Published tribunal order
Tenancy Tribunal case 9063184 — Tenancy dispute in Trentham, Upper Hutt
Decided 9 Apr 2025 · Published 9 Apr 2025 · Application 9063184
- Costs
- Interest
- Unit Titles
Order
- [The party], [The party] must pay Body Corporate 547060 $22,077.58 immediately, calculated as follows: DescriptionsApplicantRespondent Levy$12,512.04 Costs: Body Corp Manager's charges$920.00 Costs: s.124 Solicitor's charges$5,659.63 Costs: Solicitor's charges for hearing time $316.25 Interest: to 9 April 2025$2,169.66 Filing Fee$500.00 Total award$22,077.58 Total payable by Respondent to Applicant $22,077.58
Reasons
- Both parties attended the video hearing.
- The body corporate has applied for recovery of unpaid levies, interest, costs and the filing fee from the unit owner.
Does the Unit Owner owe the levies claimed?
- A unit owner must pay all body corporate levies and outgoings payable for the unit. See sections 80(1)(f) and 121(1) Unit Titles Act 2010.
- The body corporate has determined the levies payable and unit owner's share has been calculated according to their utility interest.
- The body corporate has fixed the due date for the levies to be paid, and the unit owner has not paid the levies by that date. See section 124(1) Unit Titles Act 2010. The body corporate has provided records to prove the amount claimed.
- Settlement of the purchase of the unit by the owner occurred on 9 September 2022.
- The claims for unpaid levies include a levy for the period 3 November 2011 to 2 November 2022. This includes a period prior to the settlement of the purchase by the owners.
- The body corporate has been unable to locate records of any payments by the previous owner for the unpaid levies for that period. The body corporate advised the owner that they were unable to find any record of the payment and asked the owners to contact their solicitors to enquire whether the payment had been made on settlement of the purchase. No acceptable response was received from the owner and as a result this application was filed by the body corporate.
- Section 124 of the Unit Titles Act 2010 provides; “The amount of any unpaid levy, together with any reasonable costs incurred in collecting the levy, is recoverable as a debt due to the body corporate by the person who is the unit owner at the time the levy became payable or by the person who is the unit owner at the time proceedings are instituted.” (the emphasis is mine).
- These proceedings were instituted by the filing of this application on 22 January 2025. The record of title to the premises shows that the owners in this claim were the owners of the unit at the time the proceedings were instituted. The owner is liable for the outstanding levies sought by the body corporate.
Is the Unit owner liable for interest?
- If a unit owner fails to pay levies by the due date, interest accrues on the unpaid balance. A body corporate may charge interest up to 10% per annum. See section 128 Unit Titles Act 2010.
- The body corporate has resolved to charge interest at 10% per annum on unpaid levies. The Body Corporate has proved the amount of interest owing from the due date to the hearing date.
Is the Unit owner liable for costs?
- Pursuant to section 124 UTA, and as resolved at meetings of the Body Corporate, the Body Corporate is entitled to recover any reasonable costs incurred by it in collecting unpaid levies as a debt due by the owner to the Body Corporate. In accordance with the judgments (of the District Court and Court of Appeal respectively) in Body Corporate 162791 v Cheah DC Auckland, CIV2014-004- 0120, 24 June 2014 and Body Corporate 162791 v Gilbert [2015] NZCA 185, the Tribunal must order that the reasonable costs incurred by the Body Corporate in recovering the levies, objectively assessed, be paid by a defaulting unit owner. I am satisfied that the costs ordered above are reasonable. I have reduced the hearing fee applied for to one hour to reflect the actual hearing time.
- As the body corporate has succeeded with the claim, I have reimbursed the filing fee. Section 176(1) Unit Titles Act 2010 and section 102(4) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.