Tenantcheck Insights · Case study
Tenancy Tribunal case 5359461 — Property damage at 8 Mustang Avenue, Wigram, Christchurch 8042
Published 16 January 2026 · Application 5359461
- Property damage
- Rent arrears
- Cleanliness
At a glance
Key facts from the published tribunal order.
Outcome
Landlord favoured
From published order
Location
Christchurch
Tribunal region
Adjudicator
R Armstrong
Dispute themes
Award balance
Gross awards, any bond applied per the order, and the remaining balance payable.
- Gross award
- $8,537.51
- Bond payment as ordered
- −$2,160.00
- Total balance for Tenant to pay Landlord
- $6,377.51
Claims & awards
What this tenancy cost at tribunal — claim, category, amount, and party awarded, with reconciled net total.
| Claim | Landlord | Tenant | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent arrears to 23 July 2025 | $2,562.86 | Rent arrears to 23 July 2025 | |
| Cleaning | $943.00 | Cleaning | |
| Carpet Cleaning | $207.00 | Carpet Cleaning | |
| Outside work | $115.00 | Outside work | |
| Odour treatment | $230.00 | Odour treatment | |
| Oven/stove cleaning | $115.00 | Oven/stove cleaning | |
| Cleaning garage floor | $97.75 | Cleaning garage floor | |
| Rubbish removal | $310.50 | Rubbish removal | |
| __________________________________________________________________________________ 53594612 Flea treatment | $299.00 | __________________________________________________________________________________ 53594612 Flea treatment | |
| Repairing damage, painting and lock changing | $3,629.40 | Repairing damage, painting and lock changing | |
| Filing fee reimbursement | $28.00 | Filing fee reimbursement | |
| Net award | $6,377.51 | ||
| Total payable by Tenant to Landlord | $6,377.51 |
Claims and awards for application 5359461 — net $6,377.51 NZD. Verify on MoJ.
Rent arrears to 23 July 2025
- Amount
- $2,562.86
- Awarded to
- Landlord
- Reason
- Rent arrears to 23 July 2025
Cleaning
- Amount
- $943.00
- Awarded to
- Landlord
- Reason
- Cleaning
Carpet Cleaning
- Amount
- $207.00
- Awarded to
- Landlord
- Reason
- Carpet Cleaning
Outside work
- Amount
- $115.00
- Awarded to
- Landlord
- Reason
- Outside work
Odour treatment
- Amount
- $230.00
- Awarded to
- Landlord
- Reason
- Odour treatment
Oven/stove cleaning
- Amount
- $115.00
- Awarded to
- Landlord
- Reason
- Oven/stove cleaning
Cleaning garage floor
- Amount
- $97.75
- Awarded to
- Landlord
- Reason
- Cleaning garage floor
Rubbish removal
- Amount
- $310.50
- Awarded to
- Landlord
- Reason
- Rubbish removal
__________________________________________________________________________________ 53594612 Flea treatment
- Amount
- $299.00
- Awarded to
- Landlord
- Reason
- __________________________________________________________________________________ 53594612 Flea treatment
Repairing damage, painting and lock changing
- Amount
- $3,629.40
- Awarded to
- Landlord
- Reason
- Repairing damage, painting and lock changing
Filing fee reimbursement
- Amount
- $28.00
- Awarded to
- Landlord
- Reason
- Filing fee reimbursement
Net award
Landlord $6,377.51
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord
Landlord $6,377.51
Claim types — money lines allowed on this order
Order
- Jeremy Severinsen must pay Orbit Property Management Limited as Agent for Yang Yao $6,377.51, calculated as shown in the table below.
- The tenant must pay the debt in this order at the rate of $1,000 per month.
- The first payment must be made on Wednesday 21 January 2026 and payments must continue o be made on the 21 st day of every month until the debt is paid in full.
- If the tenant fails to make any payment within 2 working days of the due date, the balance of the debt owing will be payable immediately and can be enforced through the District Court.
Reasons
- Only the landlords attended the hearing. The tenant sent the Tribunal an email yesterday 15 January requesting an adjournment and proposing a payment arrangement of $1,000 per month beginning next Wednesday 21 January.
- This morning, the Tribunal declined to adjourn the hearing but gave the tenant permission to attend the hearing by telephone. In the short time available to him, the tenant did not respond. The Tribunal telephoned him at the time of the hearing, but the call rang off. I therefore proceeded with the hearing, requiring the landlords to formally prove their claims.
- The landlords have applied for rent arrears, compensation and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy. The bond has been paid to the landlord. Rent
- The tenancy ended on 20 July 2025, but the tenant remained in occupation until 23 July. The landlord provided rent records to prove the amount owing at the vacate date. Relevant Law
- At the end of the tenancy the tenant must leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy, remove all rubbish and return all keys and security devices.
- The tenant must not carelessly or intentionally damage 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.
- 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).
- 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).
- 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.
- 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. Claims
- The tenant did not leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy and did not remove all rubbish.
- The tenant did not return the keys.
- The landlord produced ingoing and outgoing condition reports for the premises and an invoice for cleaning and the other related work referred to in this order.
- I am satisfied from the evidence provided that the work was required due to the tenant’s breach of his obligations and that the costs incurred by the landlord and claimed from the tenant are reasonable.
- I note that the invoice included cleaning the inside and outside of windows in the premises. Tenants are not usually responsible for cleaning the outside of the premises, including windows, but in this case, windows were dirty from dog paw marks.
- The outside work consisted of picking up dog poo. I note that the lawn was left in a poor condition but there was no claim for remediation costs.
- There was a strong dog odour left in the premises and there was a flea infestation.
- There was damage to the premises during the tenancy including to three doors that needed replacing, walls and three broken windows. The damage is more than fair wear and tear, and the tenant has not disproved liability for the damage. At least some of the damage was likely to have been intentional either in the sense of deliberate damage or allowing animals to cause the damage.
- Insurance is not a consideration in any case because no single incident of damage resulted in a cost exceeding the landlord’s insurance excess ($750).
- The landlord produced an invoice which included the repairs and painting and changing the locks. I find that cost of the work is reasonable.
- I have awarded the filing fee because the landlord has succeeded.
- The landlord accepted the tenant’s payment proposal and so I have incorporated that in this order.
Topics & place
Topics are dispute themes across the order (not the same as claim-type money lines).
Residential Tenancies Act sections
s12
Key findings
- Dispute theme: rent arrears
- Dispute theme: cleaning
- Dispute theme: property damage
Property management
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about this Tenancy Tribunal case.
What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 5359461?
The tribunal order states: Jeremy Severinsen must pay Orbit Property Management Limited as Agent for
How much money was awarded in case 5359461?
____________________________________…: $299.00 awarded to landlord; Cleaning: $207.00 awarded to landlord; Cleaning: $943.00 awarded to landlord; Cleaning: $115.00 awarded to landlord; Cleaning: $97.75 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $28.00 awarded to landlord; Odour Treatment: $230.00 awarded to landlord; Outside Work: $115.00 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $3,629.40 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $2,562.86 awarded to landlord; Rubbish Removal: $310.50 awarded to landlord
What type of tenancy dispute was case 5359461?
The primary dispute was Property damage. Related themes: Rent arrears, Cleanliness.
Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5359461?
The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/12979859-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.