What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5414479 about?

The tribunal order states: This decision replaces the earlier Tribunal decision dated 4 March 2026.

How much money was awarded in case 5414479?

Filing Fee: $28.00 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $3,140.00 awarded to landlord; Water Rates: $190.12 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5414479?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5414479?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/13366525-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5414479 about?

The tribunal order states: This decision replaces the earlier Tribunal decision dated 4 March 2026.

How much money was awarded in case 5414479?

Filing Fee: $28.00 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $3,140.00 awarded to landlord; Water Rates: $190.12 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5414479?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5414479?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/13366525-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 5414479 — Rent arrears

Tenantcheck Insights

Order

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5414479 — net $1,273.12 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears	$3,140.00	Rent arrears
Water rates	$190.12	Water rates
Filing fee reimbursement	$28.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$1,273.12
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$1,273.12

This decision replaces the earlier Tribunal decision dated 4 March 2026.

The name and identifying details of the Landlords are suppressed.

The tenancy of Kelly Seumanu and Hana Seumanu at [Tenancy address suppressed] is terminated, and possession is granted to [The landlord/s] immediately.

The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $2085.00 ([Bond number suppressed]) to [The landlord/s] immediately.

Kelly Seumanu and Hannah Seumanu must pay [The landlord/s] $1,273.12 immediately, calculated as shown in the table below:

Reasons

The rehearing and change of Tenant’s name

On 4 March 2026, I issued an order terminating the tenancy, granting possession to the Landlords and ordering the Tenants to pay $1,273.12.

The Landlords have been unable to enforce that decision. They say that this is because they mis-spelled one of the Tenant’s names in the tenancy agreement and the Tenancy Tribunal application form. They say that the proper spelling of the Tenant’s name is Hannah Seumanu, not Hana Seumanu. They only discovered this when they attempted to enforce the Tribunal’s order.

They therefore asked for a rehearing and requested that the Tribunal reissue its order with the correct spelling of the name. I allowed the rehearing application. The evidence of the Tenant’s correct name was not before the Tribunal at the last hearing.

I have now considered the evidence provided by the Landlord as to the correct spelling of Ms Seumanu’s name. I am satisfied that the correct name is Hannah Seumanu. The Landlords have provided a copy of Hannah Seumanu’s driver’s licence to prove the correct spelling.

I gave the Tenants an opportunity to respond to the Landlords’ application for a rehearing. They did not. I therefore amend my original decision to correct the spelling of Ms Seumanu’s name. Because I have amended the name of one of the Tenants, I have also amended the date on which the Landlord has possession of the premises. The possession date cannot pre-date this decision. The rest of the decision, as set out below, remains unchanged. The application

The Landlords have applied to terminate the tenancy and to recover rent arrears and unpaid water rates.

The Tenants’ position is unknown. They did not attend the hearing and have not otherwise engaged with the Tribunal. Both parties attended the hearing. The late adjournment request

The hearing commenced at 2pm on 2 March 2026. A notice of hearing was validly served on the Tenants.

Mr Suemanu notified the Tribunal at 2.01 pm on 2 March 2026 of an unspecified medical emergency, which he says made him unable to attend the hearing. Mr Seumanu asked the Tribunal to cancel the hearing. Mr Seumanu provided no evidence to demonstrate the nature of the medical emergency or why it made him unable to attend the hearing.

Adjournments are not granted as of right. The onus rests on the party seeking the adjournment to demonstrate that it is necessary and appropriate in the circumstances.

In deciding whether to grant an adjournment, the Tribunal will balance: (a)the interests of justice; (b)fairness to all parties; (c)the efficient use of Tribunal resources; and (d)the public interest in the timely disposition of matters before the Tribunal.

Balancing those relevant factors – particularly the fairness to the applicants and the public interest in the timely disposition of matters before the Tribunal – and considering that Mr Seumanu provided no evidence in support of his request, the request to adjourn (or cancel) the hearing was declined and the hearing proceeded The rent arrears

The Landlords have produced a rent summary, which shows rent arrears of $3,140. The Landlords have confirmed that this is a true and accurate summary of the rent payments during the tenancy. In the absence of any evidence from the Tenants challenging the accuracy of the rent summary, I accept that evidence.

The rent summary shows that, as at the date of this decision, the Tenant had unpaid rent arrears of $3,140. I order that the Tenant is to pay rent arrears of $3,140 to the Landlord. Termination and possession

Because the rent is in arrears by at least 21 days, I must make an order terminating the tenancy. 1 I see no basis for making this order conditional. 2 The Tenant did not attend the hearing or otherwise respond to the claim, so I cannot be satisfied that the Tenant will promptly remedy this breach or that a similar breach will not occur in the future.

I order that the tenancy is terminated under section 55(1)(a) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 effective from 9 am on 15 March 2026, which is the date that the Landlord asked for the tenancy to terminate. Possession is also granted to the Landlord, 3 effectively immediately after the tenancy is terminated. The water rates 1 Residential Tenancies Act 1986, section 55(1)(a). 2 Under section 55(1A) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986, I can make a termination order conditional, but only if I am satisfied that the tenant will pay the rent within a specified time and that it is unlikely that the tenant will fail to pay the rent in the future. 3 Residential Tenancies Act 1986, section 64(3)- a termination order under section 55 has the effect of a possession order granting possession of the premises to the landlord.

The Tenants are responsible for all outgoings in respect of the premises that are exclusively attributable to their occupation of the premises or use of the facilities, including the supply of water if the water supplier charges for water provided to the premises on the basis of consumption. 4

The Landlords have produced an invoice dated 13 February 2026 from Watercare that demonstrate that the Tenants owe $190.12 for water and wastewater consumption. Again, in the absence of any evidence from the Tenants challenging that evidence, I accept those invoices as evidence of the amounts owed by the Tenants.

I order that the Tenants must pay $190.12 to the Landlords. Other claims

During the hearing, the Landlords raised other claims, including allegations that the Tenants have damaged the property and have refused to allow access for inspections. The Landlords did not include the damage claim in their application, so they will need to bring a further claim if they want to recover compensation for damage. The Landlords did mention the refusal of access in their claim but sought no further remedy. Filing fee and name suppression

The Landlords have been wholly successful in their claim. They are entitled to recover the filing fee and to name suppression. Bond

I order that the Bond Centre is to refund the bond of $2,085 to the Landlords.

Order

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5414479 — net $1,273.12 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears	$3,140.00	Rent arrears
Water rates	$190.12	Water rates
Filing fee reimbursement	$28.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$1,273.12
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$1,273.12