Published tribunal order
Tenancy Tribunal case 5361417 — Rent arrears
Decided 12 Nov 2025 · Published 12 Nov 2025 · Application 5361417
- Rent arrears
- 14-day notice
Party names are redacted in the official published order.
Order
- An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of the Tenant name and identifying details.
- [The tenant/s] owes Kāinga Ora–Homes And Communities $362.00 (“the debt”), being rent arrears to 13 November 2025.
- [The tenant/s] must pay rent and the debt as follows: a. By weekly payments of $108.00, being $88.00 for rent and $20.00 for the debt. b. Payments will be every Friday, with the first payment on 14/11/2025 and continuing weekly until the debt is paid.
- Payments will be allocated in the following order: rent then rent arrears.
- If the tenant fails to pay rent and rent arrears within five 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 hearing, conducted via teleconference.
- The landlord has applied for termination of the tenancy and rent arrears.
- The tenant wants to repay the debt to avoid immediate termination. Repayments, in addition to rent, on a weekly basis have already commenced.
Should a conditional termination order be made?
- Where rent is at least 21 days in arrears on the date the application was filed, the Tribunal must make either a final or a conditional termination order. See section 55(1)(a) and (1A) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
- I am satisfied the tenant will pay the debt within the period specified in the order and is unlikely to commit any further relevant breach. I have granted a conditional termination order.
- The conditional termination order will lapse if it is fully complied with. If the tenant breaches the order, the possession order may be enforced for 90 days from the first breach. See section 64(4)(b) Residential Tenancies Act 1986. Suppression
- Section 95A RTA states regarding suppression orders that the Tribunal must, on the application of a party that has wholly or substantially succeeded in proceedings, order that the party’s name or identifying particulars not be published, unless the Tribunal considers that publication is in the public interest or is justified because of the party’s conduct or any other circumstances of the case.
- Further, the Tribunal may, on the application of any party to proceedings or on its own initiative, having regard to the interests of the parties and to the public interest, order that all or part of the evidence given or the name or any identifying particulars of any witness or party not be published.
- The landlord did not request suppression in its application and no landlord name suppression is ordered.
- At the hearing the landlord “pitched” for tenant name suppression. The public interest in orders where termination by order is a possibility being available (as is the default) is such that some special reason should exist for any order of tenant name suppression.
- That said, in this instance, after the tenant requested suppression, I have determined it appropriate to exercise my initiative and order tenant name and details suppression. This is an infrequent use of that option as the public interest in matters involving rent arrears are rightfully heightened.
- Here, the tenant has a prior history of being in credit rather than arrears and she has recently commenced and maintained additional weekly payments greater than sought (and ordered) today by the landlord. There were other circumstances for her that impacted timely rent payments that led to this application. Given these considerations, I regard the tenant interests in suppression here narrowly outweigh public interest.
- Suppression of the tenant name and details is ordered.