What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5418149 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 5418149?

Break Lease Costs: $670.29 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $28.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5418149?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears. Related themes: Exemplary damages.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5418149?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/13410606-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5418149 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 5418149?

Break Lease Costs: $670.29 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $28.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5418149?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears. Related themes: Exemplary damages.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5418149?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/13410606-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 5418149 — Rent arrears

Reasons

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5418149. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Tenant	Reason
Break lease costs	$670.29		Break lease costs
Filing fee reimbursement	$28.00		Filing fee reimbursement

[The landlord’s representative], representing the landlord, attended the video conference hearing. Neither of the tenants joined the hearing as per the instructions in the Notice of Hearing so did not attend the hearing. One of the tenants, [The tenant/s], had notified Tenancy Services before the hearing that she would not attend the hearing, due to mental health issues. As the tenants were served, and did not request any adjournment, the hearing proceeded in their absence.

The landlord has applied for rent arrears, compensation, refund of the bond, exemplary damages and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy.

The landlord said this was a fixed-term tenancy that was due to end on 20 March 2026, that the tenants broke the lease early and new tenants moved into the property on 9 January 2026. As such, the landlord said this tenancy ended on 8 January 2026, which I accept.

At the start of the hearing, the landlord said they have received the full bond already to cover 4 weeks rent, with the agreement of the tenants. As such, the landlord withdrew the claims for rent arrears, refund of the bond and exemplary damages. The landlord also said they withdrew one of their compensation claims for garden work. The remaining claims to be dealt with were compensation for break lease costs and reimbursement of the filing fee. Break lease costs

The landlord claimed $731.95 for break lease costs incurred by the tenant leaving the tenancy early and provided an itemised account of these expenses. For the most part, I find the costs incurred in the landlord’s account of expenses are reasonable, given the evidence. However, the landlord charged the tenants $61.66 for doing a vacated inspection and travel costs for this. I discussed with the property manager why this is being claimed when the landlord would need to do a vacated inspection anyway, no matter what date the tenancy ended. The property manager said the owner has incurred a vacated inspection cost as the tenants left the lease early but acknowledged there would have been a vacated inspection required whenever the tenants left. Given this, I do not find the vacated inspection charges on the account of expenses to be reasonably incurred as a result of the tenants leaving the lease early, as these costs would still have been incurred regardless of when the tenancy finished. So, I deduct the vacated inspection costs I find not to be reasonably incurred here of $61.66, from the total claimed of $731.95, which comes to $670.29, which I find are costs reasonably incurred by the landlord as a result of the tenants breaking the lease early. Therefore, I award the landlord $670.29 for break lease costs. Filing fee

As the landlord has been successful with the claim, I reimburse the filing fee to the landlord. Suppression

The landlord requested name suppression, which they are entitled to as they have been successful with the claim. The tenants were not present to request name suppression but one of the tenants provided written evidence from a psychologist before the hearing about her significant mental health issues. Further, the property manager said that, for the most part, the tenants were good tenants. As a result of this, on my own initiative, I find the tenants’ interests outweigh the public interest in publishing the tenants’ names. Therefore, I order that both parties’ names and identifying details and the tenancy address are not to be published. See sections 95A(1) and 95A(4) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5418149. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Tenant	Reason
Break lease costs	$670.29		Break lease costs
Filing fee reimbursement	$28.00		Filing fee reimbursement

Order

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of the parties’ names and identifying details and the tenancy address.
[The tenant/s] are to pay [The landlord/s] $698.29, calculated as shown in table below.

Reasons

[The landlord’s representative], representing the landlord, attended the video conference hearing. Neither of the tenants joined the hearing as per the instructions in the Notice of Hearing so did not attend the hearing. One of the tenants, [The tenant/s], had notified Tenancy Services before the hearing that she would not attend the hearing, due to mental health issues. As the tenants were served, and did not request any adjournment, the hearing proceeded in their absence.
The landlord has applied for rent arrears, compensation, refund of the bond, exemplary damages and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy.
The landlord said this was a fixed-term tenancy that was due to end on 20 March 2026, that the tenants broke the lease early and new tenants moved into the property on 9 January 2026. As such, the landlord said this tenancy ended on 8 January 2026, which I accept.
At the start of the hearing, the landlord said they have received the full bond already to cover 4 weeks rent, with the agreement of the tenants. As such, the landlord withdrew the claims for rent arrears, refund of the bond and exemplary damages. The landlord also said they withdrew one of their compensation claims for garden work. The remaining claims to be dealt with were compensation for break lease costs and reimbursement of the filing fee. Break lease costs
The landlord claimed $731.95 for break lease costs incurred by the tenant leaving the tenancy early and provided an itemised account of these expenses. For the most part, I find the costs incurred in the landlord’s account of expenses are reasonable, given the evidence. However, the landlord charged the tenants $61.66 for doing a vacated inspection and travel costs for this. I discussed with the property manager why this is being claimed when the landlord would need to do a vacated inspection anyway, no matter what date the tenancy ended. The property manager said the owner has incurred a vacated inspection cost as the tenants left the lease early but acknowledged there would have been a vacated inspection required whenever the tenants left. Given this, I do not find the vacated inspection charges on the account of expenses to be reasonably incurred as a result of the tenants leaving the lease early, as these costs would still have been incurred regardless of when the tenancy finished. So, I deduct the vacated inspection costs I find not to be reasonably incurred here of $61.66, from the total claimed of $731.95, which comes to $670.29, which I find are costs reasonably incurred by the landlord as a result of the tenants breaking the lease early. Therefore, I award the landlord $670.29 for break lease costs. Filing fee
As the landlord has been successful with the claim, I reimburse the filing fee to the landlord. Suppression
The landlord requested name suppression, which they are entitled to as they have been successful with the claim. The tenants were not present to request name suppression but one of the tenants provided written evidence from a psychologist before the hearing about her significant mental health issues. Further, the property manager said that, for the most part, the tenants were good tenants. As a result of this, on my own initiative, I find the tenants’ interests outweigh the public interest in publishing the tenants’ names. Therefore, I order that both parties’ names and identifying details and the tenancy address are not to be published. See sections 95A(1) and 95A(4) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

Tenancy Tribunal case 5418149 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Claims & awards

Tenancy Tribunal case 5418149 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions