Published tribunal order
Tenancy Tribunal case 5488069 — Rent arrears at 12 Williams Avenue, Kaikohe, Kaikohe 0405
Decided 4 Jun 2026 · Published 4 Jun 2026 · Application 5488069
- Rent arrears
Order
- [The tenant/s] and [The tenant/s] owe Land Information New Zealand $3,152.81 being rent arrears of $3,124.81 for the period ending Thursday 4 June 2026 and the Tribunal application fee of $28.00 (“the debt”).
- [The tenant/s] and [The tenant/s] must pay debt in full to Colliers NZ Limited and Land Information NZ on or before Friday 19 June 2026. This payment is in addition to normal fortnightly rent of $900.00. The next payment of normal rent is due on Friday 5 June 2026 and payment must continue on or before every second Friday.
- Any payments made will first be credited to the normal fortnightly rent, then to the rent arrears, and then to the application fee.
- Failure to pay to pay the normal fortnightly rent and the rent arrears as set out in order 2 within two working days of the due date(s) will result in termination of the tenancy with possession returning to the landlord and all monies still owing will be payable immediately. This order applies until the debt is paid in full.
- Failure to pay the application fee within two working days of the due date with result in the application fee being payable immediately.
Reasons
- Both parties attended the hearing. Mr Ford from Colliers NZ Limited represented the landlord, Land Information NZ (LINZ). I am satisfied that Mr Collier had the authority of LINZ to represent it. Ms Harris also attended and was assisted by Ms Sarah Kennedy.
- Ms Harris was more than 21 days in arrears with rent on the date of the application. This means that the landlord is entitled to an order terminating the tenancy: s 55(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
- The arrears arose due to an increase in the rent to $900 per fortnight with effect from 13 February 2026. Ms Harris disputes liability to pay the increased rent because the notice of the rent increase issued on 10 December 2025 was not served correctly on her. The notice was sent to her by email and couriered to both the tenancy address and the address for service provided in the tenancy agreement. Ms Harris claims that she did not receive the couriered notices however she accepts that she received the notice emailed to her on 10 December. I am therefore satisfied that that the notice was correctly served and the rent increase is valid.
- The landlord sought immediate termination of the tenancy. However, given the particular circumstances here I consider it appropriate to give Ms Harris a short period of time to pay the arrears to avoid her tenancy ending.
- The conditional termination order will lapse if it is fully complied with. If Ms Harris breaches the order, the possession order may be enforced for 90 days from the first breach: section 64(4)(b) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.