What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5411362 about?

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

How much money was awarded in case 5411362?

Filing Fee: $28.00 awarded to landlord; Rent Owing As At 14/04/2026: $763.57 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5411362?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5411362?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/13429520-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5411362 about?

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

How much money was awarded in case 5411362?

Filing Fee: $28.00 awarded to landlord; Rent Owing As At 14/04/2026: $763.57 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5411362?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5411362?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/13429520-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 5411362 — Tenancy dispute

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5411362 — net $791.57 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent owing as at 14/04/2026	$763.57	Rent owing as at 14/04/2026
Filing fee reimbursement	$28.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$791.57
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$791.57

Order

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of all Tenant and Landlord names and identifying details.
[The tenant/s] must pay [The landlord/s] $791.57 (“the debt”), calculated as shown in the table below:

The tenants must pay the debt in order 2 at the rate of $30.00 per week.
The first payment must be made on 15 April 2026 and payments must continue every Wednesday until the debt is paid in full.
If the tenants fail to make any payment within 2 working days of the due date, the balance of the debt owing will be payable immediately and can be enforced through a debt collection agency or the District Court.
Weekly rent is also payable on Wednesday every week.

Reasons

Both parties attended two remote hearings.
The landlord has applied for an order for payment of rent owing secured by a conditional termination order. This type of order means that if the tenant misses a payment, then the tenancy will terminate immediately.
This tenancy started on 1 November 2023 when the property was managed by a different agent. The owner then managed it directly for about four months.
The current agent took over in October 2025.
The changes in management have led to some confusion with rent ledgers. The first agent
The main confusion is that when the first agent stopped his management, he told the tenants they were “paid up” with their rent (with only $65.00 owing). His ledger shows this figure.
In one sense, he was correct, but what his ledger shows is that the weekly rent payment of $635.00 made by the tenants on Wednesday 23 April 2025 only paid the rent up to the next day. His ledger stops on Thursday 24 April 2025.
Legally, the weekly rent payment was supposed to pay the rent for a full week “in advance” (up to Tuesday 29 April 2025).
In my view, it was a mistake to tell the tenants their rent was “paid up” when actually it was only paid up to the next day. It should have been paid up for a whole week.
The tenants had been one week behind since near the start of the tenancy. This can be seen on the first agent’s ledger.
The tenants’ regular weekly payments started on Wednesday 6 December 2023. The tenancy had been going for five weeks by then.
The total rent due for five weeks from 1 November 2023 to Tuesday 5 December 2023 is $3,175.00. 1 The tenants had paid a total of $2,386.43 2 for rent at that point – so they were $788.57 behind. 3 This is what the first agent’s rent ledger shows.
The tenants carried on weekly rent payments from 6 December 2025 through until the first agent stopped management, and did not miss a week. 1 Weekly rent of $635.00 x 5 weeks = $3,175.00. 2 $635 on 30/10/2023 + $1,451.43 on 24/11/2023 + $300 on 5/12/2023 = $2,386.43. 3 Total rent due to 5/12/2023 is $3,175.00 minus total rent paid of $2,386.43 = $788.57 rent owing to 5/12/2023.
They also paid extra payments at times. 4 The extra payments reduced the rent owing from $788.57 down to $518.57. This amount is a bit less than 6 days behind.
The amount owing stayed at $518.57 until the first agent stopped management. This can be seen on his ledger.
The tenants say they were never told that their rent was one week behind from near the start of the tenancy. The owner
The tenants then continued paying weekly rent directly to the owner starting from the payment made on 1 May 2025.
They missed a payment on 9 July 2025 but caught that up on 15 July 2025.
They then missed a payment on 3 September 2025. This was not caught up although two payments of $50.00 were made on 19 September 2025 and 29 October 2025.
This missed payment meant the rent owing increased from $518.57 to $1,003.57 at the time the owner stopped management.
The tenants say the first agent has made a payment to the owner to settle a dispute between them. I do not have the details of this so have not taken it into account in this decision. The current agent
The amount owing for rent when this agent took over was $1,003.57 which is the week missed in September 2025 and the 6 days’ behind from the start of the tenancy.
The tenants have not missed a rent payment since the new agent took over and from 18 February 2026 have started paying an extra $30.00 to reduce the amount owing.
I am satisfied that the current rent ledger from this agent includes all payments made by the tenants for rent to the first agent, to the owner, and to the current agent. 4 $100 on 14/12/2025 + $50 on 20/12/2023 +$40 on 21/02/2024 + $20 on 28/02/2024 + $40 on 28/03/2024 + $20 on 19/06/2024.
I have double-checked the ledger by adding up:- Total rent due over the whole tenancy up to week end 14/04/2026$81,460.00 Minus total rent payments made$80,696.43 Equals amount owing to 14/04/2026$ 763.57
The tenants pay their rent weekly on Wednesdays. The amount owing is calculated to make sure they will end up paying their rent one week in advance.
This means when they make a payment on a Wednesday, it pays for their rent for that day and for the upcoming week.
The tenants have had the opportunity to check the ledger. They have not provided any evidence to show it is wrong. (If they find some evidence in the future, they can still send this to the current agent for checking).
I have ordered payment of rent owing of $763.57. Once this is paid, the tenants will be paying their rent one week in advance.

Should a conditional termination order be made?

The landlord applied for a conditional termination order so that if a payment of rent or debt repayments was missed, the tenancy would terminate.
This is common if rent has been behind for quite a long time.
The Tribunal may terminate a tenancy or make a conditional termination order where the nature or extent of the breach means it would be inequitable/unfair to refuse to terminate. Where the breach is capable of remedy the landlord must first serve a notice on the tenant requiring them to remedy the breach within at least 14 days and establish that the tenant has failed to do so. See section 56(1) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
I have decided not to make a conditional termination order in this case.
This is because the confusion about the rent owing from the start of the tenancy is not the tenants’ fault.
The missed rent payment in September 2025 is their responsibility but one missed payment over 128 weeks (2.5 years) does not justify a conditional termination order.
I have made a money order for repayment of the amount owing at the rate of $30.00 per week. Payments are due on a Wednesday at the same time as weekly rent of $655.00. The total weekly payment is therefore $685.00.
By my calculation, the last payment will be on 14 October 2026. The tenants and landlord should communicate about this to keep track.
The tenants can then reduce their payment to normal weekly rent. Filing fee and suppression of names
I award the filing fee to the landlord as the claim was proven.
I suppress both landlord and tenants’ names. I am satisfied the claim was brought about partly by confusion from the first agent’s ledger. It was reasonable that the tenants wanted to understand how the amount owing had come about.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5411362 — net $791.57 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent owing as at 14/04/2026	$763.57	Rent owing as at 14/04/2026
Filing fee reimbursement	$28.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$791.57
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$791.57

Order

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of all Tenant and Landlord names and identifying details.
[The tenant/s] must pay [The landlord/s] $791.57 (“the debt”), calculated as shown in the table below:

The tenants must pay the debt in order 2 at the rate of $30.00 per week.
The first payment must be made on 15 April 2026 and payments must continue every Wednesday until the debt is paid in full.
If the tenants fail to make any payment within 2 working days of the due date, the balance of the debt owing will be payable immediately and can be enforced through a debt collection agency or the District Court.
Weekly rent is also payable on Wednesday every week.

Reasons

Both parties attended two remote hearings.
The landlord has applied for an order for payment of rent owing secured by a conditional termination order. This type of order means that if the tenant misses a payment, then the tenancy will terminate immediately.
This tenancy started on 1 November 2023 when the property was managed by a different agent. The owner then managed it directly for about four months.
The current agent took over in October 2025.
The changes in management have led to some confusion with rent ledgers. The first agent
The main confusion is that when the first agent stopped his management, he told the tenants they were “paid up” with their rent (with only $65.00 owing). His ledger shows this figure.
In one sense, he was correct, but what his ledger shows is that the weekly rent payment of $635.00 made by the tenants on Wednesday 23 April 2025 only paid the rent up to the next day. His ledger stops on Thursday 24 April 2025.
Legally, the weekly rent payment was supposed to pay the rent for a full week “in advance” (up to Tuesday 29 April 2025).
In my view, it was a mistake to tell the tenants their rent was “paid up” when actually it was only paid up to the next day. It should have been paid up for a whole week.
The tenants had been one week behind since near the start of the tenancy. This can be seen on the first agent’s ledger.
The tenants’ regular weekly payments started on Wednesday 6 December 2023. The tenancy had been going for five weeks by then.
The total rent due for five weeks from 1 November 2023 to Tuesday 5 December 2023 is $3,175.00. 1 The tenants had paid a total of $2,386.43 2 for rent at that point – so they were $788.57 behind. 3 This is what the first agent’s rent ledger shows.
The tenants carried on weekly rent payments from 6 December 2025 through until the first agent stopped management, and did not miss a week. 1 Weekly rent of $635.00 x 5 weeks = $3,175.00. 2 $635 on 30/10/2023 + $1,451.43 on 24/11/2023 + $300 on 5/12/2023 = $2,386.43. 3 Total rent due to 5/12/2023 is $3,175.00 minus total rent paid of $2,386.43 = $788.57 rent owing to 5/12/2023.
They also paid extra payments at times. 4 The extra payments reduced the rent owing from $788.57 down to $518.57. This amount is a bit less than 6 days behind.
The amount owing stayed at $518.57 until the first agent stopped management. This can be seen on his ledger.
The tenants say they were never told that their rent was one week behind from near the start of the tenancy. The owner
The tenants then continued paying weekly rent directly to the owner starting from the payment made on 1 May 2025.
They missed a payment on 9 July 2025 but caught that up on 15 July 2025.
They then missed a payment on 3 September 2025. This was not caught up although two payments of $50.00 were made on 19 September 2025 and 29 October 2025.
This missed payment meant the rent owing increased from $518.57 to $1,003.57 at the time the owner stopped management.
The tenants say the first agent has made a payment to the owner to settle a dispute between them. I do not have the details of this so have not taken it into account in this decision. The current agent
The amount owing for rent when this agent took over was $1,003.57 which is the week missed in September 2025 and the 6 days’ behind from the start of the tenancy.
The tenants have not missed a rent payment since the new agent took over and from 18 February 2026 have started paying an extra $30.00 to reduce the amount owing.
I am satisfied that the current rent ledger from this agent includes all payments made by the tenants for rent to the first agent, to the owner, and to the current agent. 4 $100 on 14/12/2025 + $50 on 20/12/2023 +$40 on 21/02/2024 + $20 on 28/02/2024 + $40 on 28/03/2024 + $20 on 19/06/2024.
I have double-checked the ledger by adding up:- Total rent due over the whole tenancy up to week end 14/04/2026$81,460.00 Minus total rent payments made$80,696.43 Equals amount owing to 14/04/2026$ 763.57
The tenants pay their rent weekly on Wednesdays. The amount owing is calculated to make sure they will end up paying their rent one week in advance.
This means when they make a payment on a Wednesday, it pays for their rent for that day and for the upcoming week.
The tenants have had the opportunity to check the ledger. They have not provided any evidence to show it is wrong. (If they find some evidence in the future, they can still send this to the current agent for checking).
I have ordered payment of rent owing of $763.57. Once this is paid, the tenants will be paying their rent one week in advance.

Should a conditional termination order be made?

The landlord applied for a conditional termination order so that if a payment of rent or debt repayments was missed, the tenancy would terminate.
This is common if rent has been behind for quite a long time.
The Tribunal may terminate a tenancy or make a conditional termination order where the nature or extent of the breach means it would be inequitable/unfair to refuse to terminate. Where the breach is capable of remedy the landlord must first serve a notice on the tenant requiring them to remedy the breach within at least 14 days and establish that the tenant has failed to do so. See section 56(1) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
I have decided not to make a conditional termination order in this case.
This is because the confusion about the rent owing from the start of the tenancy is not the tenants’ fault.
The missed rent payment in September 2025 is their responsibility but one missed payment over 128 weeks (2.5 years) does not justify a conditional termination order.
I have made a money order for repayment of the amount owing at the rate of $30.00 per week. Payments are due on a Wednesday at the same time as weekly rent of $655.00. The total weekly payment is therefore $685.00.
By my calculation, the last payment will be on 14 October 2026. The tenants and landlord should communicate about this to keep track.
The tenants can then reduce their payment to normal weekly rent. Filing fee and suppression of names
I award the filing fee to the landlord as the claim was proven.
I suppress both landlord and tenants’ names. I am satisfied the claim was brought about partly by confusion from the first agent’s ledger. It was reasonable that the tenants wanted to understand how the amount owing had come about.

Tenancy Tribunal case 5411362 — Tenancy dispute

At a glance

Award balance

Tenancy Tribunal case 5411362 — Tenancy dispute

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Should a conditional termination order be made?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Should a conditional termination order be made?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions