What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5476752 about?

The tribunal order states: The Tribunal orders interim suppression of the tenant’s and landlords’ name

How much money was awarded in case 5476752?

Verified claim lines are listed on this page.

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5476752?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears. Related themes: Healthy homes, Property damage, Exemplary damages, Harassment, Mould & damp, Leaks.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5476752?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/13483696-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5476752 about?

The tribunal order states: The Tribunal orders interim suppression of the tenant’s and landlords’ name

How much money was awarded in case 5476752?

Verified claim lines are listed on this page.

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5476752?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears. Related themes: Healthy homes, Property damage, Exemplary damages, Harassment, Mould & damp, Leaks.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5476752?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/13483696-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 5476752 — Rent arrears

Order

The Tribunal orders interim suppression of the tenant’s and landlords’ name and identifying details until further order.
The tenancy of [The tenant/s] is terminated at 11.59pm on Monday 27 April 2026 by written notice given by the tenant and subsequent agreement between the parties and possession is granted to [the landlord’s agent] as agent for [the landlord/s] at 11:59pm on Monday 27 April 2026.
The hearing is adjourned.
A further 360 minutes should be allowed for the next hearing of this matter, scheduled on the next available date.
If any party has any dates they want the Tribunal to seek to avoid for the next hearing they should advise Tenancy Services by 4pm on Friday 24 April 2026. This may then be accommodated so far as possible.
If any party has additional claims (which are not already set out on the application forms as presently filed or below as set out in reason 20 below) which they want dealt with at the next hearing, they must file a further application with Tenancy Services by 4pm on 6 May 2026 and refer to the current application numbers. Any further application made by the landlord should also clarify the precise nature of the compensation claims for damage to the property.
Any additional evidence relied upon by either party should be filed at least 5 days prior to the next hearing.
The landlord is to provide specific legislative references (including sections) for any claims involving unlawful use of the premises at least 5 days prior to the next hearing.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing which took place by video conference.
In advance of the hearing, I declined a request by the tenant for an adjournment because the reasons given by him for his unavailability were not sufficient to justify delaying hearing the landlord’s claim for termination. The tenant did in any event attend.
The landlord has made an application for termination of the tenancy and rent arrears and exemplary damages under various headers. The landlord also claims compensation for damage but this part of the application has not been particularised individually and the work has not yet been done.
The tenant has made a cross application for claims for compensation and exemplary damages for various breaches that include Healthy Homes Standards, mould, maintenance issues, failure to lodge the bond, fire alarms and leaks.
[The landlord’s agent] has been appointed by [The landlord/s] more recently as his agent. A claim has been bought against [The landlord’s agent] by the tenant. At this hearing the parties agreed that [The landlord/s] is to be added as a respondent party to the tenant’s application. [The landlord’s agent] has only become the landlord’s agent since March 2026 and the tenant says breaches occurred before this date. [The landlord/s] was therefore the only landlord until very recently.
I am satisfied that [The landlord/s] is an appropriate person to attend today’s hearing for the landlord. She is now [The landlord/s] agent and in any event the tenant’s claim is bought against her so she is a party herself to that claim. Both applications also exceed the $6,000 threshold set out in section 93(2) Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA) so [The landlord/s] would be entitled to representation should he want it in any event.
[The landlord/s] may wish to attend any future hearing so that he can give evidence. [The landlord’s agent] ability to give evidence of more historic events is limited given her involvement is only recent.
The time scheduled for the hearing today was not sufficient to hear all of the claims. If the tenant’s application is successful (in whole or in part) and the landlord’s monetary claim is also successful (in whole or part) there will likely be some form of set off between the parties.
Therefore, this hearing only dealt with the landlord’s application to terminate the tenancy. Landlord’s termination application
The landlord seeks termination based on the following: a. It is not disputed that the tenant continues to keep a possum as a pet at the premises. The landlord says this is in breach of the tenancy agreement/RTA and this is also an unlawful use of the premises. A 14- day notice in respect of this was sent on 3 March 2026. b. The premises are not reasonably clean and tidy. A 14-day notice in respect of this was sent on 3 March 2026. The landlord says that the property remains not reasonably clean and tidy, particularly inside. c. The tenant unlawfully used the premises by having/decommissioning numerous LPG gas bottles at the premises. A 14-day notice in respect of this was sent on 3 March 2026. I heard how the LPG bottles have since been removed. d. The tenant removed the lounge carpet and has installed new carpet that has not been installed in a way the landlord says is suitable. A 14-day notice in respect of this was sent on 3 March 2026. This has not been remedied but the tenant says this was replaced by him due to a roof leak and mould. He says he has delayed finalising it due to a leak. e. The tenant has ripped up some vinyl by the hot water cupboard and has not replaced it. A 14-day notice in respect of this was sent on 3 March 2026. The vinyl has not been remedied. The tenant says he fell through the floor ripping the covering, due to rotten flooring and this was why this occurred. He says he has replaced the floor but should not have to replace the vinyl. f. The tenant replaced a stove without the landlord’s consent and there was a subsequent fire. A 14-day notice in respect of the stove was sent on 3 March 2026. The tenant says the stove was replaced by him after the landlord was told about the existing stove not working and the landlord did not replace it. He knew the tenant had replaced the stove. The fire was an unattended pot that caught alight rather than a bigger fire or a stove fire. g. The tenant was recently visited by the fire brigade when he had a fire outside the premises – he says he was burning beehives the landlord had told him he had to dispose of. The landlord says this fire is unlawful and, although there was no damage this time, the landlord says there is a risk of substantial further damage at the premises if he does it again. This event occurred since the application was made.
The landlord did not seek to terminate the tenancy on the basis of arrears although rent arrears are sought in the application.
Since the landlord’s application was filed the tenant has given written notice to end the tenancy and the parties agree that, in any event, as a result of that notice the tenancy will end in less than a week, on Monday 27 April 2026.
Even if the landlord established that the tenant is in breach by way of the above actions, and that the tenancy should end, I am not satisfied that the position is sufficiently urgent to justify termination prior to the already agreed tenancy end date of Monday 27 April 2026.
I do not find that there are sufficient grounds for me to end the tenancy and return possession to the landlord before Monday 27 April 2026 because: a. The possum is caged outside. I do not see the possum causing any immediate risk to the property of damage or otherwise. b. The LPG bottles have been removed so that risk (if any) is now removed. c. I do not consider that there is an immediate danger that the tenant will light any further fires outside, he has been visited by the fire brigade and now understands the difference between a contained fire (in a drum – which he seemingly used to do) and uncontained fire (the way in which he was burning items when visited by the fire department because he says here his drum could not be used). He says he will not light another such fire on these premises. d. While the tenant has undertaken changes in respect of the carpet and stove and the vinyl, the position is not straightforward because the landlord also says the tenant was responsible for repair and maintenance and the tenant says there were maintenance problems with these items and that the landlord did not address these. I cannot accept that the landlord did not know about the tenant’s replacement of the stove until more recently because the landlord’s own evidence is that the old stove was collected by the landlord and taken away from the premises in or about November 2025. The tenant expressed an intention to complete the carpet work. He did not think he was liable to replace the vinyl given the circumstances in which he says it was damaged. e. With regard to the property not being reasonably clean and tidy the landlord is mainly now concerned about the interior. The tenant says the inside of the property is in such a condition because they are in the process of moving out. I accept that while a person is moving out of the home a property is more difficult to keep clean and tidy. I do not see damage being caused in the short term between now and Monday by the condition the premises is presently in. I accept that there are numerous items outside the premises that the tenant will need to remove at the end of the tenancy but I also do not see that they pose any immediate concern between now and Monday.
The landlord’s application to terminate the tenancy sooner than Monday 27 April 2026 is therefore dismissed. However, I have made an order that the tenancy will terminate and possession return to the landlord at 11.59pm on Monday 27 April 2026 because the parties agree that this is the case following the tenant’s notice to end the tenancy.
For the sake of completeness, at the end of the hearing, by way of additional overall information the landlord also referred to the tenant putting a printout of a hearing statement in a neighbour’s letter box with “lies” written on it. The landlord says this is intimidating the neighbours. The tenant says that he printed off the statement the neighbour had prepared for this hearing, and had written on it asking if the person could please approach him in the future instead of lying to the landlord – he had not written just “lies” in a threatening way. He says what was said in the statement was not completely true. There was insufficient evidence before me to establish a breach to justify termination here (indeed it was unclear if this as a termination ground or if it was just for additional information). In any event, no notice had been given to the tenant in relation to the behaviour (e.g. no 14-day notice). This action also did not form part of the original application. Next steps and the next hearing
The tenant should vacate the premises by 11.59pm on Monday 27 April 2026 in accordance with the notice.
The remainder of the landlord’s application is adjourned. The whole of the tenant’s application is still to be heard.
The next hearing will take place as a face-to face-hearing rather than a remote hearing. This is because of the complexity of the matter, the fact there are many different claims, the number of documents filed and the tenant’s ability to only follow a remote hearing on a telephone (making document management additionally difficult). The outstanding claims will be heard afresh by the adjudicator who is available at the scheduled time at that court.
The following issues remain to be determined in relation to the landlord application: a) Exemplary damages for: i. Keeping of bees (breach regarding pets and unlawful use of premises) ii. Keeping of possum as a pet (breach regarding pets and unlawful use of premises) iii. LPG bottles (breach regarding unlawful use of premises and breach of neighbours’ quiet enjoyment, health and safety risk) iv. Keeping a second cat without landlord permission v. Having pets inside causing damage vi. Failing to do repairs that were agreed to be done (added to the application at the hearing) vii. Failing to notify landlord of need for repairs (added to the application at the hearing) b) Rent arrears (an updated summary should be provided in advance of the next hearing) c) Compensation for repairs - $5000
The landlord indicated there were other claims it was going to pursue (such as agreed repairs that the landlord says had not been done by the tenant) that were not set out in the landlord’s present application. If the landlord has other claims that are not listed in paragraph 20 above, then a new application must be filed by 4pm on 6 May 2026 setting out those additional claims. That application will then be heard at the same time as the existing applications.
In making that application, as well as detailing any additional claims, the landlord should specify in greater detail what the claim for compensation for repairs is for and the sum sought in respect of each individual repair (rather than a lump sum claim for damage as presently done).
The landlord should also provide specific legislative references (including sections of applicable acts) to support any claims relating to unlawful use of the premises (such as the keeping of a possum as a pet and the storing/treatment of the LPG bottles and the bee keeping). Suppression and filing fee
The Tribunal must, on the application of a party that has wholly or substantially succeeded in proceedings, order that the party’s name or identifying particulars not be published, unless the Tribunal considers that publication is in the public interest or is justified because of the party’s conduct or any other circumstances of the case (section 95A RTA). The Tribunal awards interim name suppression to both parties. It is not yet clear which party will be the substantially successful party.
The Tribunal will also decide the reimbursement of the filing fee after the applications have been heard.

Tenancy Tribunal case 5476752 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 5476752 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions