What was Tenancy Tribunal case 9063464 about?

The tribunal order states: [The party] must pay Body Corporate 196030 $9,831.01 immediately, calculated

How much money was awarded in case 9063464?

BC Collection Fees: $1,335.00 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $500.00 awarded to landlord; Interest: $631.51 awarded to landlord; Legal Fees: $2,886.50 awarded to landlord; ORDER As Follows DescriptionsApplica…: $4,478.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 9063464?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 9063464?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11745765-UTA_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 9063464 about?

The tribunal order states: [The party] must pay Body Corporate 196030 $9,831.01 immediately, calculated

How much money was awarded in case 9063464?

BC Collection Fees: $1,335.00 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $500.00 awarded to landlord; Interest: $631.51 awarded to landlord; Legal Fees: $2,886.50 awarded to landlord; ORDER As Follows DescriptionsApplica…: $4,478.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 9063464?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 9063464?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11745765-UTA_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

Newmarket, Auckland Tenancy Tribunal Case 9063464 — Tenancy dispute

Order

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 9063464 — net $9,831.01 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
ORDER as follows DescriptionsApplicantRespondent Levies 1 September 2022 to 30 April 2025	$4,478.00	ORDER as follows DescriptionsApplicantRespondent Levies 1 September 2022 to 30 April 2025
Interest 1 February 2023 to 23 April 2025	$631.51	Interest 1 February 2023 to 23 April 2025
BC collection fees	$1,335.00	BC collection fees
Legal fees	$2,886.50	Legal fees
Filing fee	$500.00	Filing fee
Net award	$9,831.01
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$9,831.01

[The party] must pay Body Corporate 196030 $9,831.01 immediately, calculated as follows: DescriptionsApplicantRespondent Levies 1 September 2022 to 30 April 2025 $4,478.00 Interest 1 February 2023 to 23 April 2025$631.51 BC collection fees$1,335.00 Legal fees$2,886.50 Filing fee$500.00 Total award$9,831.01 Total payable by Respondent to Applicant $9,831.01

Reasons

The hearing was conducted by telephone. Only counsel, Ms Naidoo, attended the hearing representing the Body Corporate. Calls to the respondent at the time of the hearing were not connected.

The Body Corporate has applied for recovery of unpaid levies, interest, costs and the filing fee from the unit owner. Levies

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 Act).

The Body Corporate has determined the levies payable, and the unit owner's share has been calculated according to her utility interest.

The Body Corporate has fixed the due dates for the levies to be paid, and the Unit Owner has not paid the levies by those dates. See section 124(1) of the Act. The Body Corporate has provided records to prove the amount claimed. 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 of the Act.

The Body Corporate has resolved to charge interest at 10% per year on unpaid levies. The Body Corporate has proved the amount of interest owing from the due date to the hearing date as ordered. Costs

Under s124 of the Act, 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 find that the legal costs claimed by the Body Corporate are reasonable save for the $50 claimed for office expenses. That is an overhead and I see no reason why the Unit Owner should have to pay that.

Because the Body Corporate is registered for GST, I have not awarded GST on the legal costs.

The Body Corporate has claimed $1,805 for collection fees. These relate to three letters for each unit sent to the respondent and instructing their lawyers. They are based on a scale of fees referred to in the Body Corporate’s minutes. But these costs are recoverable under s128 of the Act, and they must therefore be reasonable. The Tribunal is not bound to award them according to the scale. I do not regard the fees claimed as being reasonable.

The letters issued to the unit owners are no doubt generated automatically from information held in the Body Corporate’s computer system. Fees of $250 including GST per letter are not reasonable in my view. The Body Corporate’s lawyers would not charge that much for a standard letter.

I have awarded collection fees based on 2 letters at $115 and one letter at $150 which includes another means of communication such a telephone call. I have awarded $287.50 for preparing instructions to the lawyers. The total in relation to both units is $1,335.

Because the body corporate has succeeded with the claim, I have reimbursed the $500 filing fee. See s176(1) of the Act s102(4) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 9063464 — net $9,831.01 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
ORDER as follows DescriptionsApplicantRespondent Levies 1 September 2022 to 30 April 2025	$4,478.00	ORDER as follows DescriptionsApplicantRespondent Levies 1 September 2022 to 30 April 2025
Interest 1 February 2023 to 23 April 2025	$631.51	Interest 1 February 2023 to 23 April 2025
BC collection fees	$1,335.00	BC collection fees
Legal fees	$2,886.50	Legal fees
Filing fee	$500.00	Filing fee
Net award	$9,831.01
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$9,831.01

Order

[The party] must pay Body Corporate 196030 $9,831.01 immediately, calculated as follows: DescriptionsApplicantRespondent Levies 1 September 2022 to 30 April 2025 $4,478.00 Interest 1 February 2023 to 23 April 2025$631.51 BC collection fees$1,335.00 Legal fees$2,886.50 Filing fee$500.00 Total award$9,831.01 Total payable by Respondent to Applicant $9,831.01

Reasons

The hearing was conducted by telephone. Only counsel, Ms Naidoo, attended the hearing representing the Body Corporate. Calls to the respondent at the time of the hearing were not connected.
The Body Corporate has applied for recovery of unpaid levies, interest, costs and the filing fee from the unit owner. Levies
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 Act).
The Body Corporate has determined the levies payable, and the unit owner's share has been calculated according to her utility interest.
The Body Corporate has fixed the due dates for the levies to be paid, and the Unit Owner has not paid the levies by those dates. See section 124(1) of the Act. The Body Corporate has provided records to prove the amount claimed. 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 of the Act.
The Body Corporate has resolved to charge interest at 10% per year on unpaid levies. The Body Corporate has proved the amount of interest owing from the due date to the hearing date as ordered. Costs
Under s124 of the Act, 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 find that the legal costs claimed by the Body Corporate are reasonable save for the $50 claimed for office expenses. That is an overhead and I see no reason why the Unit Owner should have to pay that.
Because the Body Corporate is registered for GST, I have not awarded GST on the legal costs.
The Body Corporate has claimed $1,805 for collection fees. These relate to three letters for each unit sent to the respondent and instructing their lawyers. They are based on a scale of fees referred to in the Body Corporate’s minutes. But these costs are recoverable under s128 of the Act, and they must therefore be reasonable. The Tribunal is not bound to award them according to the scale. I do not regard the fees claimed as being reasonable.
The letters issued to the unit owners are no doubt generated automatically from information held in the Body Corporate’s computer system. Fees of $250 including GST per letter are not reasonable in my view. The Body Corporate’s lawyers would not charge that much for a standard letter.
I have awarded collection fees based on 2 letters at $115 and one letter at $150 which includes another means of communication such a telephone call. I have awarded $287.50 for preparing instructions to the lawyers. The total in relation to both units is $1,335.
Because the body corporate has succeeded with the claim, I have reimbursed the $500 filing fee. See s176(1) of the Act s102(4) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

Tenancy Tribunal case 9063464 — Tenancy dispute in Newmarket, Auckland

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 9063464 — Tenancy dispute in Newmarket, Auckland

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions