How much money was awarded in case 5354927?

Cleaning: $414.00 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $28.00 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $862.50 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5354927?

The primary dispute was Property damage. Related themes: Cleanliness.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5354927?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/12766333-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

How much money was awarded in case 5354927?

Cleaning: $414.00 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $28.00 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $862.50 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5354927?

The primary dispute was Property damage. Related themes: Cleanliness.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5354927?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/12766333-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 5354927 — Property damage

Q: What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5354927 about?

The tribunal order states: An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal

Tenantcheck Insights

Order

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5354927 — net $705.03 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Cleaning	$414.00	Cleaning
Repairs	$862.50	Repairs
Filing fee reimbursement	$28.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$705.03
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$705.03

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of the Landlord’s name and identifying details.

Sreenu Babu Yerramsetti must pay [The landlord/s] $705.03 immediately, calculated as shown in table below.

The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $599.47 ([Bond number suppressed]) to [The landlord/s] immediately.

Reasons

Both parties attended the video hearing.

The balance of the landlord’s claims for consideration by the Tribunal are for compensation, refund of the bond, and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy. Burden of proof

A party who brings a claim to the Tenancy Tribunal must prove on the balance of probabilities (more likely than not) that their version of events took place. Independent witnesses, corroborating documents and photographs are an important part of discharging this burden of proof. In this case, the burden of proof is on the landlord. The landlord must provide evidence to show that it is more likely than not that the tenant has breached his obligations.

The issue of evidence at Tenancy Tribunal hearings was considered by the District Court in Kaipo v Clarke & McCarthy (DC) TT233/02. Judge Mather stated: “...[the applicant] needs to be reminded that like anyone who brings an application before a Tribunal or a Court, it is incumbent upon the applicant to provide the evidence necessary to prove the case. If the applicant fails to do that, then their application will be dismissed whether it has merit or not because it is up to the applicant to provide the necessary evidence. It is not up to the other parties and it is certainly not up to the Tribunal to extract evidence.”

Did the tenant comply with their obligations at the end of the tenancy?

At the end of the tenancy the tenant must leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy. See section 40(1)(e)(ii)-(v) Residential Tenancies Act 1986. The tenant is not required to pay for cleaning which would achieve a higher standard of cleanliness.

The landlord explained that at the end of the tenancy the premises were placed on the market for sale. The landlord provided an invoice for cleaning for $1,683.60, but only sought compensation for $1,166.84, which the landlord says was for cleaning to bring the premises to a reasonably clean and tidy standard.

The landlord provided a limited number of photos. I am satisfied that both the shower and the oven were not left reasonably clean and tidy by the tenant. Photos were provided of the carpets, but the photos did not disclose any marks or stains which would have required them to be washed so as to achieve the reasonably clean and tidy standard.

The burden of proving this claim is on the landlord. I accept that the landlord has proven that both the oven and shower required further cleaning. The evidence provided does not satisfy me that it was more likely than not that other areas of the house also required cleaning. I consider a claim of 10 hours at $41.40 an hour to be reasonable to bring the premises to the required standard.

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

A landlord must prove that damage to the premises occurred during the tenancy and is more than fair wear and tear. If this is established, to avoid liability, the tenant must prove they did not carelessly or intentionally cause or permit the damage. Tenants are liable for the actions of people at the premises with their permission. See sections 40(2)(a), 41 and 49B RTA.

Where the damage is careless, and occurs after 27 August 2019, section 49B RTA applies. If the landlord becomes aware of the damage after 27 August, the damage is presumed to have occurred after that date unless the tenant proves otherwise.

Where the damage is caused carelessly, and is covered by the landlord's insurance, the tenant's liability is limited to the lesser of the insurance excess or four weeks' rent (or four weeks' market rent in the case of a tenant paying income-related rent). See section 49B(3)(a) RTA. The landlord is insured. The landlord’s policy of insurance carries an excess of $550.00 on each and every claim.

Where the damage is careless and is not covered by the landlord's insurance, the tenant's liability is limited to four weeks' rent (or market rent). See section 49B(3)(b) RTA. Where insurance money is irrecoverable because of the tenant's conduct, the property is treated as if it is not insured against the damage. See section 49B(3A)(a) RTA.

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.

Damage is intentional where a person intends to cause damage and takes the necessary steps to achieve that purpose. Damage is also intentional where a person does something, or allows a situation to continue, knowing that damage is a certainty. See Guo v Korck [2019] NZHC 1541.

The following damage was caused during the tenancy: the landlord claims that areas inside the house and in the garage had been damaged. The landlord provided photos of the damaged areas and an invoice for $862.50 for repairs. The narration to the invoice says that the work required was “Patching holes and scratches on the wall, plastering and painting.”

The tenant accepted that he had caused this minor damage, but considered that the amount claimed was excessive and that there had been an arrangement between the parties for a plastic plate to be installed to cover some of the damage.

Having reviewed the evidence including the photos and the invoice, I consider that the damage is more than fair wear and tear, and the tenant has not disproved liability for the damage.

The amounts ordered are proved.

As [The applicant/s] has substantially succeeded with the claim, I have ordered the tenant to reimburse the filing fee.

Both parties applied for name suppression. The landlord has been substantially successful in the hearing and suppression of the landlords’ names and details is ordered. The tenant has not been wholly or substantially successful in the hearing. The tenant's application for name suppression is dismissed.

Order

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5354927 — net $705.03 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Cleaning	$414.00	Cleaning
Repairs	$862.50	Repairs
Filing fee reimbursement	$28.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$705.03
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$705.03

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of the Landlord’s name and identifying details.

Sreenu Babu Yerramsetti must pay [The landlord/s] $705.03 immediately, calculated as shown in table below.

The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $599.47 ([Bond number suppressed]) to [The landlord/s] immediately.

Reasons

Both parties attended the video hearing.

Did the tenant comply with their obligations at the end of the tenancy?

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

Having reviewed the evidence including the photos and the invoice, I consider that the damage is more than fair wear and tear, and the tenant has not disproved liability for the damage.

The amounts ordered are proved.

As [The applicant/s] has substantially succeeded with the claim, I have ordered the tenant to reimburse the filing fee.

Tenancy Tribunal case 5354927 — Property damage

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 5354927 — Property damage

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Did the tenant comply with their obligations at the end of the tenancy?

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Did the tenant comply with their obligations at the end of the tenancy?

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions