How much money was awarded in case 5396179?

Compensation: Laundromat cost 4 week…: $130.00 awarded to tenant; Compensation: Loss Of Amenities: $250.00 awarded to tenant; Compensation: Power Refund 2 Days: $30.00 awarded to tenant; Compensation: rent rebate 9-18 Novem…: $392.14 awarded to tenant; Filing Fee: $28.00 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5396179?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5396179?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/13133123-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

How much money was awarded in case 5396179?

Compensation: Laundromat cost 4 week…: $130.00 awarded to tenant; Compensation: Loss Of Amenities: $250.00 awarded to tenant; Compensation: Power Refund 2 Days: $30.00 awarded to tenant; Compensation: rent rebate 9-18 Novem…: $392.14 awarded to tenant; Filing Fee: $28.00 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5396179?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5396179?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/13133123-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

43A Swaffield Road, Papatoetoe, Auckland 2025 Tenancy Tribunal Case 5396179 — Tenancy dispute

Q: What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5396179 about?

The tribunal order states: An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal

Tenantcheck Insights

Order

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5396179 — net $830.14 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Tenant	Reason
Filing fee reimbursement	$28.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Compensation: rent rebate 9-18 November 2025	$392.14	rent rebate 9-18 November 2025
Compensation: Laundromat cost 4 weeks	$130.00	Laundromat cost 4 weeks
Compensation: Power refund 2 days	$30.00	Power refund 2 days
Compensation: loss of amenities	$250.00	loss of amenities
Net award	$830.14
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant	$830.14

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of the Tenant name and identifying details.

Kāinga Ora–Homes And Communities must pay [The tenant/s] $580.14 immediately, calculated as shown in table below:

The Tribunal dismissing the claims for loss of wages, stress, and inconvenience.

The Tribunal does not have the jurisdiction to assist with transfers from one Kainga Ora property to another, nor review the mediated order of 11 December 2025.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.

This is a tenant application. The tenant seeks compensation for loss of wages, medical bills, laundromat visits, rent rebate, power usage and for stress and inconvenience. The tenant seeks the Tribunal to assist with a transfer to a suitable long-term home managed by Kainga Ora. Finally for the Tribunal to review an existing mediation order dated 11 December 2025 for rent arrears and compensation.

For completeness I note the mediated Order is in default and the landlord has given notice of the termination of the tenancy effective on 20 February 2026. Mediated Order:

The Tribunal does not have jurisdiction to review or overturn a mediated order at a hearing for an unrelated matter, in this case compensation.

If a party wishes to challenge a mediated order, they must apply for a rehearing under section 105 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 and may also apply for a stay of enforcement if urgent.

The Tribunal can only grant a rehearing if there has been a substantial wrong or miscarriage of justice. No such application, for a stay and/or rehearing, has been made in this case, so the mediated order remains in effect. Transfer from the property:

The tenant has asked the Tribunal to assist her in obtaining a transfer from her current Kainga Ora home to another Kainga Ora property.

The Tribunal does not have the power to arrange or order a transfer between Kainga Ora properties. Decisions about transfers are made by Kainga Ora and/or the Ministry of Social Development (MSD), not the Tribunal.

If the tenant wishes to request a transfer, she should contact Kainga Ora or MSD directly. Both organisations have their own processes for considering transfer requests. Background:

This is a tenancy that commenced on 28 March 2013 and is still ongoing. The unit was built in 1958 and is a three-bedroom two storey property. On 9 November 2025, the bathroom hose burst causing significant flooding to the hallway and laundry. The leak damaged the walls, ceiling, and carpets.

The landlord was contacted immediately and over the course of the next few weeks the property appeared to have been fixed. However, despite the repairs fungal growth and mould began to appear through the hallway, lounge, and laundry. The property smelt of dampness.

The tenant contacted the landlord again on 22 December 2025 about the ongoing issues and was told that the maintenance staff were unavailable until after 12 January 2026.

On 31 st December 2025, a bathtub blockage caused a pipe to dislodge under the flooring resulting in another significant water leak. The water leak caused a power short circuit in the laundry and part of the house.

On 1 January 2026, the landlord sent a plumber to unblock the pipe and caused a further water leak in the laundry. Water seepage in the subfloor was identify as causing electrical wiring faults. An electrician disconnected the power to the laundry and found the wiring was unsafe to use.

On 4 February 2026, the ceiling lining in the laundry and hallway were removed along with sections of the wall lining in the laundry. The laundry and hallway areas were left for 4 days to dry out before being replaced with new gib board.

Remedial work was carried out on 9 and 10 February 2026 to attend to mould, replaster and repaint over ceiling and fix water leak in the frame window in hallway. Remaining claim – compensation:

There is no dispute about the events and remedial work set out above. Nor is there any dispute that the tenant and her family had to leave the property after the first water leak for 9 days because it was unsafe for them to remain in the property while repairs were being carried out. The tenant seeks a rent rebate for those 9 days where she had to live elsewhere and pay rent for her home.

Nor is there any dispute that the landlord had an industrial/commercial carpet dryer working for two days and nights to dry out the carpets. The tenant seeks compensation for the power usage over these two days.

The tenant says the effect of the mould and dampness on her and her young children, has been ill health resulting in doctors’ visits and having to take time off work. Furthermore, the stress of the water leaks and consequences of that on her and her family have been significant. The tenant seeks compensation for the stress, and illness to her family.

The tenant claims that she has had to take time off work to be present when the landlord and the tradespeople were at the property for inspections and to do work. The tenant seeks compensation for the loss of income as a result of being present at the property. Compensation:

The Tribunal may award compensation where a party has suffered actual loss as a result of a breach of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 or the tenancy agreement.

The general principles are: -Compensation is intended to place the party who suffered loss in the position they would have been in had the breach not occurred. -The loss must be a direct result of the breach. -The party claiming compensation must prove both the breach and the actual loss suffered. -The loss must be reasonably foreseeable.

The landlord is required under section 45(1)(b) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 to maintain the premises in a reasonable state of repair. In this case, urgent repairs were necessary due to a burst pipe in November 2025 and a blocked bathtub on 31 December 2025.

The Tribunal must consider whether the landlord breached their obligations, and whether the tenant’s loss was a direct result of that breach. If the landlord acted promptly and reasonably in arranging the repairs, and the tenant’s presence was not strictly required, compensation for lost wages may not be appropriate. However, if the landlord delayed repairs or required the tenant to be present unnecessarily, compensation may be awarded for actual loss suffered. Rent rebate:

I find it is reasonable to award the rent rebate for the 9 days that the tenant and her family were required to live elsewhere during the repairs for the first flood. The tenant pays $305.00 per week for her rent, which amounts to $43.57 per day by 9 days, which totals $392.14 in rent rebate. Laundromat costs:

The tenant was not able to provide the actual costs of the laundromat costs but says she went once a week for 4 weeks while the laundry at home was out of action awaiting repairs. I accept despite not having the invoices or bank statements that the tenant would have gone 4 times in one month to the laundromat. She says she spent between $25.00 to $40.00 per week on this.

Taking the average, I award $130.00 in laundromat cost which is 4 time $32.50.

In addition, the tenant was unable to use the laundry at her home for four weeks following the flood. The Tribunal accepts that the tenant incurred actual costs for using a laundromat and has awarded compensation of $130.00 for those expenses.

The Tribunal recognises that the inability to use the laundry for an extended period represents a loss of amenity and enjoyment of the premises. Even where the landlord is not at fault, compensation for loss of amenity may be appropriate to reflect the inconvenience and reduced enjoyment of the tenancy.

Taking into account the duration of the loss and the impact on the tenant, I award an additional sum of $250.00 for loss of amenity. Power costs:

The landlord accepts that the commercial carpet dryer did incur some power costs. In general, the landlord says they usually give a tenant $20.00 for the power usage in this type of situation. The landlord said the power usage is minimal with these types of dryers. I am awarding the tenant $20.00 compensation for the power usage. Stress and inconvenience:

The tenant seeks compensation for stress and inconvenience following the floods at the property. The evidence shows that the flood occurred through no fault of either the landlord or the tenant.

The Tribunal may only award compensation where there has been a breach of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA) or the tenancy agreement. In this case there has been no breach by either party.

While the Tribunal acknowledges that the tenant has experienced stress and inconvenience as a result of the floods, such impacts are unfortunately part of emergencies and unexpected events that can occur in life, even when no one is at fault. In the absence of a breach, compensation cannot be awarded. Loss of income:

The tenant seeks compensation for loss of wages, having taken time off work to be present during repairs and investigations following the floods at the property.

Also time off work caring for sick children and her own ill health as a result of the condition of the home after the flood. There is no dispute that there was mould in the property after the first flood that continued to grow until investigated after the second flood.

If the repairs and resulting mould were not due to any breach by the landlord, and the landlord has compiled will all obligations under the RTA then the Tribunal cannot award compensation for loss of income.

The tenant claimed medical expenses and travel costs in her application, but did not pursue these claims during the hearing so I am dismissing them. Filing Fee/Suppression:

The tenant seeks suppression of her name and identifying details and as she has been partially successful, I am granting suppression.

Because [The applicant/s] has substantially succeeded with the claim I have reimbursed the filing fee.

Order

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5396179 — net $830.14 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Tenant	Reason
Filing fee reimbursement	$28.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Compensation: rent rebate 9-18 November 2025	$392.14	rent rebate 9-18 November 2025
Compensation: Laundromat cost 4 weeks	$130.00	Laundromat cost 4 weeks
Compensation: Power refund 2 days	$30.00	Power refund 2 days
Compensation: loss of amenities	$250.00	loss of amenities
Net award	$830.14
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant	$830.14