What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5514442 about?

The tribunal order states: [The tenant/s] tenant/s] must pay Otautahi Community Housing Trust $1,028.00

How much money was awarded in case 5514442?

Filing Fee: $28.00 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $1,352.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5514442?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5514442?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/14144943-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 5514442 about?

The tribunal order states: [The tenant/s] tenant/s] must pay Otautahi Community Housing Trust $1,028.00

How much money was awarded in case 5514442?

Filing Fee: $28.00 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $1,352.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5514442?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5514442?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/14144943-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

9 Roimata Place, Woolston, Christchurch 8023 Tenancy Tribunal Case 5514442 — Rent arrears

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9 Roimata Place, Woolston, Christchurch 8023 Tenancy Tribunal Case 5514442 — Rent arrears | TenantCheck

Claims & awards

What this tenancy cost at tribunal — claim, category, amount, and party awarded, with reconciled net total.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5514442 — net $1,028.00 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Tenant	Reason
Rent arrears to 1 March 2026	$1,352.00		Rent arrears to 1 March 2026
Filing fee reimbursement	$28.00		Filing fee reimbursement
Bond refunded to the landlord		$352.00	Bond refunded to the landlord
Total award	$1,380.00	$352.00
Net award	$1,028.00
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$1,028.00

Claims and awards for application 5514442 — net $1,028.00 NZD. Verify on MoJ.

Rent arrears to 1 March 2026

Amount: $1,352.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Rent arrears to 1 March 2026

Filing fee reimbursement

Amount: $28.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Filing fee reimbursement

Bond refunded to the landlord

Amount: $352.00
Awarded to: Tenant
Reason: Bond refunded to the landlord

Total award

Landlord $1,380.00 · Tenant $352.00

Net award

Landlord $1,028.00

Total payable by Tenant to Landlord

Landlord $1,028.00

Claim types — money lines allowed on this order

Filing Fee Rent arrears

Order

[The tenant/s] tenant/s] must pay Otautahi Community Housing Trust $1,028.00 immediately, calculated as shown in table below:

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
The landlord has applied for rent arrears and has provided rent records which prove the amount owing.
The tenant said he was in prison for some of the tenancy and landlord knew but the landlord did not end his tenancy. The tenant said he thought a tenancy ended automatically if you are incarcerated. In fact the tenant should have given notice to end the tenancy. By the time he gave notice he owed just over $2,700 in rent.
As discussed at the hearing, the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA) requires that a party mitigate their loss, which means in short that that they must take actions to limit any loss from a breach by the other party. When rent arrears occur, a reasonable landlord will mitigate that loss by applying to the Tenancy Tribunal for appropriate orders.
In this case the landlord allowed the tenancy to continue and is claiming rent arrears from 10 November 2025 to 19 June 2026. The tenant did not live at the premises in that time. In the circumstances, I consider the landlord did not mitigate his loss. This is because he allowed the arrears to continue to accrue instead of ending the tenancy and reletting the premises, thereby preventing further loss.
Mitigation by a landlord was considered in the District Court case of Huang v Ashworth [2024] NZDC 15726. The Court found that the test of what is required for mitigation was whether the landlord took all reasonable steps to mitigate loss, and whether the landlord acted reasonably having regard to all the circumstances of the case. In that case the Judge reduced the rent arrears by a third.
I find the landlord did not act reasonably when it ignored the rent arrears. Rather than reduce the rent by a third I find it is reasonable in this case to find the landlord should have filed an application when rent was 21 days behind. This is because the tenant was incarcerated, the landlord knew, and no rent was being paid. I will allow another three months for a hearing to be scheduled and a decision made. This means the tenant should pay rent arrears to 1 March 2026 and the landlord cannot claim the arrears from 2 March to 19 June 2026.
Because the landlord has substantially succeeded with the claim I have reimbursed the filing fee.
The landlord has applied for suppression. I find there is public interest in social housing so suppression is not allowed. See section 95 RTA.

Claims & awards

What this tenancy cost at tribunal — claim, category, amount, and party awarded, with reconciled net total.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5514442 — net $1,028.00 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Tenant	Reason
Rent arrears to 1 March 2026	$1,352.00		Rent arrears to 1 March 2026
Filing fee reimbursement	$28.00		Filing fee reimbursement
Bond refunded to the landlord		$352.00	Bond refunded to the landlord
Total award	$1,380.00	$352.00
Net award	$1,028.00
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$1,028.00

Claims and awards for application 5514442 — net $1,028.00 NZD. Verify on MoJ.

Rent arrears to 1 March 2026

Amount: $1,352.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Rent arrears to 1 March 2026

Filing fee reimbursement

Amount: $28.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Filing fee reimbursement

Bond refunded to the landlord

Amount: $352.00
Awarded to: Tenant
Reason: Bond refunded to the landlord

Total award

Landlord $1,380.00 · Tenant $352.00

Net award

Landlord $1,028.00

Total payable by Tenant to Landlord

Landlord $1,028.00

Claim types — money lines allowed on this order

Filing Fee Rent arrears

Order

[The tenant/s] tenant/s] must pay Otautahi Community Housing Trust $1,028.00 immediately, calculated as shown in table below:

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
The landlord has applied for rent arrears and has provided rent records which prove the amount owing.
The tenant said he was in prison for some of the tenancy and landlord knew but the landlord did not end his tenancy. The tenant said he thought a tenancy ended automatically if you are incarcerated. In fact the tenant should have given notice to end the tenancy. By the time he gave notice he owed just over $2,700 in rent.
As discussed at the hearing, the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA) requires that a party mitigate their loss, which means in short that that they must take actions to limit any loss from a breach by the other party. When rent arrears occur, a reasonable landlord will mitigate that loss by applying to the Tenancy Tribunal for appropriate orders.
In this case the landlord allowed the tenancy to continue and is claiming rent arrears from 10 November 2025 to 19 June 2026. The tenant did not live at the premises in that time. In the circumstances, I consider the landlord did not mitigate his loss. This is because he allowed the arrears to continue to accrue instead of ending the tenancy and reletting the premises, thereby preventing further loss.
Mitigation by a landlord was considered in the District Court case of Huang v Ashworth [2024] NZDC 15726. The Court found that the test of what is required for mitigation was whether the landlord took all reasonable steps to mitigate loss, and whether the landlord acted reasonably having regard to all the circumstances of the case. In that case the Judge reduced the rent arrears by a third.
I find the landlord did not act reasonably when it ignored the rent arrears. Rather than reduce the rent by a third I find it is reasonable in this case to find the landlord should have filed an application when rent was 21 days behind. This is because the tenant was incarcerated, the landlord knew, and no rent was being paid. I will allow another three months for a hearing to be scheduled and a decision made. This means the tenant should pay rent arrears to 1 March 2026 and the landlord cannot claim the arrears from 2 March to 19 June 2026.
Because the landlord has substantially succeeded with the claim I have reimbursed the filing fee.
The landlord has applied for suppression. I find there is public interest in social housing so suppression is not allowed. See section 95 RTA.

Tenancy Tribunal case 5514442 — Rent arrears at 9 Roimata Place, Woolston, Christchurch 8023

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 5514442 — Rent arrears at 9 Roimata Place, Woolston, Christchurch 8023

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Property management

Frequently asked questions

Reduce avoidable tribunal risk with proper tenant checks.

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Property management

Frequently asked questions

Reduce avoidable tribunal risk with proper tenant checks.