, she agreed that she did not try and follow up with the person until after the landlord told her no application had been made.
I do not consider the email from the landlord of 8/8/2025 was anything other than confirmation of her request to update the tenant on her tenancy because the evidence from the landlord supports that the tenant was repeatedly advised she was responsible for the rent until she was signed off.
The conditions required by the landlord were reasonable and did not involve the tenant paying an costs of assignment if she found a replacement tenant herself.
For the avoidance of doubt, I find the tenancy has not been validly assigned pursuant to the provisions of section 43B and therefore remains in place.

Does the tenant owe rent arrears?

The landlord claimed rent arrears of $2,692.14 to today.
In support of the claim the landlord provided rent records since the beginning of the tenancy.
The tenant did not believe she owed the arrears because of the steps she took to find a replacement tenant.
I am satisfied from the evidence that the tenant owes the arrears claimed.
An order has been made for the arrears.
Despite the tenancy not ending until 31/12/2025, the bond has been refunded to mitigate the loss of the landlord.
As [The applicant/s] has wholly succeeded with the claim I must award the filing fee.
Suppression is granted to the landlord pursuant to section 95A(1) because they were successful with the proceedings.
As the tenant was unsuccessful no filing fee or name suppression is available to her.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5351766 — net $1,500.14 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 29/10/2025	$2,692.14	Rent arrears to 29/10/2025
Filing fee reimbursement	$28.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$1,500.14
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$1,500.14

Order

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of the Landlord name and identifying details.
Apeksha Anpurna Charan must pay [The landlord/s] $1,500.14 immediately, calculated as shown in table below:
The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $1,220.00 ([Bond number suppressed]) to [The landlord/s] immediately.
The application by Apeksha Anpurna Charan to end the tenancy and refund of her bond is dismissed.

Reasons

The landlord and tenant both attended the hearing, the latter by telephone.
On 24/9/2025 the landlord sought rent arrears because no assignment of the tenancy had been completed.
In response, on 29/9/2025 the tenant sought a refund of her bond because she believed the tenancy had ended.
The tenancy began on 1/1/2024 for a twelve month fixed term and was renewed to end on 31/12/2025 at a rent of $315.00 per week.

Was the tenancy validly assigned?

The tenant submitted that on 30/7/2025 she told the landlord she would be moving out of the premises “due to ongoing issues with a roommate which had made the living situation increasingly difficult and stressful”.
The tenant left the premises on 8/8/2025 after advising the landlord the day before of the name and contact details of a person who wanted urgently to move in.
As it took the landlord three weeks to advise her, on 1/9/2025, that the proposed replacement tenant had not completed an application form, the tenant thought the transfer had been completed.
The tenant believed it was unfair of the landlord to continue to hold her responsible for the rent when she had taken steps to find a replacement.
On the other hand, the landlord pointed out that on 1/8/2025 they had set out the requirements for finding a replacement flat mate, which did not include couples for the studio room.
Further the landlord submitted that they advised the tenant via an email dated 12/8/2025 that the possible tenant had not submitted an application, and they were not able to proceed any further at that time.
The landlord followed with a further email on 1/9/2025 confirming no application had been made and asking the tenant to look for someone else.
In that email the landlord advised the tenant she was liable for the full weekly rent until she had been signed off the tenancy.
After receiving details of a possible other replacement from the tenant the landlord again confirmed on 5/9/2025 that she was liable for the weekly rent until a change of tenant was signed.
Subsequently the landlord advised on 9/9/2025 that after viewing the other possible replacement decided not to take the room.
On 12/9/2025 the landlord issued a 14 day notice for rent arrears to the tenant.
Section 43B(1) provides a tenant may, at any time during a tenancy, assign the tenancy- a. With the prior written consent of the landlord; and b. In accordance with any reasonable conditions attached to that consent by the landlord.
Under section 44A a landlord who, among other matters, consents to assignment of a tenancy are entitled to recover from the outgoing tenant any expenses reasonably incurred by the landlord in respect of the assignment.
Clause 7 in Section 4 Standard Terms and Conditions of the tenancy agreement sets out the conditions under which the landlord would agree to the transfer of a tenancy.
Two of these conditions is that the incoming tenant complete an application form about their financial circumstances and sign an acknowledgement they will be bound by the terms of the tenancy agreement.
Unfortunate as it may be for the tenant, I am not persuaded by the evidence that all the requirements were fulfilled for replacing herself as a tenant.
The email evidence supports that the landlord advised the tenant four days after she left the premises that the possible replacement had not made an application and did so again three weeks later.
While the tenant found a possible replacement, she agreed that she did not try and follow up with the person until after the landlord told her no application had been made.
I do not consider the email from the landlord of 8/8/2025 was anything other than confirmation of her request to update the tenant on her tenancy because the evidence from the landlord supports that the tenant was repeatedly advised she was responsible for the rent until she was signed off.
The conditions required by the landlord were reasonable and did not involve the tenant paying an costs of assignment if she found a replacement tenant herself.
For the avoidance of doubt, I find the tenancy has not been validly assigned pursuant to the provisions of section 43B and therefore remains in place.

Does the tenant owe rent arrears?

The landlord claimed rent arrears of $2,692.14 to today.
In support of the claim the landlord provided rent records since the beginning of the tenancy.
The tenant did not believe she owed the arrears because of the steps she took to find a replacement tenant.
I am satisfied from the evidence that the tenant owes the arrears claimed.
An order has been made for the arrears.
Despite the tenancy not ending until 31/12/2025, the bond has been refunded to mitigate the loss of the landlord.
As [The applicant/s] has wholly succeeded with the claim I must award the filing fee.
Suppression is granted to the landlord pursuant to section 95A(1) because they were successful with the proceedings.
As the tenant was unsuccessful no filing fee or name suppression is available to her.

Tenancy Tribunal case 5351766 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 5351766 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Was the tenancy validly assigned?

Does the tenant owe rent arrears?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Was the tenancy validly assigned?

Does the tenant owe rent arrears?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions