Published tribunal order
Tenancy Tribunal case 5392069 — Property damage at 63 Thackeray Place, Waltham, Christchurch 8023
Decided 10 Feb 2026 · Published 10 Feb 2026 · Application 5392069
- Property damage
Party names are redacted in the official published order.
Order
- An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of the landlord’s name and identifying details.
- Leah Marie Archer must pay [The landlord/s] $9,732.01 immediately, calculated as shown in table below:
Reasons
- The landlord’s representative attended the hearing. The tenant did not attend. I am satisfied that proper notice of the hearing was provided to the tenant.
- The landlord has applied for compensation for cleaning, rubbish removal, repairs and for loss of rent compensation, 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 1 .
- The tenant did not leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy and did not remove all rubbish. A huge amount of rubbish had to be removed. The landlord obtained a quote for the work but decided to do the work themselves to reduce the cost. The landlord had to do considerable cleaning. It took 2 people more than 2 weeks full time to do the work. The landlord has not claimed for the actual time spent, only for part.
- The state of the premises was such that a new tenancy could not commence for 5 months. This is one of the few cases where the Tribunal is persuaded to award loss of rent compensation, limited to the insurance excess for that type of cover accepted by the landlord’s insurer.
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 2 .
- 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) 3 .
- 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 1 See section 40(1)(e)(ii)-(v) Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA) 2 See sections 40(2)(a), 41 and 49B RTA 3 See section 49B(3)(a) RTA applies to anything the tenant does and anything done by a person they are responsible for 4 .
- The following damage was caused during the tenancy. The kitchen cupboards were damaged and had to be repaired. The premises were contaminated with methamphetamine. One of the readings exceeded 15μg/100cm² which is the threshold level the Tribunal applies before premises are considered contaminated and a risk to health.
- The tenant is liable for the remediation of the methamphetamine contamination. Her liability is limited to the amount of the insurance excess on the landlord’s insurance policy.
- The damage is more than fair wear and tear, and the tenant has not disproved liability for the damage.
- The amounts ordered are proved by invoices, photos, and the evidence the landlord’s representative gave at the hearing.
- As the application is successful, I have reimbursed the landlord the filing fee paid on the application.
- The landlord sought, and is entitled to, an order for name suppression as the application is successful 5 .