What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5373303 about?

The tribunal order states: At the request of the parties, the Tribunal orders suppression of the names and

How much money was awarded in case 5373303?

Filing Fee: $28.00 awarded to landlord; Water Rates: $4,120.02 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5373303?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5373303?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/13696489-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5373303 about?

The tribunal order states: At the request of the parties, the Tribunal orders suppression of the names and

How much money was awarded in case 5373303?

Filing Fee: $28.00 awarded to landlord; Water Rates: $4,120.02 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5373303?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5373303?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/13696489-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 5373303 — Tenancy dispute

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New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 5373303 — Tenancy dispute | TenantCheck

Claims & awards

What this tenancy cost at tribunal — claim, category, amount, and party awarded, with reconciled net total.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5373303 — net $4,148.02 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Water rates	$4,120.02	3. At the end of the tenancy, the landlord applied for water rates arrears of $4,102.02 and reimbursement of the filing fee.
Filing fee reimbursement	$28.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$4,148.02
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$4,148.02

Claims and awards for application 5373303 — net $4,148.02 NZD. Verify on MoJ.

Water rates

Amount: $4,120.02
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: 3. At the end of the tenancy, the landlord applied for water rates arrears of $4,102.02 and reimbursement of the filing fee.

Filing fee reimbursement

Amount: $28.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Filing fee reimbursement

Net award

Landlord $4,148.02

Total payable by Tenant to Landlord

Landlord $4,148.02

Claim types — money lines allowed on this order

Filing Fee Water Rates

Order

At the request of the parties, the Tribunal orders suppression of the names and identifying details of both parties.
[The tenant/s] must pay [The landlord/s] $4,148.02 immediately, calculated as shown in table below.

Reasons

Both parties attended the video conference hearing on 27 February 2026 and 3 June 2026. The owner attended herself as well.
The tenancy was from 10 March 2023 until 6 October 2025.
At the end of the tenancy, the landlord applied for water rates arrears of $4,102.02 and reimbursement of the filing fee.
The tenant is a social housing provider and had a policy of not paying the water rates unless the actual Watercare invoices were provided by the landlord.
Despite repeated efforts by the tenant to receive the Watercare invoices, they were only received on 6 October 2025.
The subtenant had moved out by that stage already.
At the first video conference, the tenant raised concerns about a possible leak with the plumbing. At today’s hearing, the landlord was able to provide confirmation from a registered plumber that there were no leaks.
The tenant had no evidence to prove there were leaks or to disprove what the registered plumber had said.
The tenant accepted that the invoices from the landlord had reflected the Watercare invoices correctly.
The tenant claimed that the landlord providing the tenant with the actual Watercare invoices late resulted in the water rates arrears being too large for the subtenant to be chased up for. The subtenant, being a tenant of a social housing, is unlikely to have the means of paying the entire water rates arrears in one lump sum.
Under section 39 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986, tenants are responsible for water charges. If there is a dispute, then the landlord has the onus of proving that the amount charged is correct. Once the amount is confirmed as correct, the tenant is liable to pay that amount.
The decision to not forward any invoices to the subtenant until sighting the original Watercare invoices was the tenant’s decision.
As the water rates arrears have been confirmed, the tenant must pay the outstanding water rates arrears.
In addition to this, as the landlord has wholly succeeded with the claim, the tenant must also reimburse the landlord’s filing fee.

Claims & awards

What this tenancy cost at tribunal — claim, category, amount, and party awarded, with reconciled net total.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5373303 — net $4,148.02 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Water rates	$4,120.02	3. At the end of the tenancy, the landlord applied for water rates arrears of $4,102.02 and reimbursement of the filing fee.
Filing fee reimbursement	$28.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$4,148.02
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$4,148.02

Claims and awards for application 5373303 — net $4,148.02 NZD. Verify on MoJ.

Water rates

Amount: $4,120.02
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: 3. At the end of the tenancy, the landlord applied for water rates arrears of $4,102.02 and reimbursement of the filing fee.

Filing fee reimbursement

Amount: $28.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Filing fee reimbursement

Net award

Landlord $4,148.02

Total payable by Tenant to Landlord

Landlord $4,148.02

Claim types — money lines allowed on this order

Filing Fee Water Rates

Order

At the request of the parties, the Tribunal orders suppression of the names and identifying details of both parties.
[The tenant/s] must pay [The landlord/s] $4,148.02 immediately, calculated as shown in table below.

Reasons

Both parties attended the video conference hearing on 27 February 2026 and 3 June 2026. The owner attended herself as well.
The tenancy was from 10 March 2023 until 6 October 2025.
At the end of the tenancy, the landlord applied for water rates arrears of $4,102.02 and reimbursement of the filing fee.
The tenant is a social housing provider and had a policy of not paying the water rates unless the actual Watercare invoices were provided by the landlord.
Despite repeated efforts by the tenant to receive the Watercare invoices, they were only received on 6 October 2025.
The subtenant had moved out by that stage already.
At the first video conference, the tenant raised concerns about a possible leak with the plumbing. At today’s hearing, the landlord was able to provide confirmation from a registered plumber that there were no leaks.
The tenant had no evidence to prove there were leaks or to disprove what the registered plumber had said.
The tenant accepted that the invoices from the landlord had reflected the Watercare invoices correctly.
The tenant claimed that the landlord providing the tenant with the actual Watercare invoices late resulted in the water rates arrears being too large for the subtenant to be chased up for. The subtenant, being a tenant of a social housing, is unlikely to have the means of paying the entire water rates arrears in one lump sum.
Under section 39 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986, tenants are responsible for water charges. If there is a dispute, then the landlord has the onus of proving that the amount charged is correct. Once the amount is confirmed as correct, the tenant is liable to pay that amount.
The decision to not forward any invoices to the subtenant until sighting the original Watercare invoices was the tenant’s decision.
As the water rates arrears have been confirmed, the tenant must pay the outstanding water rates arrears.
In addition to this, as the landlord has wholly succeeded with the claim, the tenant must also reimburse the landlord’s filing fee.

Tenancy Tribunal case 5373303 — Tenancy dispute

At a glance

Award balance

Tenancy Tribunal case 5373303 — Tenancy dispute

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions