What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5458169 about?

The tribunal order states: Suppression of both the Tenant and Landlord name and identifying details.

How much money was awarded in case 5458169?

Property Damage: $250.00 awarded to tenant; Rent Arrears: $6,257.14 awarded to landlord; Water Rates: $139.32 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5458169?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5458169?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/13484485-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5458169 about?

The tribunal order states: Suppression of both the Tenant and Landlord name and identifying details.

How much money was awarded in case 5458169?

Property Damage: $250.00 awarded to tenant; Rent Arrears: $6,257.14 awarded to landlord; Water Rates: $139.32 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5458169?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5458169?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/13484485-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 5458169 — Rent arrears

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5458169 — net $5,546.46 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Tenant	Reason
Rent arrears to 22 April 2026	$6,257.14		Rent arrears to 22 April 2026
Water rates	$139.32		Water rates
Exemplary damages: Bond not lodged in time		$250.00	Bond not lodged in time
Total award	$6,396.46	$250.00
Net award	$5,546.46
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$5,546.46

Order

Suppression of both the Tenant and Landlord name and identifying details.
The tenancy of [The tenant/s] at [Tenancy address suppressed] is terminated, and possession is granted to [The landlord/s], immediately.
The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $600.00 to [The landlord/s] immediately.
[The tenant/s] must pay [The landlord/s] $5,546.46 immediately, calculated as shown in the table below.
All other claims are dismissed.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
The tenant has applied for compensation of $2,000.00, and exemplary damages.
The landlord has applied for termination of the tenancy, rent arrears and water rates.
The issues to be decided are as follows: -Should the tenancy be terminated? -Did the landlord fail to provide the premises in a reasonable state of cleanliness? -Did the landlord fail to lodge the bond within the statutory time? -Did the landlord give the tenant a retaliatory notice? -Did the landlord give the notice knowing they were not entitled to do so?
The onus is on both parties to prove their claims on the balance of probabilities.

Should the tenancy be terminated?

Rent was at least 21 days in arrears on the date the application was filed and has not been paid since 16 February 2026.
The tenancy is terminated. See section 55(1)(a) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The landlord provided rent records and water invoice which prove the amount owing at the end of the tenancy.

Did the landlord fail to provide the premises in a reasonable state of cleanliness?

[The tenant/s] claims that the landlord has breached their obligations under section 45 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
Under section 45, a landlord must [of relevance here] provide the premises in a reasonable state of cleanliness.
Breaching any of these obligations is an unlawful act for which exemplary damages may be awarded up to a maximum of $7,200.00. See section 45(1A) and Schedule 1A Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
Where a party has committed an unlawful act intentionally, the Tribunal may award exemplary damages where it is satisfied it would be just to do so, having regard to the party’s intent, the effect of the unlawful act, the interests of the other party, and the public interest. See section 109(3) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The tenant says that the tops of cupboards were dirty, and the air con unit was dirty and mouldy.
The landlord says that they paid for a professional clean before the tenancy started, and the tenant did not tell them about any cleanliness issues.
Based on the photos provided by the tenant, I find it likely that the top of the cupboards and air con unit and filter were not reasonably clean at the start of this tenancy.
However, I decline to make any award of compensation or exemplary damages. The premises had been professionally cleaned and the tenant does not dispute that they did not tell the landlord about any cleanliness issues therefore the landlord had no opportunity to remedy.
This part of the claim is dismissed.

Did the landlord fail to lodge the bond within the statutory time?

[The tenant/s] claims the landlord has not lodged the bond with the Bond Centre within the required time.
A landlord must send any bond payment to the Bond Centre within 23 working days after the payment is received. See section 19(1) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
Breaching this obligation is an unlawful act for which the Tribunal may award exemplary damages up to a maximum of $1,500.00. See section 19(2) and Schedule 1A Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The landlord did not lodge the bond until approximately 7 months after the tenancy commenced, and only after the tenant instituted Tribunal proceedings against them. I find they have committed an unlawful act.
The landlord acknowledges they made a mistake as first time landlords.
Where a party has committed an unlawful act intentionally, the Tribunal may award exemplary damages where it is satisfied it would be just to do so, having regard to the party’s intent, the effect of the unlawful act, the interests of the other party, and the public interest. See section 109(3) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The landlord has a lawful obligation to lodge the bond with the bond centre within the required timeframe. Instead, the landlords deliberately held onto it which led to confusion and distrust between the parties which could have been avoided. The bond is the tenants’ money and must be lodged with the Bond Centre within the statutory time limits to protect the tenants’ interests. Lodging a bond is not a conditional obligation but a mandatory one and it is in the public interest that landlords fulfil their obligations under the Act. If no penalty is imposed there can be no deterrent.
Bearing in mind that the bond was ultimately lodged and will now be applied to arrears, I consider exemplary damages at the low end of the scale to be a just and appropriate award in this case. I therefore make an award of $250.00 exemplary damages.

Did the landlord give the notice knowing they were not entitled to do so?

Under section 60AA a landlord must not give a notice to terminate the tenancy or apply to the Tribunal for such an order, knowing they are not entitled to do so.
Breaching this obligation without a reasonable excuse is an unlawful act for which exemplary damages may be awarded up to a maximum of $6500.00. See section 60AA and Schedule 1A Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
I do not find sufficient evidence that that the landlord knew they were not entitled to give the notice. I accept their evidence that they mistakenly relied on their tenancy agreement, they did not know they could not issue the notice until they were advised by a tenancy mediator, and they rectified the situation by issuing a 90-day notice instead.
This part of the claim is dismissed. Filing fee and Name Suppression
As both parties have been partly successful, I decline to make any award from the respective filing fees. Both parties have agreed to name suppression for each other.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5458169 — net $5,546.46 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Tenant	Reason
Rent arrears to 22 April 2026	$6,257.14		Rent arrears to 22 April 2026
Water rates	$139.32		Water rates
Exemplary damages: Bond not lodged in time		$250.00	Bond not lodged in time
Total award	$6,396.46	$250.00
Net award	$5,546.46
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$5,546.46

Order

Suppression of both the Tenant and Landlord name and identifying details.
The tenancy of [The tenant/s] at [Tenancy address suppressed] is terminated, and possession is granted to [The landlord/s], immediately.
The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $600.00 to [The landlord/s] immediately.
[The tenant/s] must pay [The landlord/s] $5,546.46 immediately, calculated as shown in the table below.
All other claims are dismissed.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
The tenant has applied for compensation of $2,000.00, and exemplary damages.
The landlord has applied for termination of the tenancy, rent arrears and water rates.
The issues to be decided are as follows: -Should the tenancy be terminated? -Did the landlord fail to provide the premises in a reasonable state of cleanliness? -Did the landlord fail to lodge the bond within the statutory time? -Did the landlord give the tenant a retaliatory notice? -Did the landlord give the notice knowing they were not entitled to do so?
The onus is on both parties to prove their claims on the balance of probabilities.

Should the tenancy be terminated?

Rent was at least 21 days in arrears on the date the application was filed and has not been paid since 16 February 2026.
The tenancy is terminated. See section 55(1)(a) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The landlord provided rent records and water invoice which prove the amount owing at the end of the tenancy.

Did the landlord fail to provide the premises in a reasonable state of cleanliness?

[The tenant/s] claims that the landlord has breached their obligations under section 45 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
Under section 45, a landlord must [of relevance here] provide the premises in a reasonable state of cleanliness.
Breaching any of these obligations is an unlawful act for which exemplary damages may be awarded up to a maximum of $7,200.00. See section 45(1A) and Schedule 1A Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
Where a party has committed an unlawful act intentionally, the Tribunal may award exemplary damages where it is satisfied it would be just to do so, having regard to the party’s intent, the effect of the unlawful act, the interests of the other party, and the public interest. See section 109(3) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The tenant says that the tops of cupboards were dirty, and the air con unit was dirty and mouldy.
The landlord says that they paid for a professional clean before the tenancy started, and the tenant did not tell them about any cleanliness issues.
Based on the photos provided by the tenant, I find it likely that the top of the cupboards and air con unit and filter were not reasonably clean at the start of this tenancy.
However, I decline to make any award of compensation or exemplary damages. The premises had been professionally cleaned and the tenant does not dispute that they did not tell the landlord about any cleanliness issues therefore the landlord had no opportunity to remedy.
This part of the claim is dismissed.

Did the landlord fail to lodge the bond within the statutory time?

[The tenant/s] claims the landlord has not lodged the bond with the Bond Centre within the required time.
A landlord must send any bond payment to the Bond Centre within 23 working days after the payment is received. See section 19(1) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
Breaching this obligation is an unlawful act for which the Tribunal may award exemplary damages up to a maximum of $1,500.00. See section 19(2) and Schedule 1A Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The landlord did not lodge the bond until approximately 7 months after the tenancy commenced, and only after the tenant instituted Tribunal proceedings against them. I find they have committed an unlawful act.
The landlord acknowledges they made a mistake as first time landlords.
Where a party has committed an unlawful act intentionally, the Tribunal may award exemplary damages where it is satisfied it would be just to do so, having regard to the party’s intent, the effect of the unlawful act, the interests of the other party, and the public interest. See section 109(3) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The landlord has a lawful obligation to lodge the bond with the bond centre within the required timeframe. Instead, the landlords deliberately held onto it which led to confusion and distrust between the parties which could have been avoided. The bond is the tenants’ money and must be lodged with the Bond Centre within the statutory time limits to protect the tenants’ interests. Lodging a bond is not a conditional obligation but a mandatory one and it is in the public interest that landlords fulfil their obligations under the Act. If no penalty is imposed there can be no deterrent.
Bearing in mind that the bond was ultimately lodged and will now be applied to arrears, I consider exemplary damages at the low end of the scale to be a just and appropriate award in this case. I therefore make an award of $250.00 exemplary damages.

Did the landlord give the notice knowing they were not entitled to do so?

Under section 60AA a landlord must not give a notice to terminate the tenancy or apply to the Tribunal for such an order, knowing they are not entitled to do so.
Breaching this obligation without a reasonable excuse is an unlawful act for which exemplary damages may be awarded up to a maximum of $6500.00. See section 60AA and Schedule 1A Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
I do not find sufficient evidence that that the landlord knew they were not entitled to give the notice. I accept their evidence that they mistakenly relied on their tenancy agreement, they did not know they could not issue the notice until they were advised by a tenancy mediator, and they rectified the situation by issuing a 90-day notice instead.
This part of the claim is dismissed. Filing fee and Name Suppression
As both parties have been partly successful, I decline to make any award from the respective filing fees. Both parties have agreed to name suppression for each other.

Tenancy Tribunal case 5458169 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Award balance

Tenancy Tribunal case 5458169 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Dismissed claims

Order

Reasons

Should the tenancy be terminated?

Did the landlord fail to provide the premises in a reasonable state of cleanliness?

Did the landlord fail to lodge the bond within the statutory time?

Did the landlord give the notice knowing they were not entitled to do so?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Claims & awards

Dismissed claims

Order

Reasons

Should the tenancy be terminated?

Did the landlord fail to provide the premises in a reasonable state of cleanliness?

Did the landlord fail to lodge the bond within the statutory time?

Did the landlord give the notice knowing they were not entitled to do so?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions