What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5380147 about?

The tribunal order states: The Tribunal orders suppression of the parties’ names and identifying details.

How much money was awarded in case 5380147?

The reconciled net award was $28.00.

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5380147?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears. Related themes: 14-day notice, Boarding House.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5380147?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/13414779-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5380147 about?

The tribunal order states: The Tribunal orders suppression of the parties’ names and identifying details.

How much money was awarded in case 5380147?

The reconciled net award was $28.00.

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5380147?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears. Related themes: 14-day notice, Boarding House.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5380147?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/13414779-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 5380147 — Rent arrears

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5380147 — net $28.00 NZD. Verify amounts on MoJ.
Claim	Category	Amount	Awarded to	Reason
Net award	$28.00

Order

The Tribunal orders suppression of the parties’ names and identifying details.
The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $1,000.00 ([Bond number suppressed]) to [The tenant/s] immediately.
The landlord claim for rent arrears is dismissed.
[The landlord/s] must pay [The tenant/s] $28.00 immediately in reimbursement of the filing fee.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing which took place by video conference on 2 February and 16 March 2026. [The landlord’s representative] of [The property management company] attended for the applicant landlord. [The tenant’s representative] attended for the tenant who is her mother.
The landlord applied for termination of the tenancy, rent arrears, refund of the bond and reimbursement of the filing fee.
On 2 February 2026 both parties agreed to the tenancy ending. The tenant had already left the premises in October 2025.
The property manager stated that he was not involved when this tenancy commenced and sought an adjournment to seek further information.
The tenant sought to file a counter claim.
The hearing was adjourned, and directions made for the filing of further evidence and a tenant cross application. If the respondent tenant had a claim they were directed to file within 14 days of the hearing. If either party wished to file further evidence they were directed to file at least five days prior to the next hearing.
On 15 February 2026 the tenant filed a cross application for bond refund.
On the day of the hearing (16 March 2026) the applicant landlord filed further evidence as follows: -A further copy of the tenancy agreement which had been previously filed -Confirmation of bond lodgement on 28 May 2025 -Emails between landlord and tenant between 29 August and 5 September 2025 -Emails between landlord and tenant between 6 October and 23 October 2025 -Rent summary seeking rent arrears of $4357.14 to 20 February 2026. Onus of proof
The bond belongs to the tenant unless the landlord proves a claim against the bond.
The onus is on the landlord to provide evidence to prove the claim against the bond on the balance of probabilities.

Does the tenant owe rent arrears?

The landlord claimed that the tenant was in a one-year fixed term whole house tenancy to end on 14 May 2026.
The landlord provided a rent summary seeking rent arrears of $4357.14 to 20 February 2026 as this was the date a new tenant moved into the premises.
The tenant disputed the rent arrears and claimed that the tenancy was a boarding house tenancy and that the tenant gave 48 hours’ notice to end the tenancy on 6 October 2025.
The tenancy agreement records the type of tenancy as “Fixed term”. The address is recorded as [Tenancy address suppressed]. The weekly rent is recorded as $250.00 per week with a bond of $1000.00.
The bond details form records “Dwelling Type: Boarding House Room”.
The parties agreed that the tenant rented a room in a five-bedroom dwelling.
[The landlord’s representative] stated that the landlord records state that this is a “whole house” tenancy, and the tenancy agreement is for a fixed term.
[The landlord’s representative] stated that the rooms were only intended to be occupied by one person but filed no evidence of this. The property manager who set up the agreements did not attend the hearing.
The tenancy agreement appears to record rental for one room. It is agreed that the rooms had separate keys and the tenant did not have access to other tenant rooms. There were communal shared facilities.
[The tenant’s representative] stated that the premises were occupied by at least six tenants as the room at the bottom of the stairs was occupied by two people one of whom was on home detention on an ankle monitor and that her mother felt unsafe in the premises. This is supported by an email to the property manager from the tenant dated 23 October 2025 which includes the statement “The anxiety of living with another family who have dysfunctional communication (loud and abusive)seriously provokes my condition.”
[The landlord’s representative] stated that he was from credit control with [The property management company] and not directly involved with this tenancy and was not sure if there were two tenants in a room.
The tenant sought to end the tenancy in September 2025 and the landlord replied that the tenancy was a fixed term tenancy and a break lease of $1500.00 plus GST early termination payment was required.
On 6 October 2025 the tenant gave 48 hours to terminate the tenancy. The landlord replied again that the tenant was in a fixed term tenancy.
On 9 October 2025 the tenant messaged the landlord that the keys were in the bathroom and the room had been vacated.
I have carefully considered the evidence of both parties and find that the landlord has failed to prove the claim for rent arrears of $4357.14 for the following reasons: (a) The rent summary filed on 16 March 2026 records rent arrears to 20 February 2026 but the Tribunal ordered by consent on 2 February 2026 that the tenancy had ended. (b) The tenancy agreement records that the tenancy is for a room for a fixed term of one year but the bond details records that the tenancy is a boarding house room. As the documentation drafted by the landlord is in conflict the Tribunal finds that the landlord has not proved on the balance of probabilities in this case that this is a whole house fixed term tenancy. (c) As this tenancy was for one room with shared facilities, there were six people living at the premises while the tenant was living there and the bond details form records it was a boarding house room I find that it is more likely than not that this was a boarding house tenancy. (d) The High Court has held that a boarding house tenancy cannot be for a fixed term (see Portfolio Property Management Ltd v Clutterbuck 2013 NZHC 3165). The tenant gave 48 hours’ notice to end the tenancy as required for a boarding house tenancy pursuant to section 66V of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986. The tenancy ended on 9 October 2025 when the tenant vacated the premises. (e) The rent summary records no rent arrears on 9 October 2025.
Therefore, the claim for rent arrears is dismissed and the bond is refunded in full to the tenant. Filing fee/Suppression
Because [The landlord/s] has wholly succeeded with the claim I must reimburse the filing fee.
The Tribunal may on the application of any party or on its own initiative make a suppression order, having regard to the interests of the parties and to the public interest. Section 95A (4) Residential Tenancies Act 1986. Having considered the factors in this case including that the tenant records that she has chronic post traumatic stress syndrome and the decision is specific to the facts of this case I find that the interests of the parties outweighs any public interest in their identities being published. The Tribunal orders suppression of all party details in any publication of the order.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5380147 — net $28.00 NZD. Verify amounts on MoJ.
Claim	Category	Amount	Awarded to	Reason
Net award	$28.00

Order

The Tribunal orders suppression of the parties’ names and identifying details.
The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $1,000.00 ([Bond number suppressed]) to [The tenant/s] immediately.
The landlord claim for rent arrears is dismissed.
[The landlord/s] must pay [The tenant/s] $28.00 immediately in reimbursement of the filing fee.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing which took place by video conference on 2 February and 16 March 2026. [The landlord’s representative] of [The property management company] attended for the applicant landlord. [The tenant’s representative] attended for the tenant who is her mother.
The landlord applied for termination of the tenancy, rent arrears, refund of the bond and reimbursement of the filing fee.
On 2 February 2026 both parties agreed to the tenancy ending. The tenant had already left the premises in October 2025.
The property manager stated that he was not involved when this tenancy commenced and sought an adjournment to seek further information.
The tenant sought to file a counter claim.
The hearing was adjourned, and directions made for the filing of further evidence and a tenant cross application. If the respondent tenant had a claim they were directed to file within 14 days of the hearing. If either party wished to file further evidence they were directed to file at least five days prior to the next hearing.
On 15 February 2026 the tenant filed a cross application for bond refund.
On the day of the hearing (16 March 2026) the applicant landlord filed further evidence as follows: -A further copy of the tenancy agreement which had been previously filed -Confirmation of bond lodgement on 28 May 2025 -Emails between landlord and tenant between 29 August and 5 September 2025 -Emails between landlord and tenant between 6 October and 23 October 2025 -Rent summary seeking rent arrears of $4357.14 to 20 February 2026. Onus of proof
The bond belongs to the tenant unless the landlord proves a claim against the bond.
The onus is on the landlord to provide evidence to prove the claim against the bond on the balance of probabilities.

Does the tenant owe rent arrears?

The landlord claimed that the tenant was in a one-year fixed term whole house tenancy to end on 14 May 2026.
The landlord provided a rent summary seeking rent arrears of $4357.14 to 20 February 2026 as this was the date a new tenant moved into the premises.
The tenant disputed the rent arrears and claimed that the tenancy was a boarding house tenancy and that the tenant gave 48 hours’ notice to end the tenancy on 6 October 2025.
The tenancy agreement records the type of tenancy as “Fixed term”. The address is recorded as [Tenancy address suppressed]. The weekly rent is recorded as $250.00 per week with a bond of $1000.00.
The bond details form records “Dwelling Type: Boarding House Room”.
The parties agreed that the tenant rented a room in a five-bedroom dwelling.
[The landlord’s representative] stated that the landlord records state that this is a “whole house” tenancy, and the tenancy agreement is for a fixed term.
[The landlord’s representative] stated that the rooms were only intended to be occupied by one person but filed no evidence of this. The property manager who set up the agreements did not attend the hearing.
The tenancy agreement appears to record rental for one room. It is agreed that the rooms had separate keys and the tenant did not have access to other tenant rooms. There were communal shared facilities.
[The tenant’s representative] stated that the premises were occupied by at least six tenants as the room at the bottom of the stairs was occupied by two people one of whom was on home detention on an ankle monitor and that her mother felt unsafe in the premises. This is supported by an email to the property manager from the tenant dated 23 October 2025 which includes the statement “The anxiety of living with another family who have dysfunctional communication (loud and abusive)seriously provokes my condition.”
[The landlord’s representative] stated that he was from credit control with [The property management company] and not directly involved with this tenancy and was not sure if there were two tenants in a room.
The tenant sought to end the tenancy in September 2025 and the landlord replied that the tenancy was a fixed term tenancy and a break lease of $1500.00 plus GST early termination payment was required.
On 6 October 2025 the tenant gave 48 hours to terminate the tenancy. The landlord replied again that the tenant was in a fixed term tenancy.
On 9 October 2025 the tenant messaged the landlord that the keys were in the bathroom and the room had been vacated.
I have carefully considered the evidence of both parties and find that the landlord has failed to prove the claim for rent arrears of $4357.14 for the following reasons: (a) The rent summary filed on 16 March 2026 records rent arrears to 20 February 2026 but the Tribunal ordered by consent on 2 February 2026 that the tenancy had ended. (b) The tenancy agreement records that the tenancy is for a room for a fixed term of one year but the bond details records that the tenancy is a boarding house room. As the documentation drafted by the landlord is in conflict the Tribunal finds that the landlord has not proved on the balance of probabilities in this case that this is a whole house fixed term tenancy. (c) As this tenancy was for one room with shared facilities, there were six people living at the premises while the tenant was living there and the bond details form records it was a boarding house room I find that it is more likely than not that this was a boarding house tenancy. (d) The High Court has held that a boarding house tenancy cannot be for a fixed term (see Portfolio Property Management Ltd v Clutterbuck 2013 NZHC 3165). The tenant gave 48 hours’ notice to end the tenancy as required for a boarding house tenancy pursuant to section 66V of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986. The tenancy ended on 9 October 2025 when the tenant vacated the premises. (e) The rent summary records no rent arrears on 9 October 2025.
Therefore, the claim for rent arrears is dismissed and the bond is refunded in full to the tenant. Filing fee/Suppression
Because [The landlord/s] has wholly succeeded with the claim I must reimburse the filing fee.
The Tribunal may on the application of any party or on its own initiative make a suppression order, having regard to the interests of the parties and to the public interest. Section 95A (4) Residential Tenancies Act 1986. Having considered the factors in this case including that the tenant records that she has chronic post traumatic stress syndrome and the decision is specific to the facts of this case I find that the interests of the parties outweighs any public interest in their identities being published. The Tribunal orders suppression of all party details in any publication of the order.

Tenancy Tribunal case 5380147 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Award balance

Tenancy Tribunal case 5380147 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Does the tenant owe rent arrears?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Does the tenant owe rent arrears?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions