What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5454833 about?

The tribunal order states: [The tenant/s] tenant/s] must pay Schultz Realty Ltd (as agent for Jessica

How much money was awarded in case 5454833?

Cleaning: $414.00 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $28.00 awarded to landlord; Lawns: $250.00 awarded to landlord; Garage: $2,655.82 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5454833?

The primary dispute was Property damage. Related themes: Cleanliness.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5454833?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/14021207-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5454833 about?

The tribunal order states: [The tenant/s] tenant/s] must pay Schultz Realty Ltd (as agent for Jessica

How much money was awarded in case 5454833?

Cleaning: $414.00 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $28.00 awarded to landlord; Lawns: $250.00 awarded to landlord; Garage: $2,655.82 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5454833?

The primary dispute was Property damage. Related themes: Cleanliness.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5454833?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/14021207-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

178 Heatley Road, Whakapirau, RD 1, Whakapirau 0583 Tenancy Tribunal Case 5454833 — Property damage

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178 Heatley Road, Whakapirau, RD 1, Whakapirau 0583 Tenancy Tribunal Case 5454833 — Property damage | 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 5454833 — net $3,190.68 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Tenant	Reason
Lawns	$250.00		Lawns
Cleaning	$414.00		Cleaning
Repairs: Garage	$2,655.82		Repairs: Garage
Filing fee reimbursement	$28.00		Filing fee reimbursement
Balance of bond		$157.14	Balance of bond
Total award	$3,347.82	$157.14
Net award	$3,190.68
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$3,190.68

Claims and awards for application 5454833 — net $3,190.68 NZD. Verify on MoJ.

Lawns

Amount: $250.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Lawns

Cleaning

Amount: $414.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Cleaning

Repairs: Garage

Amount: $2,655.82
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Repairs: Garage

Filing fee reimbursement

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

Balance of bond

Amount: $157.14
Awarded to: Tenant
Reason: Balance of bond

Total award

Claim types — money lines allowed on this order

Cleanliness Filing Fee Property damage

Order

[The tenant/s] tenant/s] must pay Schultz Realty Ltd (as agent for Jessica Brennan Fergus) $3,190.68 immediately, calculated as shown in table below.

Reasons

Background

The tenancy began on 14 November 2025.
The landlord filed this application on 25 February 2026. The application was set down for a hearing on 14 May.
The tenancy ended on 11 May. The landlord requested an adjournment of the 14 May hearing. The request was granted.
The landlord amended their application to include end of tenancy costs.
The hearing took place in Whangarei on 7 August 2026. Mr Campbell represented the landlord at the hearing. There was no appearance by the tenant. The hearing proceeded in the tenant’s absence. Rent arrears
The landlord’s rent record shows rent arrears of $2,042.86 to the end of the tenancy.
Ms Murray agreed to release the bond to the landlord at the end of the tenancy. The bond covered the rent arrears. Cleaning and lawns
Tenants must leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy at the end of the tenancy. 1
Mr Campbell provided a copy of the final inspection report and photographs.
The photographs show that the premises were not left in a bad condition, but in respects they fell short of the “reasonably clean and tidy” standard. Inside the house, surfaces had not been cleaned and the floors were dirty. Outside, parts of the lawn had been mowed but parts were overgrown.
The landlord’s claims for cleaning and lawnmowing are fair and reasonable. Garage
The property has a ‘pole shed’ style garage, separate from the house. It is a fairly basic, but tidy and functional, structure with exposed plywood cladding walls, visible framing and poles, and roller doors at the front.
Sometime during the tenancy Ms Murray decided to paint the inside of the garage (plywood boards and framing) white. She did this without the landlord’s knowledge or consent.
There is a process for tenants to request permission to make “minor changes” to tenanted premises, and the landlord cannot unreasonably refuse such requests. 2 However, this was not a minor change, and Ms Murray did not seek permission. 1 Section 40(1)(e)(iii) Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (“RTA”) 2 Section 42B RTA
Ms Murray breached her duty to make any renovation or alteration to the premises. 3
Unfortunately, the paint cannot be easily removed. The only remedy is to replace the affected areas. The cost of that work is $2,655.82, per a quote from AllScope Services.
The owner sold the premises after this tenancy. However, Mr Campbell said that the owner has an agreement with the new owner that the garage will be restored to its original condition. The new owner does not want the white paint.
The circumstances are unfortunate. Ms Murray did not damage the garage carelessly or intention. I’m sure that she spent time painting the garage because, to her, it was an improvement.
However, I accept that the landlord is legally entitled to the remedy that they are seeking. The tenant breached a legal duty. The landlord is entitled to be reinstated – to be put back in the position that they would have been in if the breach had not occurred. They only way to achieve reinstatement is to remove and replace the painted walls.
This means of course, that having obtained compensation on that basis the landlord is obliged to have the work done. Filing fee, bond
The landlord has been successful in this application and I must also award the landlord the filing fee of $28.00.
The balance of the remaining bond ($157.14) can be applied to the proven costs per the table above.

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 5454833 — net $3,190.68 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Tenant	Reason
Lawns	$250.00		Lawns
Cleaning	$414.00		Cleaning
Repairs: Garage	$2,655.82		Repairs: Garage
Filing fee reimbursement	$28.00		Filing fee reimbursement
Balance of bond		$157.14	Balance of bond
Total award	$3,347.82	$157.14
Net award	$3,190.68
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$3,190.68

Claims and awards for application 5454833 — net $3,190.68 NZD. Verify on MoJ.

Lawns

Amount: $250.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Lawns

Cleaning

Amount: $414.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Cleaning

Repairs: Garage

Amount: $2,655.82
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Repairs: Garage

Filing fee reimbursement

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

Balance of bond

Amount: $157.14
Awarded to: Tenant
Reason: Balance of bond

Total award

Claim types — money lines allowed on this order

Cleanliness Filing Fee Property damage

Order

[The tenant/s] tenant/s] must pay Schultz Realty Ltd (as agent for Jessica Brennan Fergus) $3,190.68 immediately, calculated as shown in table below.

Reasons

Background

The tenancy began on 14 November 2025.
The landlord filed this application on 25 February 2026. The application was set down for a hearing on 14 May.
The tenancy ended on 11 May. The landlord requested an adjournment of the 14 May hearing. The request was granted.
The landlord amended their application to include end of tenancy costs.
The hearing took place in Whangarei on 7 August 2026. Mr Campbell represented the landlord at the hearing. There was no appearance by the tenant. The hearing proceeded in the tenant’s absence. Rent arrears
The landlord’s rent record shows rent arrears of $2,042.86 to the end of the tenancy.
Ms Murray agreed to release the bond to the landlord at the end of the tenancy. The bond covered the rent arrears. Cleaning and lawns
Tenants must leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy at the end of the tenancy. 1
Mr Campbell provided a copy of the final inspection report and photographs.
The photographs show that the premises were not left in a bad condition, but in respects they fell short of the “reasonably clean and tidy” standard. Inside the house, surfaces had not been cleaned and the floors were dirty. Outside, parts of the lawn had been mowed but parts were overgrown.
The landlord’s claims for cleaning and lawnmowing are fair and reasonable. Garage
The property has a ‘pole shed’ style garage, separate from the house. It is a fairly basic, but tidy and functional, structure with exposed plywood cladding walls, visible framing and poles, and roller doors at the front.
Sometime during the tenancy Ms Murray decided to paint the inside of the garage (plywood boards and framing) white. She did this without the landlord’s knowledge or consent.
There is a process for tenants to request permission to make “minor changes” to tenanted premises, and the landlord cannot unreasonably refuse such requests. 2 However, this was not a minor change, and Ms Murray did not seek permission. 1 Section 40(1)(e)(iii) Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (“RTA”) 2 Section 42B RTA
Ms Murray breached her duty to make any renovation or alteration to the premises. 3
Unfortunately, the paint cannot be easily removed. The only remedy is to replace the affected areas. The cost of that work is $2,655.82, per a quote from AllScope Services.
The owner sold the premises after this tenancy. However, Mr Campbell said that the owner has an agreement with the new owner that the garage will be restored to its original condition. The new owner does not want the white paint.
The circumstances are unfortunate. Ms Murray did not damage the garage carelessly or intention. I’m sure that she spent time painting the garage because, to her, it was an improvement.
However, I accept that the landlord is legally entitled to the remedy that they are seeking. The tenant breached a legal duty. The landlord is entitled to be reinstated – to be put back in the position that they would have been in if the breach had not occurred. They only way to achieve reinstatement is to remove and replace the painted walls.
This means of course, that having obtained compensation on that basis the landlord is obliged to have the work done. Filing fee, bond
The landlord has been successful in this application and I must also award the landlord the filing fee of $28.00.
The balance of the remaining bond ($157.14) can be applied to the proven costs per the table above.

Tenancy Tribunal case 5454833 — Property damage at 178 Heatley Road, Whakapirau, RD 1, Whakapirau 0583

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 5454833 — Property damage at 178 Heatley Road, Whakapirau, RD 1, Whakapirau 0583

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Property management

Frequently asked questions

Reduce avoidable tribunal risk with proper tenant checks.

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Property management

Frequently asked questions

Reduce avoidable tribunal risk with proper tenant checks.