What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5437943 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 5437943?

Filing Fee: $28.00 awarded to landlord; Water Rates: $288.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5437943?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5437943?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/13681290-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5437943 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 5437943?

Filing Fee: $28.00 awarded to landlord; Water Rates: $288.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5437943?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5437943?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/13681290-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 5437943 — Tenancy dispute

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New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 5437943 — Tenancy dispute | TenantCheck

Claims & awards

What this tenancy cost at tribunal — claim, category, amount, and party awarded, with reconciled net total.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5437943 — net $316.00 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Water rates to 1 August 2025 (reduced for failure to mitigate	$288.00	Water rates to 1 August 2025 (reduced for failure to mitigate
Filing fee reimbursement	$28.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$316.00
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$316.00

Claims and awards for application 5437943 — net $316.00 NZD. Verify on MoJ.

Water rates to 1 August 2025 (reduced for failure to mitigate

Amount: $288.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Water rates to 1 August 2025 (reduced for failure to mitigate

Filing fee reimbursement

Amount: $28.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Filing fee reimbursement

Net award

Landlord $316.00

Total payable by Tenant to Landlord

Landlord $316.00

Claim types — money lines allowed on this order

Filing Fee Water Rates

Order

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of the landlord’s and tenants’ name and identifying details.
[The tenant/s] must pay [The landlord/s] $316.00 immediately, as calculated in the table below:

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
The landlord has applied for outstanding water rates and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy.

How much is owed for water rates?

The tenancy ended on 1 August 2025.
The landlord claims $1,659.59 for water rates from 2 February 2024 to the end of the tenancy.
There was no formal process for managing water rates; invoices were sent to the property in the owner’s name. The tenants state they forwarded some invoices and communicated with property managers during the tenancy.
The landlord only became aware of the unpaid water rates, and the significant outstanding balance, after the tenancy ended and the bond had been refunded.
The tenants do not dispute the amount owed but challenge the process. They argue that monthly invoicing would have made payment easier and alerted them to any unusually high bills.
The landlord does not dispute this but maintains that the charges are based on actual meter readings. Discussion
Under section 39(3)(c) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA), tenants are responsible for paying for water usage during the tenancy, provided the charges are exclusively attributable to the tenant’s use.
Section 49 of the RTA requires a landlord to take all reasonable steps to mitigate any loss arising from a breach. This includes regularly checking for water bills and following up promptly on any unpaid invoices. The landlord’s failure to do so means the loss was not properly mitigated.
As a result, the landlord is only entitled to recover the amount of arrears that would reasonably have accrued before the landlord should have discovered the issue.
The evidence shows that water usage was billed monthly by the provider. I consider that three months is a reasonable period for a landlord to have identified and addressed any unpaid invoices.
The total claim of $1,659.56 covers around 18 months of bills (including two half months), averaging approximately $96.00 per month (excluding the half months). It is therefore appropriate to award the landlord three months’ worth of water charges, totalling $288.00. Other matters
As the landlord has been successful in recovering a portion of the water rates, it is appropriate to order reimbursement of the filing fee to the landlord, in accordance with section 102(4) of the RTA.
As discussed at the hearing, it is appropriate to grant name suppression to both parties. The accumulation of water rates was not due to any fault by the tenants, and the purpose of the decision can be achieved without publication of the parties’ names. R Harvey-Lane 01 June 2026

Claims & awards

What this tenancy cost at tribunal — claim, category, amount, and party awarded, with reconciled net total.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5437943 — net $316.00 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Water rates to 1 August 2025 (reduced for failure to mitigate	$288.00	Water rates to 1 August 2025 (reduced for failure to mitigate
Filing fee reimbursement	$28.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$316.00
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$316.00

Claims and awards for application 5437943 — net $316.00 NZD. Verify on MoJ.

Water rates to 1 August 2025 (reduced for failure to mitigate

Amount: $288.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Water rates to 1 August 2025 (reduced for failure to mitigate

Filing fee reimbursement

Amount: $28.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Filing fee reimbursement

Net award

Landlord $316.00

Total payable by Tenant to Landlord

Landlord $316.00

Claim types — money lines allowed on this order

Filing Fee Water Rates

Order

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of the landlord’s and tenants’ name and identifying details.
[The tenant/s] must pay [The landlord/s] $316.00 immediately, as calculated in the table below:

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
The landlord has applied for outstanding water rates and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy.

How much is owed for water rates?

The tenancy ended on 1 August 2025.
The landlord claims $1,659.59 for water rates from 2 February 2024 to the end of the tenancy.
There was no formal process for managing water rates; invoices were sent to the property in the owner’s name. The tenants state they forwarded some invoices and communicated with property managers during the tenancy.
The landlord only became aware of the unpaid water rates, and the significant outstanding balance, after the tenancy ended and the bond had been refunded.
The tenants do not dispute the amount owed but challenge the process. They argue that monthly invoicing would have made payment easier and alerted them to any unusually high bills.
The landlord does not dispute this but maintains that the charges are based on actual meter readings. Discussion
Under section 39(3)(c) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA), tenants are responsible for paying for water usage during the tenancy, provided the charges are exclusively attributable to the tenant’s use.
Section 49 of the RTA requires a landlord to take all reasonable steps to mitigate any loss arising from a breach. This includes regularly checking for water bills and following up promptly on any unpaid invoices. The landlord’s failure to do so means the loss was not properly mitigated.
As a result, the landlord is only entitled to recover the amount of arrears that would reasonably have accrued before the landlord should have discovered the issue.
The evidence shows that water usage was billed monthly by the provider. I consider that three months is a reasonable period for a landlord to have identified and addressed any unpaid invoices.
The total claim of $1,659.56 covers around 18 months of bills (including two half months), averaging approximately $96.00 per month (excluding the half months). It is therefore appropriate to award the landlord three months’ worth of water charges, totalling $288.00. Other matters
As the landlord has been successful in recovering a portion of the water rates, it is appropriate to order reimbursement of the filing fee to the landlord, in accordance with section 102(4) of the RTA.
As discussed at the hearing, it is appropriate to grant name suppression to both parties. The accumulation of water rates was not due to any fault by the tenants, and the purpose of the decision can be achieved without publication of the parties’ names. R Harvey-Lane 01 June 2026

Tenancy Tribunal case 5437943 — Tenancy dispute

At a glance

Award balance

Tenancy Tribunal case 5437943 — Tenancy dispute

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

How much is owed for water rates?

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Frequently asked questions

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

How much is owed for water rates?

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Frequently asked questions