What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5352142 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 5352142?

Rent Arrears: $1,121.40 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5352142?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5352142?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/13053603-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5352142 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 5352142?

Rent Arrears: $1,121.40 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5352142?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5352142?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/13053603-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 5352142 — Rent arrears

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New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 5352142 — Rent arrears | TenantCheck

Claims & awards

What this tenancy cost at tribunal — claim, category, amount, and party awarded, with reconciled net total.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5352142 — net $1,121.40 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 29 January 2026	$1,121.40	Rent arrears to 29 January 2026
Net award	$1,121.40
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$1,121.40

Claims and awards for application 5352142 — net $1,121.40 NZD. Verify on MoJ.

Rent arrears to 29 January 2026

Amount: $1,121.40
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Rent arrears to 29 January 2026

Net award

Landlord $1,121.40

Total payable by Tenant to Landlord

Landlord $1,121.40

Claim types — money lines allowed on this order

Rent arrears

Order

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of the tenant’s name and identifying details, including the address of the property.
[The tenant/s] owes Kāinga Ora–Homes And Communities $1,121.40 (“the debt”).
[The tenant/s] must pay rent and the debt as follows: a. By 11 weekly payments of $800.00, being $700.00 for rent and $100.00 for the debt. b. A final payment of $721.40, being $700.00 for rent and $21.40 for the debt. c. Payments will be every Friday, with the first payment on 30/01/2026 and continuing until 17/04/2026.
Payments will be allocated in the following order: rent, rent arrears, and the filing fee.
If the tenant fails to pay rent and rent arrears within 5 working days of the due dates: a. The tenancy at [Tenancy address suppressed] will terminate and the landlord will have immediate possession of the premises. b. The balance of the debt will be payable immediately.

Reasons

Both parties attended the telephone hearing held on the 29 January 2026.
On the 6 November 2025 I part heard the landlord’s application and adjourned the matter so that the tenant could provide the Tribunal with further evidence of her correspondence with MSD.

What is this dispute about?

This is a dispute about when then tenant was liable to pay the income related rent from, the amount of arrears owed by the tenant and whether it is appropriate to grant a conditional termination. Background
This tenancy has been in place for 21 years. Every year the tenant’s rent is assessed taking into account the market rent for the property and the tenant’s household income. The income related rent assessment is undertaken not by the landlord but by the Ministry of Social Development (MSD). Once MSD have completed the rent assessment, they advise the landlord of the rent that should be charged to the tenant.
The landlord then gives the tenant notice of the rent pursuant to s24 of the RTA. In this case the rent payable by the tenant was increased by a substantial amount to $700.00. It is not clear why there was such a significant increase, but it is likely due to the tenant’s household income increasing. The landlord gave notice to the tenant of the rent increase on the 2 May for an increase to take place on the 24 July 2025. The landlord sent a further reminder to the tenant on the 26 June 2025.
The tenant says that she disputed the rent assessment by MSD after receiving the notice of increase. She says that her tenancy manager was aware that she disputed the rent assessment. She says that she was asked to provide documents to MSD in order for the rent to be reassessed, which she did. The tenant says that she believed that whilst the review was ongoing that she would not be required to pay the increased rent. The tenant says that in previous rent assessments her rent has both increased and decreased and whilst the review is taking place, if rent arrears have accumulated, then they are worked out once the final review has been completed. If the rent is decreased, then the rent arrears are credited and if the rent increases, then she has made provision to pay off any debt by weekly instalments and has always done so without any problem. The tenant’s submission accord with the landlord’s rent statement which reflect what the tenant told me about previous reviews.
I also note that the tenant had been paying more than her weekly rent per week so by the date that the rent increase took effect the tenant was $578.60 in credit.
The tenant says that she provided copies to the [Suburb] branch of MSD on at least two occasions and when she followed those up, the branch told her that they did not have the documents. The tenant said that this led to a delay in having the review finalised. The tenant provided documents which supported her claims that she had to provide documents to MSD and was trying to hurry along the review, so that she knew where she stood.
On the 2 September the review process was completed by MSD, and the rent was confirmed by the landlord at $700 per week.
On the 24 September the landlord filed its claims for termination on the tenancy on the basis that the tenant was more than 21 days in arrears. At that stage the tenant owed $2921, which meant that the tenant was 29 days in arrears.
The tenant accepts the rent should be paid at $700 per week but says that the rent increase should not take effect until the review process has been followed.

What date did the rent increase take effect?

Section 24 RTA is the provision that deals with increases in rent it allows landlords to increase rent provided that the notice: • Is in writing • Specifies the amount of the proposed rent. • Specifies the date that that the increase will take effect • The rent increase must not be less than 12 months after the last increase.
The landlord’s notice complied with the requirements of section 24. It was a valid notice to the tenant. As such the tenant was liable to pay rent from the date specified in the notice of 24 July 2025.
If the tenant considered that the market rent was too high, then she could have challenged the landlord’s notice of 2 May by making an application to the Tribunal under section 25 RTA. She did not do so.
I do not consider that the tenant seeking a review of the income assessment rent stops the rent increasing until the review has been completed because: a. There is no legislative provision that provides that the process of review of the income assessed rent prevents the rent increase from taking effect while the review takes place. b. If the tenant disputed the market rent, she had an avenue in challenging the rent charged, by making an application to the Tribunal and she has not done that. c. The tenant’s review of MSD’s assessment was not a challenge to the market rent as such, but rather a review of the amount the tenant could afford to pay.
Therefore, the landlord was entitled to charge the increased rent from the 24 July and the tenant was liable to pay rent at $700 per week from that date.
The landlord provided a rent statement showing the amount owed at the date of hearing. The tenant owes $1121.40. as at the date of hearing, and I make a rent arrears award for that amount.

Is the landlord entitled to termination order?

The landlord claims that the tenant was 21 days in arrears and seeks a conditional termination order, requiring that the tenant continues to pay $100 per week for the arrears, as she has been doing since the 5 September, otherwise her tenancy terminates.
The tenant does not want the Tribunal to make a conditional termination order, she says that she has been a good tenant for 21 years, that she was disputing the arrears as she was legitimately able to do, and that once the review process was finalised she accepted the rental amount and has consistently paid the arrears off at $100 a week.
Section 55(1) RTA requires the Tribunal to make a termination order, if it is satisfied that the tenant was more than 21 days in arrears at the date of the application and the landlord requests it at the hearing. There are two exceptions to this; s55(1A) which allows the Tribunal to make a conditional termination order instead of final termination order and s55(2) RTA which allows the Tribunal to refuse to grant termination if the following three elements are made out. • It is satisfied that the breach has been remedied • the landlord has been compensated for any loss arising from the breach, • it is unlikely that the tenant will commit any further breach of a kind to which this section applies.
At the hearing, having considered all the submissions, I indicated to the parties that I would not be making a conditional order because I considered termination manifestly unjust in these particular circumstances. However, I have now had an opportunity to review the law on the circumstances in which the Tribunal can exercise its discretion under s55(2) RTA and I consider that I am unable, in this instance to exercise any discretion, because the rent remains in arrears at the date of the hearing, albeit for less than 21 days.
The High Court has held that in a rent arrears breach is only remedied when, at the date of the hearing the rent has been fully repaid. 1 The tribunal must follow the decisions of the High Court. As the tenant has not yet fully repaid the rent arrears then the first element of s55(2)- the breach has been remedied is not made out, and I must order a conditional termination as requested by the landlord.
I am satisfied that the tenant will make payments of the amounts ordered and is unlikely to commit further breaches. I therefore make a conditional termination order for the outstanding rent arrears as at the date of hearing of $1121.40. Why name suppression has been granted.
I grant name suppression to the tenant as requested in this instance. Whilst I consider that there is public interest in knowing how the Tribunal determines these types of claims, I do not consider that there is any public interest in knowing the name of the tenant. I consider that the tenant’s interest in not having the public know the details of her housing and the rent she pays outweighs the public interest of knowing her identity. The landlord supports name suppression for the tenant.

Claims & awards

What this tenancy cost at tribunal — claim, category, amount, and party awarded, with reconciled net total.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5352142 — net $1,121.40 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 29 January 2026	$1,121.40	Rent arrears to 29 January 2026
Net award	$1,121.40
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$1,121.40

Claims and awards for application 5352142 — net $1,121.40 NZD. Verify on MoJ.

Rent arrears to 29 January 2026

Amount: $1,121.40
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Rent arrears to 29 January 2026

Net award

Landlord $1,121.40

Total payable by Tenant to Landlord

Landlord $1,121.40

Claim types — money lines allowed on this order

Rent arrears

Order

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of the tenant’s name and identifying details, including the address of the property.
[The tenant/s] owes Kāinga Ora–Homes And Communities $1,121.40 (“the debt”).
[The tenant/s] must pay rent and the debt as follows: a. By 11 weekly payments of $800.00, being $700.00 for rent and $100.00 for the debt. b. A final payment of $721.40, being $700.00 for rent and $21.40 for the debt. c. Payments will be every Friday, with the first payment on 30/01/2026 and continuing until 17/04/2026.
Payments will be allocated in the following order: rent, rent arrears, and the filing fee.
If the tenant fails to pay rent and rent arrears within 5 working days of the due dates: a. The tenancy at [Tenancy address suppressed] will terminate and the landlord will have immediate possession of the premises. b. The balance of the debt will be payable immediately.

Reasons

Both parties attended the telephone hearing held on the 29 January 2026.
On the 6 November 2025 I part heard the landlord’s application and adjourned the matter so that the tenant could provide the Tribunal with further evidence of her correspondence with MSD.

What is this dispute about?

This is a dispute about when then tenant was liable to pay the income related rent from, the amount of arrears owed by the tenant and whether it is appropriate to grant a conditional termination. Background
This tenancy has been in place for 21 years. Every year the tenant’s rent is assessed taking into account the market rent for the property and the tenant’s household income. The income related rent assessment is undertaken not by the landlord but by the Ministry of Social Development (MSD). Once MSD have completed the rent assessment, they advise the landlord of the rent that should be charged to the tenant.
The landlord then gives the tenant notice of the rent pursuant to s24 of the RTA. In this case the rent payable by the tenant was increased by a substantial amount to $700.00. It is not clear why there was such a significant increase, but it is likely due to the tenant’s household income increasing. The landlord gave notice to the tenant of the rent increase on the 2 May for an increase to take place on the 24 July 2025. The landlord sent a further reminder to the tenant on the 26 June 2025.
The tenant says that she disputed the rent assessment by MSD after receiving the notice of increase. She says that her tenancy manager was aware that she disputed the rent assessment. She says that she was asked to provide documents to MSD in order for the rent to be reassessed, which she did. The tenant says that she believed that whilst the review was ongoing that she would not be required to pay the increased rent. The tenant says that in previous rent assessments her rent has both increased and decreased and whilst the review is taking place, if rent arrears have accumulated, then they are worked out once the final review has been completed. If the rent is decreased, then the rent arrears are credited and if the rent increases, then she has made provision to pay off any debt by weekly instalments and has always done so without any problem. The tenant’s submission accord with the landlord’s rent statement which reflect what the tenant told me about previous reviews.
I also note that the tenant had been paying more than her weekly rent per week so by the date that the rent increase took effect the tenant was $578.60 in credit.
The tenant says that she provided copies to the [Suburb] branch of MSD on at least two occasions and when she followed those up, the branch told her that they did not have the documents. The tenant said that this led to a delay in having the review finalised. The tenant provided documents which supported her claims that she had to provide documents to MSD and was trying to hurry along the review, so that she knew where she stood.
On the 2 September the review process was completed by MSD, and the rent was confirmed by the landlord at $700 per week.
On the 24 September the landlord filed its claims for termination on the tenancy on the basis that the tenant was more than 21 days in arrears. At that stage the tenant owed $2921, which meant that the tenant was 29 days in arrears.
The tenant accepts the rent should be paid at $700 per week but says that the rent increase should not take effect until the review process has been followed.

What date did the rent increase take effect?

Section 24 RTA is the provision that deals with increases in rent it allows landlords to increase rent provided that the notice: • Is in writing • Specifies the amount of the proposed rent. • Specifies the date that that the increase will take effect • The rent increase must not be less than 12 months after the last increase.
The landlord’s notice complied with the requirements of section 24. It was a valid notice to the tenant. As such the tenant was liable to pay rent from the date specified in the notice of 24 July 2025.
If the tenant considered that the market rent was too high, then she could have challenged the landlord’s notice of 2 May by making an application to the Tribunal under section 25 RTA. She did not do so.
I do not consider that the tenant seeking a review of the income assessment rent stops the rent increasing until the review has been completed because: a. There is no legislative provision that provides that the process of review of the income assessed rent prevents the rent increase from taking effect while the review takes place. b. If the tenant disputed the market rent, she had an avenue in challenging the rent charged, by making an application to the Tribunal and she has not done that. c. The tenant’s review of MSD’s assessment was not a challenge to the market rent as such, but rather a review of the amount the tenant could afford to pay.
Therefore, the landlord was entitled to charge the increased rent from the 24 July and the tenant was liable to pay rent at $700 per week from that date.
The landlord provided a rent statement showing the amount owed at the date of hearing. The tenant owes $1121.40. as at the date of hearing, and I make a rent arrears award for that amount.

Is the landlord entitled to termination order?

The landlord claims that the tenant was 21 days in arrears and seeks a conditional termination order, requiring that the tenant continues to pay $100 per week for the arrears, as she has been doing since the 5 September, otherwise her tenancy terminates.
The tenant does not want the Tribunal to make a conditional termination order, she says that she has been a good tenant for 21 years, that she was disputing the arrears as she was legitimately able to do, and that once the review process was finalised she accepted the rental amount and has consistently paid the arrears off at $100 a week.
Section 55(1) RTA requires the Tribunal to make a termination order, if it is satisfied that the tenant was more than 21 days in arrears at the date of the application and the landlord requests it at the hearing. There are two exceptions to this; s55(1A) which allows the Tribunal to make a conditional termination order instead of final termination order and s55(2) RTA which allows the Tribunal to refuse to grant termination if the following three elements are made out. • It is satisfied that the breach has been remedied • the landlord has been compensated for any loss arising from the breach, • it is unlikely that the tenant will commit any further breach of a kind to which this section applies.
At the hearing, having considered all the submissions, I indicated to the parties that I would not be making a conditional order because I considered termination manifestly unjust in these particular circumstances. However, I have now had an opportunity to review the law on the circumstances in which the Tribunal can exercise its discretion under s55(2) RTA and I consider that I am unable, in this instance to exercise any discretion, because the rent remains in arrears at the date of the hearing, albeit for less than 21 days.
The High Court has held that in a rent arrears breach is only remedied when, at the date of the hearing the rent has been fully repaid. 1 The tribunal must follow the decisions of the High Court. As the tenant has not yet fully repaid the rent arrears then the first element of s55(2)- the breach has been remedied is not made out, and I must order a conditional termination as requested by the landlord.
I am satisfied that the tenant will make payments of the amounts ordered and is unlikely to commit further breaches. I therefore make a conditional termination order for the outstanding rent arrears as at the date of hearing of $1121.40. Why name suppression has been granted.
I grant name suppression to the tenant as requested in this instance. Whilst I consider that there is public interest in knowing how the Tribunal determines these types of claims, I do not consider that there is any public interest in knowing the name of the tenant. I consider that the tenant’s interest in not having the public know the details of her housing and the rent she pays outweighs the public interest of knowing her identity. The landlord supports name suppression for the tenant.

Tenancy Tribunal case 5352142 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Award balance

Tenancy Tribunal case 5352142 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

What is this dispute about?

What date did the rent increase take effect?

Is the landlord entitled to termination order?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Property management

Frequently asked questions

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

What is this dispute about?

What date did the rent increase take effect?

Is the landlord entitled to termination order?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Property management

Frequently asked questions