Published tribunal order
Tenancy Tribunal case 5506510 — Cleanliness at 15 Rowses Road, Aranui, Christchurch 8061
Decided 4 Aug 2026 · Published 4 Aug 2026 · Application 5506510
- Cleanliness
- Rent arrears
Order
- [The tenant/s] tenant/s] must pay Progressive Realty Limited as the agent for Paul Daigneault $2,317.17 immediately, calculated as shown in the table below.
- The landlord’s claims are otherwise dismissed.
- The Bond Centre must pay the landlord $795 bond immediately.
Reasons
- Both parties attended the hearing. Representatives of Progressive Realty attended for the landlord. The tenant attended by telephone.
- The landlord has applied for rent arrears, compensation, payment of the bond, and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy.
- When I refer to the landlord in this decision, I mean the landlord Mr Daigneault, not Progressive Realty. Background
- This tenancy began in 2008 and ended on 18 January 2026. It was therefore a tenancy of approximately 17 years. The premises include a 1960’s house that appears to have been largely in its original condition when it was let to the tenant. There was no evidence of when the landlord bought it, but there is no evidence that it has changed hands since it was built.
- The premises suffered some cosmetic damage during the Canterbury earthquakes and some walls and ceilings were repaired and painted or wallpapered at the beginning of 2012, 14 years before the tenancy ended.
- The tenant lived in the premises with her two sons and her mother also lived with her for a time.
- The tenant said that windows and doors in the premises were not in good condition during the tenancy and they allowed draughts which resulted in the premises being cold and damp and caused mould to accumulate. She said that she cleaned down walls to remove mould from time to time.
- Progressive denied that the premises were not properly maintained. They said that mould did accumulate on walls, and they raised the issue with the tenant at times. They said that the premises would become cluttered and that contributed to the accumulation of mould.
- The landlord ended the tenancy by serving a 90-day notice. It was his intention to sell the premises, and they have since been sold.
- The landlord carried out an extensive renovation of the premises before selling them. They were painted throughout and the selling agent’s photographs of them show them to be very well presented for sale. There was new flooring in the kitchen, bathroom, toilet, entrance and laundry, new LED downlighting, and new curtains and laundry, new kitchen benchtops, sink and tapware, and bathroom fittings.
- The tenant suffered from mobility issues at the end of the tenancy, and she accepts that she was not able to complete the cleaning and tidying of the premises.
- The tenant raised some other issues concerning the landlord’s conduct, but I cannot consider those because there is no tenant application. Rent
- The landlord provided rent records which the tenant did not dispute. I have therefore awarded the rent arrears as claimed. The Tenant’s Other Obligations and Law
- At the end of the tenancy the tenant must leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy and remove all rubbish.
- The tenant must not carelessly or intentionally damage the premises.
- A landlord must prove that damage to the premises occurred during the tenancy and is more than fair wear and tear. If this is established, to avoid liability, the tenant must prove they did not carelessly or intentionally cause or permit the damage. Tenants are liable for the actions of people at the premises with their permission.
- Where the damage is caused carelessly, and is covered by the landlord's insurance, the tenant's liability is limited to the lesser of the insurance excess or four weeks' rent (or four weeks' market rent in the case of a tenant paying income-related rent).
- Where the damage is careless and is not covered by the landlord's insurance, the tenant's liability is limited to four weeks' rent (or market rent).
- Tenants are liable for the cost of repairing damage that is intentional or which results from any activity at the premises that is an imprisonable offence.
- Damage is intentional where a person intends to cause damage and takes the necessary steps to achieve that purpose. Damage is also intentional where a person does something, or allows a situation to continue, knowing that damage is a certainty. Betterment/Depreciation
- The landlord should be returned to the position they would have been in had the tenant not breached their obligations and should not be better or worse off. In calculating depreciation, the Tribunal considers the age and condition of the items at the start of the tenancy and their likely useful lifespan.
- There are various sources for depreciation rates including the IRD’s tables and there are individual factors that need to be considered. As a starting point carpets and walls (whether painted or wallpapered) can be expected to last up to 15 years before they need replacing or redecoration. Curtains can generally be expected to last 8 years. Claims Rubbish
- I have made an award based on the photographs showing the rubbish left at the premises and my assessment of the time it should reasonably have taken the landlord to remove and dump the rubbish. I have compensated the landlord for his time at the rate of $30 per hour. I have also awarded the dump fees that were proved by the production of receipts.
- I have not awarded anything for trailer hire because there was no evidence of the cost. The tenant said that the landlord has his own trailer. Bark Chips
- There was no evidence that the tenant was responsible for the loss of bark chips from the garden and so this claim is dismissed. Window Damage
- There was no evidence that windows were damaged during the tenancy and so this claim is dismissed. Garage Door
- There was no evidence that windows were damaged during the tenancy and so this claim is dismissed. Curtains
- The curtains were at the end of their life when the tenancy ended and so no award would have been justified even in normal circumstances. The landlord would no doubt have replaced the curtains to present the house for sale in any event. This claim is therefore dismissed. Cleaning and Painting
- Progressive said that if the walls had been left in reasonable condition, the landlord would have sold the premises without painting them. I am sceptical of that. It does of course depend on what a reasonable condition means in practice. After 14 years of tenant occupation, fair wear and tear is likely to leave walls in a condition that many owners would not want to present to prospective purchasers.
- I must also consider the extent of the renovation. Is it likely that the landlord would have left the walls, even if left clean, in their original condition? After 14 years of tenant occupation, leaving the walls like that would have been out of keeping with the other improvements that were made to the house to present it for sale. It is also likely that painting the walls and the woodwork, would have added value to the house above the cost of the painting.
- I accept that the landlord is entitled to compensation to some extent for cleaning the premises. Some cleaning would have been needed in any case to prepare the premises for painting, but additional cleaning would have been needed to remove mould from the walls. The tenant suggested the the mould was the result of the landlord’s failure to maintain the premises, but the evidence did not prove that. The tenant also failed to carry out the general cleaning that was required. I must bear in mind that the requirement is to leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy.
- Based on the photographs produced, and the extent of cleaning and mould removal required, I assess reasonable compensation for cleaning the premises to the required standard, including materials and travel at $2,000. Filing Fee
- The landlord has had some success and so I award the filing fee.
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