What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5404289 about?

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

How much money was awarded in case 5404289?

Compensation: fail to record agreeme…: $1,020.00 awarded to tenant; Cleaning: $510.00 awarded to tenant; Property Damage: $1,000.00 awarded to tenant; Filing Fee: $28.00 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5404289?

The primary dispute was Exemplary damages.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5404289?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/13440720-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5404289 about?

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

How much money was awarded in case 5404289?

Compensation: fail to record agreeme…: $1,020.00 awarded to tenant; Cleaning: $510.00 awarded to tenant; Property Damage: $1,000.00 awarded to tenant; Filing Fee: $28.00 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5404289?

The primary dispute was Exemplary damages.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5404289?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/13440720-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 5404289 — Exemplary damages

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5404289 — net $2,558.00 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Tenant	Reason
Exemplary damages: unlawful entry	$1,000.00	unlawful entry
Compensation: fail to record agreement	$1,020.00	fail to record agreement
Exemplary damages: fail to provide premises reasonably clean	$510.00	fail to provide premises reasonably clean
Filing fee reimbursement	$28.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$2,558.00
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant	$2,558.00

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5404289 — net $2,558.00 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Tenant	Reason
Exemplary damages: unlawful entry	$1,000.00	unlawful entry
Compensation: fail to record agreement	$1,020.00	fail to record agreement
Exemplary damages: fail to provide premises reasonably clean	$510.00	fail to provide premises reasonably clean
Filing fee reimbursement	$28.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$2,558.00
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant	$2,558.00

Order

The Tribunal orders suppression of all parties’ names and identifying details.
By consent, the tenancy of [The tenant/s] at [Tenancy address suppressed] will end, with possession granted to [The landlord/s], at 11:59pm on Thursday 30 April 2026. No further notice to end the tenancy will be required from either party.
[The landlord/s] as trustees of the [Trust] must pay [The tenant/s] $2558.00 immediately, calculated below:

I find that the breaches of the landlord’s obligations were breaches by the owners, not by the property manager acting as the owners’ agent. The order is accordingly made only against the owners.

Reasons

The Parties

The tenancy agreement records the owner as [The landlord/s] for the [Trust]. At the case conference on 4 February 2026 I understood that [The landlord] had passed away and that her children [Trustee 1] and [Trustee 2] had become trustees of the Trust. I directed that they be added as parties.
I am pleased to have been mistaken. [The landlord/s] is alive, though sadly, incapacitated. By Deed of Appointment her sons [Trustee 1] and [Trustee 3] are now the trustees. The party details are amended accordingly.
At this hearing, the owners were represented by [Trustee 1]. With consent, he was accompanied by his sister [Trustee 2], who gave evidence. [The tenant/s] was accompanied by his daughter (“[The tenant’s daughter]”), who also gave evidence. [The property management company] was represented by its property manager [Property manager 1] and regional manager [Property manager 2]. I heard from them as well.
A statement was given by [Trustee 2]’s son [Trustee 2’s son] and by an acquaintance. They were not required to give evidence. Statements were provided from other tenants, they were not required at the hearing. Background
The premises these applications are mostly about is an upstairs flat (Flat 1) in a block of 3. It takes up the whole of the upper floor, over 2 smaller ground floor flats. There is another 4 th standalone flat.
[The tenant/s] occupied Flat 1 from the beginning of his tenancy in September 2019. [Trustee 2] and her son had been occupying the ground floor flats. [Trustee 2] was in Flat 2.
[The property management company] were property managers for [The tenant/s]’s tenancy but not for [Trustee 2]’s tenancy.
Despite [The property management company]’s role in managing the tenancy, there was regular dialogue about the tenancy direct between [Trustee 1] and [The tenant/s], who had a good relationship.
The owner trustees were in favour of their sister and nephew occupying Flat 1, which had been intended as the home for their parents, before they became incapacitated.
On 10 June [Property manager 1] e-mailed [The tenant/s], “...I am not too sure if you’re back from overseas, but I have been speaking to [Trustee 1], the Owner, and he would like to put a proposal to you,”
On 16 June 2025 [Trustee 1] texted [The tenant/s], “Hey [The tenant/s], I see you are away. We need to talk to you about your plans going forward. We are wanting to house [Trustee 2’s son] and [Trustee 2] in your flat and can offer you one of the 2 downstairs flats instead. I know you were contemplating your future living arrangements and hoped you’d made a decision by now. Can you share your thoughts? Thanks. [Trustee 1]”
[The tenant/s] replied to that request saying that he would be flying home on 2 October and that his intention had been to stay on until February when his [daughter] would be going to university and could transfer then.
That was longer than the owners had hoped. After some discussion [The tenant/s] texted, “My ticket is October 1 st , if I could just transfer to [Trustee 2]’s then that would be OK, its only 3 months away....”
[Trustee 1] agreed to talk to his family about that suggestion.
That series of exchanges ended with [Trustee 1] saying, “OK I think we can work with October. Perhaps we could do the swap in stages to allow cleaning and storage as needed. [Trustee 2]’s place has the small cabin so you would be welcome to use as storage for your bikes etc” and [The tenant/s] replying, “OK that’s great thanks [Trustee 1]. I fly in on the 1 st so arrive 2 nd so we can begin transition on the 3 rd .”
[Trustee 1] says that it was understood that the “swap” of the two tenancies would need to be done in stages. The evidence shows that he left that to be arranged between [The tenant/s] and [Trustee 2]. I find that for the purposes of those arrangements, [Trustee 2] was acting on behalf of the owners, who are responsible for her actions as their agent.
It is also clear from the evidence that [Property manager 1] was not kept fully informed about what was happening. When she was told, it was something of a scramble for her to try and ensure that things were done in accordance with the RTA, by creating a new tenancy agreement for Flat 2 and properly ending the Flat 1 tenancy.
On 25 September 2025, [Property manager 1] e-mailed [The tenant/s], “I believe you are returning to [City] next week and will be moving into flat 2 [Tenancy address suppressed]? What date are you actually moving into Flat 2 and I believe the rent is set at $450.00 for this flat as mentioned by [Trustee 1]. I will need to draw up a new tenancy agreement as you are moving into a completely different property......plus I need to arrange finalizing details for your tenancy in Flat 1”
[The tenant/s]’s response was “Yes I return next week, I’ll be back in [City] on October 3 rd . Yeah I have had a couple of whats app messages with [Trustee 1] about it...[Trustee 2] wants to take over upstairs and we discussed if she did that then the possibility of me moving into the downstairs unit.....Anyways I’ll be back in 8 days so we can just figure it all out then I guess.”
Apart from those and similar messages, there was no notice or written agreement about the end of [The tenant/s]’s tenancy.
[Trustee 2]’s expectations about exactly when she would be moving to Flat 1 were made clear by her. As shown by his response to [Property manager 1] above, the evidence does not show a corresponding understanding on [The tenant/s]’s part about exactly what the moving arrangements would be, although he did clearly agree to the shift happening shortly after his return from overseas.
Key facts are that: a. a new tenancy agreement was signed for Flat 2 on 9 October 2025; b. to that date, [Trustee 2] had four times entered Flat 1 without [The tenant/s]’s consent. On two occasions there had been some prior communication with [The tenant’s daughter]; c. without there being any written confirmation of the end date for the tenancy at Flat 1, [Trustee 2] applied significant pressure on [The tenant/s] to move out – including threats to have [The tenant’s daughter]’s car towed from the carparking space there. d. at the point [The tenant/s] was required to move into Flat 2, it was not in a reasonable state of cleanliness; e. [The tenant’s] was asked on more than one occasion for to pay a bond for Flat 2 while the bond he had paid for Flat 1 was still being held. [The tenant/s] protested and [Property manager 2] instructed that the bond for Flat 1 be released and the bond for Flat 2 was paid from that. f. [The tenant/s] gave notice to end the tenancy at Flat 2 but later retracted it. The Claims
[The tenant/s] seeks Orders for: a. exemplary damages for unlawful entries into Flat 1; b. compensation and/or exemplary damages for harassment; c. compensation for stress and moving costs d. exemplary damages for failing to give proper notice or provide an agreement to end the tenancy for Flat 1; e. compensation and/ or exemplary damages for failing to provide Flat 2 in reasonable condition f. exemplary damages for failure to lodge the bond when required. Unlawful Entry
On 23 September [The tenant’s daughter] texted her father that [Trustee 2] had told her carpet cleaning in Flat 1 would start 30 September and [Trustee 2] would move in on 6 October.
He was then told by [his daughter] on 30 September that [Trustee 2] was inside cleaning the carpets. On 3 October [Trustee 2] and her son let themselves in to the entrance door to the stairs up to Flat 1, came up and let themselves in to bring in a bed. On 6 October [The tenant/s] returned to Flat 1 to find other carpets being cleaned.
On 9 October [Trustee 2] texted [The tenant’s daughter] to say, “Its moving day today, I wanna move” and “I AM MOVING EVERYHTING UPSTAIRS TODAY!”
Later that day [Trustee 2] and her son entered Flat 1 and told [The tenant/s] he needed to be out that day. [The tenant/s] alleges [Trustee 2] threatened to call the police to have him removed. That claims is denied.
A landlord may not enter the premises during the tenancy except with the tenant's consent, in an emergency, or after giving the required notice for inspections and repairs and maintenance. 1
Breaching that obligation is an unlawful act for which exemplary damages may be awarded up to a maximum of $1,500.00.
On 2 of the occasions referred to there was no consent for the entries.
[Trustee 2] has put in evidence transcripts of text messages between she, [The tenant’s daughter] and [The tenant/s].
They show no replies from [The tenant/s] to several messages from [Trustee 2], giving permission for [Trustee 2] to enter the Flat.
There was communication with [The tenant’s daughter] but she is not the tenant. The exchanges show that [Trustee 2] largely presented her plans to [The tenant’s daughter] as confirming arrangements that had been agreed by her father.
I find that by [Trustee 2] unlawfully entering the premises on those occasions, the landlord committed unlawful acts.
In deciding whether to award exemplary damages, the Tribunal must be satisfied that the breach was intentional, which means that what was done, was 1 S.48(1) and (2) RTA done consciously. It does not require that the landlords intended to act unlawfully. 2
The Tribunal then needs to consider the intent behind the breach, the effect of the breach, the interests of the tenants and the public interest. 3
The breaches were intentional and were clearly troubling for [The tenant/s]. The context of [Trustee 2] unlawfully entering the premises and pressuring [The tenant/s] to move, when his tenancy of Flat 1 had not lawfully been terminated, is an aggravating factor.
I take into account that [The tenant/s] had agreed to the move around that time and seems to have been aware of the landlords’ general expectations about how and when that would happen, even if he had not committed to specific arrangements himself.
The evidence does not show a reasonable basis for [The tenant/s]’s quiet enjoyment and privacy and to be interfered with in that way.
I find that it would be just to make a meaningful award of exemplary damages for those unlawful entries. Breach of Right to Quiet Enjoyment/ Harassment
A landlord must not interfere with the reasonable peace, comfort or privacy of the tenant in their use of the premises. See section 38(2) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
Breaching this obligation in circumstances that amount to harassment is an unlawful act for which exemplary damages may be awarded up to a maximum of $3,000.00. See section 38(3) and Schedule 1A RTA.
Harassment means "to trouble, worry or distress" or "to wear out, tire, or exhaust" and "indicates a particular pattern of behaviour directed towards another person". MacDonald v Dodds, CIV-2009-019-001524, DC Hamilton, 26 February 2010.
I find that [Trustee 2]’s actions did breach [The tenant/s]’s right to quiet enjoyment of his tenancy at Flat 1 and did amount to harassment. Those actions were intentional.
Where more than one related unlawful act has been committed, the Tribunal needs to be careful to ensure that multiple “punishments” are not awarded for what are, in substance, the same breach of a party’s obligations. 4 2 See for example TMT New Zealand Limited TA Strata Property Management v Sweeney and Sundahl [2021] NZDC 16182 at para [37] 3 S.109(3) RTA
The breach of [The tenant/s]’s right to quiet enjoyment was caused by [Trustee 2]’s unlawful entries and her actions while there.
The effects of those actions have already been recognised in the award of exemplary damages made for the unlawful entries. I make no separate award of exemplary damages for these claims. Compensation for stress and moving costs
I accept that the situation was stressful for [The tenant/s] and his daughter. Again though, those consequences are taken into account in the other awards made. No separate award of compensation for stress is appropriate.
The tenant agreed to move from Flat 1 to Flat 2 where he is currently living, so there is no basis for an award of compensation for moving costs.
Those claims are dismissed. Failing to record agreement in writing
A landlord must ensure that a tenancy agreement is recorded in writing and that a copy is provided to the tenant before it takes effect. 5
That applies to any variation of a tenancy agreement. 6
The tenancy for Flat 1 was not ended by notice. It could only therefore have ended by agreement. The landlord failed to record that agreement in writing and provide it to the tenant.
That failure has had significant consequences, allowing the uncertainty, misunderstanding, confusion and conflict that ultimately led to this hearing.
[Property manager 1] understood what was required to properly end the tenancy of Flat 1 and establish a new tenancy for Flat 2. She was asking for the information to enable that to happen.
There is some criticism of [The tenant/s] for not communicating that information but these are the landlord’s legal responsibilities and [Property manager 1] was the landlord’s agent.
Her view of the situation is apparent from an exchange of e-mails between she and [The tenant/s] after he had moved to Flat 2. He said that he could not remain living there and asked whether the landlords would be prepared to accept less than 21 days’ notice. [Property manager 1]’s response was that 4 Eg. Gardiner v Upland Bay Investments Limited DC Wellington CIV-2014-085-13, 27 August 2014 at paras [28] [29] 5 S.13 RTA 6 S.13B RTA she, “...would need to ask but I would highly suggest they release you earlier after all the mess that has gone on and caused you.”
Preventing that mess by meeting the obligation to properly record the changes to the tenancy, was within the landlord’s power, especially with professional property management already managing the tenancy. It was the landlord’s legal responsibility.
[The tenant/s] should be compensated for the uncertainty, stress and anxiety caused by that breach. I fix compensation at 2 weeks’ rent.
Failing to provide the tenant with a tenancy agreement is an unlawful act. 7 There is no equivalent provision relating to the obligation to record a variation in writing. There is therefore no basis for making an award of exemplary damages for that breach Fail to provide premises in a reasonable state of cleanliness and repair.
A landlord must provide premises in a reasonable state of cleanliness and repair. 8
That is not an entitlement a tenant can waive. 9
Photographic evidence provided by the tenant proves that on 9 October 2025 when he was required to vacate Flat 1 and move to Flat 2, Flat 2 was not in a reasonable state of cleanliness and repair. There were rubbish and belongings around the outside of the flat. Painting had been done in the bathroom with masking tape still attached around edges and joinery. A new shower liner still had its protective plastic attached. The bathroom and kitchen were dirty sinks and surfaces were dirty. There were rags and material over the bathroom floor.
The rubbish and belongings have been removed from outside the Flat. Otherwise, the Flat remains in that state, subject to a direction made on the date of the hearing as follows: “As discussed at today’s hearing I record the parties’ agreement that the landlord will have access to the premises from Midday Thursday 9 April 2026 and will: a. Clean all floors and surfaces in the bathroom and kitchen – including sinks and cabinets b. Remove all rubbish and rags from the bathroom c. Removal all masking tape d. Remove the protective plastic from the shower lining. All other issues will be addressed in the Order to be issued once it is finalised.” 7 S.13(4) RTA 8 S.45(1)(a) RTA 9 S.11(3) RTA
A party who claims compensation for loss caused by a breach of the other party’s obligations, must take all reasonable steps to mitigate that loss. 10
I am satisfied that if asked and given the opportunity, the landlords would have arranged to clean up Flat 2, as they agreed to at the hearing.
The tenant should be compensated for breach of the landlords’ obligation to provide the premises in a reasonable condition. He should not be compensated for it having remained in that state since then, because he could have mitigated that situation.
I fix compensation at 1 weeks’ rent.
I do not consider it just to award exemplary damages as well as compensation for the breach. My assessment of the evidence is that the landlords thought it agreed that the changeover would be a staged process, giving opportunity for storage of goods and cleaning work to be done along the way. Bond
[The tenant/s] should not have been asked to pay another bond when he was transferring from one tenancy to another.
He was asked to do so and was sent follow up reminders to pay the bond. [The property management company] did though withdraw that request and the evidence shows that the bond for Flat 2 was paid to the Bond Centre within 23 working days of the released Flat 1 bond being received.
Because the tenant has had claims upheld I reimburse the filing fee.

Tenancy Tribunal case 5404289 — Exemplary damages

At a glance

Award balance

Tenancy Tribunal case 5404289 — Exemplary damages

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions