Tenantcheck Insights · Case study
Tenancy Tribunal case 5363862 — Rent arrears at 23 Muir Road, Te Awamutu, RD 1, Te Awamutu 3879
Decided 17 February 2026 · Published 17 February 2026 · Application 5363862
Landlord favoured
- Rent arrears
- 14-day notice
At a glance
Key facts from the published tribunal order.
Outcome
Landlord favoured
From published order
Location
Te Awamutu
Tribunal region
Adjudicator
A Aiolupotea
Claims & awards
What this tenancy cost at tribunal — claim, category, amount, and party awarded, with reconciled net total.
No individual claim amounts were reconciled for this order. View the official Ministry of Justice PDF for full detail.
Order
- The application for rehearing is dismissed.
Reasons
- The Landlord attended the original hearing .The Tenant did not appear.
- On 18 December 2025, the Tribunal made an order to dismiss the Landlord’s application for rent arrears and termination.
- On 18 December 2025, Anne Flay applied for a rehearing on the grounds that they had submitted a rent summary sheet which they believed was correct. They had received no rental payments since 25 Jul 2025. The tenancy ended on 28 November 2025 and the Tenant had not vacated. The Landlord conducted methamphetamine screening which indicated the house was not habitable.
- Section 105(1) Residential Tenancies Act 1986 provides that the Tribunal has the power to order a rehearing where “a substantial wrong or miscarriage of justice has or may have occurred or is likely to occur”.
- Usually the party applying for the rehearing must show that something went wrong with the Tribunal’s procedure, for example, that they did not receive notice of the hearing or they were not able to properly present their case. A rehearing may also be granted where there is new evidence that was not reasonably available at the first hearing, if it could have affected the outcome.
- The District Court has held that if the Tribunal was simply wrong in its findings of fact, or its application of the law, this is not sufficient to establish a miscarriage of justice: a rehearing is not an alternative to an appeal. Furthermore, a rehearing will not be granted just because a party is unhappy with the decision, or to give them a second opportunity to present their case.
Has a substantial wrong or miscarriage of justice occurred?
- For the following reasons Anne Flay has failed to establish the grounds for a rehearing.
- A rehearing is not a second opportunity for a party to present their case again or to allow a party to correct deficiencies in their evidence or to introduce new grounds for termination.
- The Tenants filed a rent summary on 18 December 2025 showing rent arrears of $5,400.00 up to that date. A further rent summary was filed on 7 January 2026 showing rent arrears of $4,500.00 up to 12 December 2025.
- The rent summary filed on 7 January 2026 contained the same issue that led to the original application being dismissed. The rental periods were incorrectly recorded for example, a rental period was recorded as 31 January 2025 to 7 February 2025, and then the next rental period was recorded as 7 February 2025 to 14 February 2025. The second period should have been recorded as 8 February 2025 to 15 February 2025.
- Because of these inconsistencies, the Tribunal could not make an order for rent arrears or termination. Although the Landlord submitted that this was a minor error, section 55 (1)(a) of the Residential Tenancies Act which refers to the grounds for termination, requires the Tribunal to be satisfied of the exact amount of rent owing on specific dates. This is important because, to grant termination for rent arrears, the Tribunal must determine whether the rent was more than 21 days in arrears at the date the application was filed. Alternatively, section 56 provides for termination to be granted, the Tribunal must be satisfied that the rent arrears in the section 56 notices provided to the Tenant are correct. The Landlord sent a section 56 breach notice to the Tenant on 3 September 2025 advising the rent was in arrears by $1500.00 yet perusal of the rent summary indicated the rent was in arrears was $857.14.
- If the Tribunal is to terminate a tenancy, it must have accurate and reliable evidence of rent arrears on the relevant dates. Termination of a tenancy requires a significant and serious disruption to a person’s housing and living arrangements. Errors in rent summaries are therefore not considered minor issues that can be overlooked simply because the total amount of rent arrears is said to be correct.
- The Landlord had submitted that there was methamphetamine contamination; however, that evidence should have been presented at the original hearing.
- I encourage the Landlords to seek guidance from Tenancy services or obtain independent legal advice regarding alternative options that may provide a quicker resolution to their claims and ensure their evidence is properly prepared and presented for the Tribunal.
- The application for rehearing is dismissed.
Topics & place
Topics are dispute themes across the order (not the same as claim-type money lines).
Residential Tenancies Act sections
s105(1), s31, s55, s56, s7, s8
Key findings
- Dispute theme: rent arrears
- Dispute theme: termination 14day
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about this Tenancy Tribunal case.
What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 5363862?
The tribunal order states: The application for rehearing is dismissed.
How much money was awarded in case 5363862?
Verified claim lines are listed on this page.
What type of tenancy dispute was case 5363862?
The primary dispute was Rent arrears. Related themes: 14-day notice.
Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5363862?
The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/13070079-Tribunal_Order.pdf.