Published tribunal order
Tenancy Tribunal case 5377723 — Rent arrears at 145 Elizabeth Street, Tauhara, Taupo 3330
Decided 20 Apr 2026 · Published 20 Apr 2026 · Application 5377723
- Rent arrears
- Smoke alarms
- Cleanliness
- Property damage
Order
- The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $1,560.00 (3580161-005) to [The tenant/s] immediately.
- [The tenant/s] is to pay Proud Properties 2021 Limited $4,556.05 immediately, calculated as follows: Description of awardAmount Skip bin hire$1,300.00 Labour to fill skip bins$1,163.80 Cleaning$1,710.00 Carpet cleaning$130.00 Change locks$249.55 Curtains, tracks and associated work$1,084.70 Filling holes in walls and fixing door jamb$450.00 Filing fee reimbursement$28.00 Total awarded$6,116.05 Description of awardAmount Less bond refunded to landlord and credited($1,560.00) Balance payable by tenant$4,556.05
Reasons
- The Landlord attended the hearing. The Tenant is incarcerated but has been served via Department of Corrections.
- The landlord has applied for rent arrears, compensation, refund of the bond, and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy.
Did the tenant comply with their obligations at the end of the tenancy?
- At the end of the tenancy the tenant must leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy, remove all rubbish, return all keys and security devices, and leave all chattels provided for their benefit. See section 40(1)(e)(ii)-(v) Residential Tenancies Act 1986. The tenant is required to replace worn out smoke alarm batteries during the tenancy. See section 40(1)(ca) Residential Tenancies Act 1986. The tenant must also replace standard light bulbs.
- The tenant did not leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy and did not remove all rubbish. The Landlords photographs show all the Tenant’s property, belongings and rubbish were left behind. The Tenant instructed that his property be donated to a local hospice.
- The premises were not left reasonably clean and tidy because substantial cleaning was required throughout the house, including very dirty walls and skirtings, dirty internal windows and frames, dirty doors and frames, a detailed clean of the kitchen, bathroom and laundry, and vacuuming and mopping throughout. That work went beyond an ordinary exit clean and shows the premises were left very dirty at the end of the tenancy.
- I award the following: a. skip bin hire (large 9m 3 bins), $1,300.00; b. labour to fill skip bins: $1,163.80; c. cleaning, $1,710.00; d. clean carpets – professional clean, $130.00;
- The tenant did not return the keys. The cost of changing the locks was $249.55 which I approve as reasonable.
- There were missing and damaged curtains and curtain rods at the end of the tenancy. I have taken into account betterment and depreciation by reducing the curtain component only from $587.00 to $293.50, while allowing the track and installation component in full at $791.20, so the total allowed for curtains, tracks and associated work is $1,084.70.
Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?
- A landlord must prove that damage to the premises occurred during the tenancy and is more than fair wear and tear. If this is established, to avoid liability, the tenant must prove they did not carelessly or intentionally cause or permit the damage. Tenants are liable for the actions of people at the premises with their permission. See sections 40(2)(a), 41 and 49B RTA.
- Where the damage is careless, and occurs after 27 August 2019, section 49B RTA applies. If the landlord becomes aware of the damage after 27 August, the damage is presumed to have occurred after that date unless the tenant proves otherwise.
- Where the damage is caused carelessly, and is covered by the landlord's insurance, the tenant's liability is limited to the lesser of the insurance excess or four weeks' rent (or four weeks' market rent in the case of a tenant paying income- related rent). See section 49B(3)(a) RTA.
- Where the damage is careless and is not covered by the landlord's insurance, the tenant's liability is limited to four weeks' rent (or market rent). See section 49B(3)(b) RTA. Where insurance money is irrecoverable because of the tenant's conduct, the property is treated as if it is not insured against the damage. See section 49B(3A)(a) RTA.
- Tenants are liable for the cost of repairing damage that is intentional or which results from any activity at the premises that is an imprisonable offence. This applies to anything the tenant does and anything done by a person they are responsible for. See section 49B(1) RTA.
- Damage is intentional where a person intends to cause damage and takes the necessary steps to achieve that purpose. Damage is also intentional where a person does something, or allows a situation to continue, knowing that damage is a certainty. See Guo v Korck [2019] NZHC 1541.
- There were holes in walls and a damaged door jam at the end of the tenancy. The cost of filling holes in walls and fixing the door jamb came to $450.00.
- The damage is more than fair wear and tear, and the tenant has not disproved liability for the damage.
- The amounts ordered are proved.
- Because the Landlord has wholly succeeded with the claim I must reimburse the filing fee: $28.00