What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5512742 about?

The tribunal order states: The application for termination is dismissed.

How much money was awarded in case 5512742?

Electricity: 28/04/2026 - 01/05/2026: $27.02 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $28.00 awarded to landlord; Purchase Of Furniture: $1,290.00 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $2,500.00 awarded to landlord; Water Rates: $358.52 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5512742?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5512742?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/13855290-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5512742 about?

The tribunal order states: The application for termination is dismissed.

How much money was awarded in case 5512742?

Electricity: 28/04/2026 - 01/05/2026: $27.02 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $28.00 awarded to landlord; Purchase Of Furniture: $1,290.00 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $2,500.00 awarded to landlord; Water Rates: $358.52 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5512742?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5512742?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/13855290-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

Unit/Flat 3, 21 Glen Avenue, Papatoetoe, Auckland 2025 Tenancy Tribunal Case 5512742 — Rent arrears

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5512742 — net $4,203.54 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 6 July 2026	$2,500.00	Rent arrears to 6 July 2026
Purchase of furniture	$1,290.00	Purchase of furniture
Water rates: 28/04/2026 - 30/06/2026	$358.52	Water rates: 28/04/2026 - 30/06/2026
Electricity: 28/04/2026 - 01/05/2026	$27.02	Electricity: 28/04/2026 - 01/05/2026
Filing fee reimbursement	$28.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$4,203.54
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$4,203.54

Order

The application for termination is dismissed.
[The tenant/s], [The tenant/s], [The tenant/s] and [The tenant/s] must pay [The landlord/s] $4,203.54 immediately, calculated as shown in the table below.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing on 6 July 2026.
The tenancy began on 28 April 2026. The landlord seeks an order terminating the tenancy. They also seek rent arrears and outgoings. The tenant opposes the landlord’s application and claims that the landlord’s rent summary is inaccurate.
As the applicant, the landlord must prove their claim to the civil law standard of proof, on the balance of probabilities. This means that they must establish that what they are claiming is more likely than not. This is referred to as the “burden of proof.” Independent witnesses, corroborating documents and photographs are an important part of discharging this burden.
As noted by the District Court in Katipo v Clarke & McCarthy (DC) TT233/02, in practical terms this means that: ...[L]ike anyone who brings an application before a Tribunal or Court, it is incumbent upon the applicant to provide the evidence necessary to prove the case. If the applicant fails to do that, then their application will be dismissed whether it has merit of not because it is up to the applicant to provide the necessary evidence. It is not up to the other parties, and it is certainly not up to the Tribunal to extract evidence.
I do not need to be completely certain, but I need to be more certain than uncertain. In deciding any particular claim, I must consider all the evidence presented (including oral evidence at the hearing). I must weigh this evidence to decide what is more likely.

Should the tenancy be terminated?

The law

The Tribunal may end a tenancy for rent arrears in the following circumstances: a. Where rent is at least 21 days in arrears on the date the application is filed. 1 b. Where a landlord applies to end the tenancy under section 56 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA) and, at the date of the hearing, rent is at least 21 days in arrears. 2 c. Where a tenant has fallen into rent arrears and has failed to remedy the breach within at least 14 days of the landlord sending the tenant a notice to 1 Residential Tenancies Act 1986, section 55(1)(a). 2 Residential Tenancies Act 1986, section 56(2). remedy. The Tribunal may end the tenancy in these circumstances, provided it considers it would be inequitable to refuse to terminate the tenancy. 3 Evidence and submissions of the parties
The landlord filed their application on 24 April 2026. They claim rent was at least 21 days in arrears on this date. They also claim that they issued the tenant with a 14-day notice on 8 May 2026, requiring them to pay $2,280.00 in rent arrears by 22 May 2026. The landlord claims the tenant did not remedy the breach within the required timeframe and it would be inequitable to refuse to terminate the tenancy. The landlord points to the issue of continued missed or late rent payments, as well as the fact that the tenant owes outstanding water rates and electricity invoices.
According to the landlord’s evidence, the rent summary should read as follows: Due dateRent periodAmount due Amount paid Date paidArrears 27/04/2628/04/26 – 04/05/26 $1300$320.0029/04/2026$980.00 04/05/2605/05/26 – 11/05/26 $1300$0$2,280.00 11/05/2612/05/26 – 18/05/26 $1300$0$3,580.00 18/05/2619/05/26 – 25/05/26 $1300$0$4,880.00 25/05/2626/05/26 – 01/06/26 $1300$4,880.0029/05/26$1,300.00 01/06/2602/06/26 – 08/06/26 $1300$0$2,600.00 08/06/2609/06/26 – 15/06/26 $1300$1400$2,500.00 15/06/2616/06/26 – 22/06/26 $1300$0$3,800.00 3 Residential Tenancies Act 1986, section 56(1)(b) & (c). 22/06/2623/06/26 – 29/06/26 $1300$130025/06/26$3,800.00 29/06/2630/06/26 – 06/07/26 $1300$130002/07/26$3,800.00 06/07/2607/07/26 – 13/07/26 $1300
The tenant claims that rent arrears are higher than what they should be, because the landlord has allocated their payment of one weeks’ rent in advance to the purchase of furniture. The tenant claims that they agreed to purchase some furniture from the landlord for $1,290.00 at the beginning of the tenancy. They claim that they paid the landlord $5,200.00 for the bond and $1,300.00 for rent in advance on 21 April 2026. The tenant claims that the payment of rent in advance has been allocated by the landlord towards the purchase of furniture without the tenant’s permission. The landlord claims that they had the tenant’s permission to do this.
According to the tenant, the rent summary should read as follows: Due dateRent periodAmount due Amount paid Date paidArrears 27/04/2628/04/26 – 04/05/26 $1300 $1300.00 (rent in advance) 21/04/2026-$320.00 $320.0029/04/2026 04/05/2605/05/26 – 11/05/26 $1300$0$980.00 11/05/2612/05/26 – 18/05/26 $1300$0$2,280.00 18/05/2619/05/26 – 25/05/26 $1300$0$3,580.00 25/05/2626/05/26 – 01/06/26 $1300$4,880.0029/05/26$0.00 01/06/2602/06/26 – 08/06/26 $1300$0$1,300.00 08/06/2609/06/26 – 15/06/26 $1300$1400$1,200.00 15/06/2616/06/26 – 22/06/26 $1300$0$2,500.00 22/06/2623/06/26 – 29/06/26 $1300$130025/06/26$2,500.00 29/06/2630/06/26 – 06/07/26 $1300$130002/07/26$2,500.00 06/07/2607/07/26 – 13/07/26 $1300 Analysis
The first issue I must determine is whose version of the rent summary is correct.
The tenant submitted a letter from the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) dated 21 April 2026. The letter confirms that MSD made two payments to the landlord on behalf of the tenant on this date. The payments are recorded as being $5,200.00 for a “HSP Bond Grant” and $1,300.00 for a “HSP Rent in Advance Grant.” The description of the payments makes it clear that the purpose of the payment of $1,300.00 was for one weeks’ rent in advance. The landlord bares the onus of proving, on the balance of probabilities, that the tenant permitted them to allocate this money towards the purchase of furniture. The tenant denies this was the case and the landlord has not submitted any supporting evidence such as, email or text message correspondence from the tenant, to suggest otherwise. In the absence of any supporting evidence, I am not convinced the tenant permitted the landlord to divert their payment of one weeks rent in advance towards the purchase of furniture. For this reason, I find the landlord’s rent summary to be inaccurate, because it does not include the payment of one weeks’ rent in advance. I find the tenant’s version of the rent summary to be correct and base my decision upon this version of the rent summary.
The landlord filed their application on 24 May 2026. Rent arrears were $3,394.29 (18 days) on this date. Because rent was not at least 21 days in arrears on the date the application was filed, I cannot terminate the tenancy under section 55(1)(a) RTA.
Rent arrears are $2,500.00 (13 days) on the date of the hearing. Because rent is not at least 21 days in arrears on the date of the hearing, I cannot terminate the tenancy under section 56(2) RTA.
I now turn to consider whether I can terminate the tenancy under section 56(1)(b) RTA and the landlord’s 14-day notice dated 8 May 2026. The notice states that the tenant owes $2,280.00 in rent arrears and requires the tenant to pay this amount by 22 May 2026. The problem for the landlord is that rent arrears were not $2,280.00 on 8 May 2026. They were $422.87. Because the 14-day notice does not refer to the correct amount of rent arrears, I cannot terminate the tenancy for failure by the tenant to pay $2,280.00 by 22 May 2026.
For all of these reasons, the landlord’s application to terminate the tenancy is dismissed. The tenant should beware however, that rent arrears are near the threshold required for the Tribunal to end the tenancy. It is in the tenant’s best interests to pay their rent consistently and on time in the future.

How much does the tenant owe in rent arrears?

The accurate version of the rent summary records rent arrears are $2,500.00 up to 6 July 2026. The landlord’s claim for rent arrears is granted for this amount. Can the landlord charge the tenant a late fee for delayed or missed rental payments? The law
Any agreement or arrangement entered into in respect of a tenancy to which the RTA applies that is inconsistent with the provisions of the RTA is of no effect unless: 4 a. The inconsistency is expressly permitted by the RTA; or b. The Tribunal is satisfied that, having regard to the nature of the tenancy, the provisions of the tenancy agreement, the interests of the parties, and all other relevant circumstances of the case, the inconsistency should be permitted. Analysis
The landlord seeks to recover a penalty fee for the late and missed payments of rent by the tenant. Clause 2 of the tenancy agreement states: The weekly rent is $1300, and shall be paid weekly in advance as per date of your rent cycle. Rent must be paid without deduction, set-off or delay - $13/day late fee apply for payment after due date, default/arrears exceeding 10 days could warrant 4 Residential Tenancies Act 1986, section 11. terminating this tenancy. General bond is $5200; pets bond is $0, and total bond is $5200. Redirection is essential for WINZ clients. Payment is via bank transactions only, no cash.
This clause is inconsistent with the RTA, which only requires a tenant to pay rent as and when it is due and payable under the tenancy agreement. 5 The RTA does not require tenants to pay late fees for delayed or missed rental payments and there is no provision permitting landlords to charge such a fee. I decline to permit the inconsistency for the following reasons: a. If Parliament intended tenants to pay late fees when rent was missed or paid late, they would have included such a provision in the RTA. The fact that they did not indicates that Parliament did not intend for landlords to be able to charge this kind of fee.
I find clause 2 of the tenancy agreement is inconsistent with the RTA and not enforceable. For this reason, the landlord’s application for penalty fees for late or missed rental payments is dismissed.

How much does the tenant owe in outstanding water rates invoices?

The landlord submitted copies of three invoices from Watercare dated 4 May 2026, 29 May 2026 and 1 July 2026. These invoices cover water consumed at the premises from 31 March 2026 – 30 June 2026.
The tenancy began on 28 April 2026 and the parties agree that a water meter reading was completed on this date with a reading 2315. The invoice dated 1 July 2026 states that an actual water meter reading was also completed on 30 June 2026. The reading on this date was 2372. It follows that the tenant has consumed 57 kilolitres of water from 28 April 2026 – 30 June 2026, which equates to a total of $358.52 in water and wastewater consumption.
The tenant accepts they have not made any payments towards water rates invoices since the beginning of the tenancy.
For these reasons, I find the tenant owes $358.52 in outstanding water rates invoices for the period 28 April 2026 – 30 June 2026. Moving forward, the tenant should pay the monthly water rates invoices issued by Watercare in full, excluding the fixed wastewater fee.

How much does the tenant owe in outstanding electricity invoices?

Sections 39(3) and (4) RTA state that the tenant is responsible for all electricity charges incurred during the tenancy, in respect of the premises. 5 Residential Tenancies Act 1986, section 40(1)(a).
The tenancy began on 28 April 2026. The landlord did not cancel their electricity account with Mercury until 1 May 2026. The tenant is responsible for electricity used at the premises between 28 April 2026 – 1 May 2026.
The landlord submitted a copy of an invoice from Mercury for the period 10 April 2026 – 1 May 2026.
The parties agree that a reading was taken of the electricity meter at the premises on 28 April 2026. The reading was 5.4kWh. According to the invoice from Mercury, the reading on 1 May 2026 was 73.6kWh. It follows that the tenant used
6kWh between 28 April 2026 and 1 May 2026, which equates to $27.02.
The landlord’s claim for outstanding electricity invoices is granted for $27.02. How much does the tenant owe the landlord for furniture purchased at the beginning of the tenancy?
The parties agree that the tenant purchased furniture from the landlord for $1,290.00 at the beginning of the tenancy. The tenant accepts that they have still not paid this. For this reason, I order the tenant to pay the landlord $1,290.00 for the furniture purchased at the beginning of the tenancy. Filing fee
The landlord has been substantially successful with their claim. Therefore, I order the tenant to reimburse the filing fee.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5512742 — net $4,203.54 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 6 July 2026	$2,500.00	Rent arrears to 6 July 2026
Purchase of furniture	$1,290.00	Purchase of furniture
Water rates: 28/04/2026 - 30/06/2026	$358.52	Water rates: 28/04/2026 - 30/06/2026
Electricity: 28/04/2026 - 01/05/2026	$27.02	Electricity: 28/04/2026 - 01/05/2026
Filing fee reimbursement	$28.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$4,203.54
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$4,203.54

Order

The application for termination is dismissed.
[The tenant/s], [The tenant/s], [The tenant/s] and [The tenant/s] must pay [The landlord/s] $4,203.54 immediately, calculated as shown in the table below.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing on 6 July 2026.
The tenancy began on 28 April 2026. The landlord seeks an order terminating the tenancy. They also seek rent arrears and outgoings. The tenant opposes the landlord’s application and claims that the landlord’s rent summary is inaccurate.
As the applicant, the landlord must prove their claim to the civil law standard of proof, on the balance of probabilities. This means that they must establish that what they are claiming is more likely than not. This is referred to as the “burden of proof.” Independent witnesses, corroborating documents and photographs are an important part of discharging this burden.
As noted by the District Court in Katipo v Clarke & McCarthy (DC) TT233/02, in practical terms this means that: ...[L]ike anyone who brings an application before a Tribunal or Court, it is incumbent upon the applicant to provide the evidence necessary to prove the case. If the applicant fails to do that, then their application will be dismissed whether it has merit of not because it is up to the applicant to provide the necessary evidence. It is not up to the other parties, and it is certainly not up to the Tribunal to extract evidence.
I do not need to be completely certain, but I need to be more certain than uncertain. In deciding any particular claim, I must consider all the evidence presented (including oral evidence at the hearing). I must weigh this evidence to decide what is more likely.

Should the tenancy be terminated?

The law

The Tribunal may end a tenancy for rent arrears in the following circumstances: a. Where rent is at least 21 days in arrears on the date the application is filed. 1 b. Where a landlord applies to end the tenancy under section 56 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA) and, at the date of the hearing, rent is at least 21 days in arrears. 2 c. Where a tenant has fallen into rent arrears and has failed to remedy the breach within at least 14 days of the landlord sending the tenant a notice to 1 Residential Tenancies Act 1986, section 55(1)(a). 2 Residential Tenancies Act 1986, section 56(2). remedy. The Tribunal may end the tenancy in these circumstances, provided it considers it would be inequitable to refuse to terminate the tenancy. 3 Evidence and submissions of the parties
The landlord filed their application on 24 April 2026. They claim rent was at least 21 days in arrears on this date. They also claim that they issued the tenant with a 14-day notice on 8 May 2026, requiring them to pay $2,280.00 in rent arrears by 22 May 2026. The landlord claims the tenant did not remedy the breach within the required timeframe and it would be inequitable to refuse to terminate the tenancy. The landlord points to the issue of continued missed or late rent payments, as well as the fact that the tenant owes outstanding water rates and electricity invoices.
According to the landlord’s evidence, the rent summary should read as follows: Due dateRent periodAmount due Amount paid Date paidArrears 27/04/2628/04/26 – 04/05/26 $1300$320.0029/04/2026$980.00 04/05/2605/05/26 – 11/05/26 $1300$0$2,280.00 11/05/2612/05/26 – 18/05/26 $1300$0$3,580.00 18/05/2619/05/26 – 25/05/26 $1300$0$4,880.00 25/05/2626/05/26 – 01/06/26 $1300$4,880.0029/05/26$1,300.00 01/06/2602/06/26 – 08/06/26 $1300$0$2,600.00 08/06/2609/06/26 – 15/06/26 $1300$1400$2,500.00 15/06/2616/06/26 – 22/06/26 $1300$0$3,800.00 3 Residential Tenancies Act 1986, section 56(1)(b) & (c). 22/06/2623/06/26 – 29/06/26 $1300$130025/06/26$3,800.00 29/06/2630/06/26 – 06/07/26 $1300$130002/07/26$3,800.00 06/07/2607/07/26 – 13/07/26 $1300
The tenant claims that rent arrears are higher than what they should be, because the landlord has allocated their payment of one weeks’ rent in advance to the purchase of furniture. The tenant claims that they agreed to purchase some furniture from the landlord for $1,290.00 at the beginning of the tenancy. They claim that they paid the landlord $5,200.00 for the bond and $1,300.00 for rent in advance on 21 April 2026. The tenant claims that the payment of rent in advance has been allocated by the landlord towards the purchase of furniture without the tenant’s permission. The landlord claims that they had the tenant’s permission to do this.
According to the tenant, the rent summary should read as follows: Due dateRent periodAmount due Amount paid Date paidArrears 27/04/2628/04/26 – 04/05/26 $1300 $1300.00 (rent in advance) 21/04/2026-$320.00 $320.0029/04/2026 04/05/2605/05/26 – 11/05/26 $1300$0$980.00 11/05/2612/05/26 – 18/05/26 $1300$0$2,280.00 18/05/2619/05/26 – 25/05/26 $1300$0$3,580.00 25/05/2626/05/26 – 01/06/26 $1300$4,880.0029/05/26$0.00 01/06/2602/06/26 – 08/06/26 $1300$0$1,300.00 08/06/2609/06/26 – 15/06/26 $1300$1400$1,200.00 15/06/2616/06/26 – 22/06/26 $1300$0$2,500.00 22/06/2623/06/26 – 29/06/26 $1300$130025/06/26$2,500.00 29/06/2630/06/26 – 06/07/26 $1300$130002/07/26$2,500.00 06/07/2607/07/26 – 13/07/26 $1300 Analysis
The first issue I must determine is whose version of the rent summary is correct.
The tenant submitted a letter from the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) dated 21 April 2026. The letter confirms that MSD made two payments to the landlord on behalf of the tenant on this date. The payments are recorded as being $5,200.00 for a “HSP Bond Grant” and $1,300.00 for a “HSP Rent in Advance Grant.” The description of the payments makes it clear that the purpose of the payment of $1,300.00 was for one weeks’ rent in advance. The landlord bares the onus of proving, on the balance of probabilities, that the tenant permitted them to allocate this money towards the purchase of furniture. The tenant denies this was the case and the landlord has not submitted any supporting evidence such as, email or text message correspondence from the tenant, to suggest otherwise. In the absence of any supporting evidence, I am not convinced the tenant permitted the landlord to divert their payment of one weeks rent in advance towards the purchase of furniture. For this reason, I find the landlord’s rent summary to be inaccurate, because it does not include the payment of one weeks’ rent in advance. I find the tenant’s version of the rent summary to be correct and base my decision upon this version of the rent summary.
The landlord filed their application on 24 May 2026. Rent arrears were $3,394.29 (18 days) on this date. Because rent was not at least 21 days in arrears on the date the application was filed, I cannot terminate the tenancy under section 55(1)(a) RTA.
Rent arrears are $2,500.00 (13 days) on the date of the hearing. Because rent is not at least 21 days in arrears on the date of the hearing, I cannot terminate the tenancy under section 56(2) RTA.
I now turn to consider whether I can terminate the tenancy under section 56(1)(b) RTA and the landlord’s 14-day notice dated 8 May 2026. The notice states that the tenant owes $2,280.00 in rent arrears and requires the tenant to pay this amount by 22 May 2026. The problem for the landlord is that rent arrears were not $2,280.00 on 8 May 2026. They were $422.87. Because the 14-day notice does not refer to the correct amount of rent arrears, I cannot terminate the tenancy for failure by the tenant to pay $2,280.00 by 22 May 2026.
For all of these reasons, the landlord’s application to terminate the tenancy is dismissed. The tenant should beware however, that rent arrears are near the threshold required for the Tribunal to end the tenancy. It is in the tenant’s best interests to pay their rent consistently and on time in the future.

How much does the tenant owe in rent arrears?

The accurate version of the rent summary records rent arrears are $2,500.00 up to 6 July 2026. The landlord’s claim for rent arrears is granted for this amount. Can the landlord charge the tenant a late fee for delayed or missed rental payments? The law
Any agreement or arrangement entered into in respect of a tenancy to which the RTA applies that is inconsistent with the provisions of the RTA is of no effect unless: 4 a. The inconsistency is expressly permitted by the RTA; or b. The Tribunal is satisfied that, having regard to the nature of the tenancy, the provisions of the tenancy agreement, the interests of the parties, and all other relevant circumstances of the case, the inconsistency should be permitted. Analysis
The landlord seeks to recover a penalty fee for the late and missed payments of rent by the tenant. Clause 2 of the tenancy agreement states: The weekly rent is $1300, and shall be paid weekly in advance as per date of your rent cycle. Rent must be paid without deduction, set-off or delay - $13/day late fee apply for payment after due date, default/arrears exceeding 10 days could warrant 4 Residential Tenancies Act 1986, section 11. terminating this tenancy. General bond is $5200; pets bond is $0, and total bond is $5200. Redirection is essential for WINZ clients. Payment is via bank transactions only, no cash.
This clause is inconsistent with the RTA, which only requires a tenant to pay rent as and when it is due and payable under the tenancy agreement. 5 The RTA does not require tenants to pay late fees for delayed or missed rental payments and there is no provision permitting landlords to charge such a fee. I decline to permit the inconsistency for the following reasons: a. If Parliament intended tenants to pay late fees when rent was missed or paid late, they would have included such a provision in the RTA. The fact that they did not indicates that Parliament did not intend for landlords to be able to charge this kind of fee.
I find clause 2 of the tenancy agreement is inconsistent with the RTA and not enforceable. For this reason, the landlord’s application for penalty fees for late or missed rental payments is dismissed.

How much does the tenant owe in outstanding water rates invoices?

The landlord submitted copies of three invoices from Watercare dated 4 May 2026, 29 May 2026 and 1 July 2026. These invoices cover water consumed at the premises from 31 March 2026 – 30 June 2026.
The tenancy began on 28 April 2026 and the parties agree that a water meter reading was completed on this date with a reading 2315. The invoice dated 1 July 2026 states that an actual water meter reading was also completed on 30 June 2026. The reading on this date was 2372. It follows that the tenant has consumed 57 kilolitres of water from 28 April 2026 – 30 June 2026, which equates to a total of $358.52 in water and wastewater consumption.
The tenant accepts they have not made any payments towards water rates invoices since the beginning of the tenancy.
For these reasons, I find the tenant owes $358.52 in outstanding water rates invoices for the period 28 April 2026 – 30 June 2026. Moving forward, the tenant should pay the monthly water rates invoices issued by Watercare in full, excluding the fixed wastewater fee.

How much does the tenant owe in outstanding electricity invoices?

Sections 39(3) and (4) RTA state that the tenant is responsible for all electricity charges incurred during the tenancy, in respect of the premises. 5 Residential Tenancies Act 1986, section 40(1)(a).
The tenancy began on 28 April 2026. The landlord did not cancel their electricity account with Mercury until 1 May 2026. The tenant is responsible for electricity used at the premises between 28 April 2026 – 1 May 2026.
The landlord submitted a copy of an invoice from Mercury for the period 10 April 2026 – 1 May 2026.
The parties agree that a reading was taken of the electricity meter at the premises on 28 April 2026. The reading was 5.4kWh. According to the invoice from Mercury, the reading on 1 May 2026 was 73.6kWh. It follows that the tenant used
6kWh between 28 April 2026 and 1 May 2026, which equates to $27.02.
The landlord’s claim for outstanding electricity invoices is granted for $27.02. How much does the tenant owe the landlord for furniture purchased at the beginning of the tenancy?
The parties agree that the tenant purchased furniture from the landlord for $1,290.00 at the beginning of the tenancy. The tenant accepts that they have still not paid this. For this reason, I order the tenant to pay the landlord $1,290.00 for the furniture purchased at the beginning of the tenancy. Filing fee
The landlord has been substantially successful with their claim. Therefore, I order the tenant to reimburse the filing fee.

Tenancy Tribunal case 5512742 — Rent arrears at Unit/Flat 3, 21 Glen Avenue, Papatoetoe, Auckland 2025

At a glance

Award balance

Tenancy Tribunal case 5512742 — Rent arrears at Unit/Flat 3, 21 Glen Avenue, Papatoetoe, Auckland 2025

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Should the tenancy be terminated?

How much does the tenant owe in rent arrears?

How much does the tenant owe in outstanding water rates invoices?

How much does the tenant owe in outstanding electricity invoices?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Should the tenancy be terminated?

How much does the tenant owe in rent arrears?

How much does the tenant owe in outstanding water rates invoices?

How much does the tenant owe in outstanding electricity invoices?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions