Tenantcheck Insights · Case study
Tenancy Tribunal case 5370924 — Rent arrears
Decided 4 Feb 2026 · Published 4 Feb 2026 · Application 5370924
- Rent arrears
Party names are redacted in the official published order. This page summarises the dispute only — not individual identities.
At a glance
Key facts from the published tribunal order.
Adjudicator
M Kan
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 Tribunal, on its own motion, orders suppression of the [Tenant] name and identifying details.
- The landlord’s application is withdrawn.
Reasons
- The hearing was conducted via teleconference.
- Ms Davis attended the hearing for the landlord.
- [The tenant/s] did not attend. Attempts were made to contact her by telephone at the commencement of the hearing and again at 11:55 a.m., but she could not be reached.
- The hearing then continued in her absence.
- The landlord has applied for rent arrears and has provided rent records which prove the amount owing. Discussion
- Ms. Davis confirmed that the tenant has been paying her weekly rent of $465 regularly and on time. The current rent arrears stand at $933 as of the date of the hearing. Ms. Davis explained that while the tenant previously made payments of $100 per week towards arrears, those payments ceased on 1 October 2025.
- Ms. Davis also noted that despite several attempts, including one by the tenant’s housing support manager on 3 December 2025, they have been unable to make recent contact with the tenant.
- Given that the tenant continues to pay rent regularly, Ms. Davis suggested the matter could be adjourned to allow further contact to be made. I advised that an adjournment could result in significant delay before the matter is re-listed. I therefore suggested that the landlord may wish to consider withdrawing the current application and filing a new one once contact with the tenant is re- established or should arrears increase. Conclusion
- After considering the circumstances, Ms. Davis, on behalf of Kāinga Ora, elected to withdraw the application.
- Accordingly, the application is withdrawn. Name suppression
- Under section 95A(4) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986, I have jurisdiction to consider name suppression on my own initiative.
- I consider that the tenant’s name and identifying details have no public interest because: a. She did not attend the hearing; b. She is regularly paying her weekly rent; c. The landlord’s application relates to rent arrears, and the landlord was prepared to work with [The tenant/s] to pay off the arrears by way of a conditional order. d. However, this was not possible because I do not know the tenant’s current financial circumstances. This is a relevant consideration because the tenant was paying $100 per week towards her rent arrears between 4 September 2025 and 2 October 2025. There was no information before me to determine an appropriate amount of payment towards the arrears.. e. It would be prejudicial to the tenant if her name were published before the landlord’s application is determined.
- For the above reasons, I have concluded that, having regard to the public interest, it is appropriate to order name suppression.
- Accordingly, I order suppression of the tenant’s name and identifying details.