Tenantcheck Insights · Case study
Tenancy Tribunal case 5376710 — Rent arrears at 49 Korari Crescent, Mangakino, Mangakino 3421
Published 8 June 2026 · Application 5376710
Landlord favoured
- Rent arrears
At a glance
Key facts from the published tribunal order.
Outcome
Landlord favoured
From published order
Location
Mangakino
Tribunal region
Adjudicator
T Prowse
Dispute themes
Award balance
Gross awards, any bond applied per the order, and the remaining balance payable.
- Gross award
- $18,920.86
- Bond payment as ordered
- −$1,800.00
- Total balance for Tenant to pay Landlord
- $17,120.86
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 18 February 2026 | $18,892.86 | Rent arrears to 18 February 2026 | |
| Filing fee reimbursement | $28.00 | Filing fee reimbursement | |
| Net award | $17,120.86 | ||
| Total payable by Tenant to Landlord | $17,120.86 |
Claims and awards for application 5376710 — net $17,120.86 NZD. Verify on MoJ.
Rent arrears to 18 February 2026
- Amount
- $18,892.86
- Awarded to
- Landlord
- Reason
- Rent arrears to 18 February 2026
Filing fee reimbursement
- Amount
- $28.00
- Awarded to
- Landlord
- Reason
- Filing fee reimbursement
Net award
Landlord $17,120.86
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord
Landlord $17,120.86
Claim types — money lines allowed on this order
Order
- Sean Bird must pay Paul Anthony O'Grady $17,120.86 immediately, being rent arrears to 8 February 2026.
- The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $1,800.00 (BN-00101451) to Paul Anthony O'Grady immediately.
Reasons
- This matter was part heard by me on the 8 February 2026. At that time, I terminated the tenancy but adjourned the landlord’s claims for rent arrears. Both parties indicated that they had other claims that they wished to file so I allowed time until the 25 February, to file those claims.
- The tenant has filed further evidence since the first hearing, but the tenant has not filed a counterclaim.
- Only the landlord and his friend Ms Alisa Samuels attended today’s hearing. The tenant did not attend.
- Ms Alisa Samuels helped Mr O’Grady organise and manage the tenancy.
- At the beginning of today’s hearing, I referred to the documents filed by Ms Joanne Samuels on behalf of the tenants the 25 February 2026, the landlord indicated that he had not received a copy of those documents and therefore a hard copy was printed off and given to the landlord, and he was given some time to consider those documents.
- The only claim that I must determine today is the landlord’s claim for rent arrears.
Who were the tenants?
- The first question that must be considered is who is the tenant? This is because, whilst the tenants were not present, they raised this issue in the first hearing and have raised it in the documents that they have submitted to the Tribunal after the first hearing.
- Ms Joanne Samuels, who has been named as a tenant, disputes that she was ever a tenant. She says that the tenancy agreement was between Mr Bird and the landlord. She also says that there is another agreement between Mr Harries and the landlord for the same property and has provided a tenancy agreement dated the 2 June 2022 between Mr O’Grady as landlord and Mr Harries as the tenant for a rent of $350 per week.
- Mr Bird told me at the first hearing that the tenancy was only ever in his name and that Ms Joanne Samuels was never added to the tenancy agreement. Both Mr Bird and Ms Samuels told me in the first hearing that they have been in a relationship and at various periods Ms Joanne Samuels has lived in the property, but she was not a named tenant.
- The landlord says that the tenancy was given to Mr Bird and Mr Harries at the beginning of the tenancy. Mr Bird is Alisa Samuel’s brother; she confirmed that she organised the tenancy. She says that she is a friend of Mr O’Grady, and she asked if her brother could rent his house. She confirms that Ms Joanne Samuels and Mr Bird were separated at the time the tenancy began and that she recalls two separate tenancy agreements being drawn up- one with Mr Harries and one with Mr Bird. She says that Mr Bird’s tenancy agreement was probably given to MSD, as they paid the bond and rent each week. 1 1 This is supported by the tenant’s documents, including letters from MSD to Mr Bird that show that he bond was advanced to him.
- The landlord confirms that Mr Harries moved out after an incident between Mr Bird and a third person on the 23 October 2023.
- The landlord and Ms Alisa Samuels tells me that Ms Joanne Samuels moved into the property in or about August 2022 and continued to live there until the end of the tenancy.
- The landlord says that he believed that Ms Samuels was his tenant because: a. The rent was paid from a joint account which was held by both Mr Bird and Ms Joanne Samuels. b. When there were issues about the tenancy, he generally only dealt with Ms Joanne Samuels. c. That the text messages were between the landlord and Ms Joanne Samuels or alternatively Ms Alicia Samuels and Ms Joanne Samuels.
- I am satisfied that only Mr Bird was the tenant, and that whilst Ms Joanne Samuels lived at the property, she was not a tenant because: a. There was no written agreement between Mr O’Grady and Ms Samuels. b. Mr O’Grady confirmed that Ms Samuels was not living at the property at the beginning of the tenancy. c. Mr O’Grady confirmed that he had never offered or signed a tenancy agreement with Ms Samuels. d. That the payment of rent from the joint bank account, does not mean that both account holders then become liable for rent. e. Mr Bird accepted at the first hearing that he was the sole tenant.
What are the rent arrears?
- The landlord says that the rent owed to the end of the tenancy is $26,740 to the end of the tenancy.
- The landlord provided the Tribunal with a copy of a rent ledger he kept throughout the tenancy. In that rent ledger he records the weekly rent, whether it was paid, overpaid missed or underpaid. He also records how the rent was received, for instance by cash or from the account of Mr Bird or Ms Samuels.
- I have received the ledger that was kept by Mr O’Grady. There are a few adding mistakes, and the running totals of the arrears does not reconcile with the difference between the rent owed and rent paid, but I have used the rent paid as the basis of calculating the amount owed by the tenants, because Mr O’Grady tells me that he has written down every amount paid by the tenants.
- I note that the tenants stopped paying rent altogether on the 30 June 2025 – and paid no rent from that date to 8 February 2026 when the tenancy was terminated.
- I note that the tenants made various promises to pay rent arrears during the tenancy, but did not do so.
- I have calculated the rent owed by the tenant during the tenancy using the Tribunal’s calculator. The two periods are for the times when rent was at different amounts. 21.
- The landlord claims in his rent ledger that the tenants have paid $62,440, in my calculations the tenants only paid $62,370.00
- The rent owed is calculated as $81,262.86- $62,370.00 =$18,892.86
- I award Mr O’Grady the rent arrears owing of $18,892.86 The filing fee
- The landlord has been successful and is awarded the filing fee.
Topics & place
Topics are dispute themes across the order (not the same as claim-type money lines).
Key findings
- Dispute theme: rent arrears
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about this Tenancy Tribunal case.
What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 5376710?
The tribunal order states: Sean Bird must pay Paul Anthony O'Grady $17,120.86 immediately, being rent
How much money was awarded in case 5376710?
Filing Fee: $28.00 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $18,892.86 awarded to landlord
What type of tenancy dispute was case 5376710?
The primary dispute was Rent arrears.
Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5376710?
The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/13709456-Tribunal_Order.pdf.