Published tribunal order
Tenancy Tribunal case 9068164 — Tenancy dispute in Auckland Central, Auckland
Decided 11 Nov 2025 · Published 11 Nov 2025 · Application 9068164
- Unit Titles
Order
- [The party] must pay Body Corporate 351657 $54,093.42 immediately, calculated as follows: DescriptionsApplicantRespondent Annual levies 30.5.19 to 5.10.25$47,118.62 Costs: BC Recovery costs$1,713.50 Costs: Legal fees$19,338.60 Interest to 29 October 2025$5,614.61 Payments received $20,191.91 Filing Fee $500.00 Total award$74,285.33$20,191.91 Net award with interest$54,093.42 Total payable by Respondent to Applicant $54,093.42
Reasons
- The Body Corporate attended this videoconference hearing through counsel. The Unit Owner did not attend and couldn’t be reached by phone.
- The Body Corporate has applied for recovery of unpaid levies, interest, costs and the filing fee from the unit owner.
- Following the Tribunal’s Order dated 20 August 2025, the Body Corporate has amended its claim to include only levies, interest and costs from 30 May 2025.
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.
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.
- In the 20 August Order I noted a concern that the costs claimed may include costs relating to other proceedings or that may have been satisfied as part of other claims.
- I accept the Body Corporate’s evidence that the costs claimed do all relate to recovery of these unpaid levies.
- I have not awarded legal costs incurred since the 20 August Order. Those costs arose because the application needed to be amended, with further hearing time required, as it included claims already determined in a prior Order and which were outside the limitation period. I do not consider it reasonable that the Unit Owner be required to pay those additional costs.
Can the Unit Owner be charged a loss of discount?
- The Body Corporate applied a 10% prompt payment discount to levies paid on time. Budgets were set excluding that discount.
- The Body Corporate’s claim includes $1,317.67 for the Unit Owner did not paying the levies on time, saying there is a “loss of discount” charge payable to the Body Corporate.
- The Order made on 20 August 2025 records my concern that seeking to make a loss of discount charge is, in substance, a late payment penalty that exceeds the powers of the Body Corporate to charge in terms of its powers to set and recover levies under ss.121,124, 128 UTA.
- The Body Corporate has not been able to persuade me otherwise. Indeed, the 2021 AGM minutes record: “Prompt Payment Discount – The Tribunal ruled that a body corporate is not entitled to gross up the levies to provide a 10% for prompt payment and that is outside the provisions of the Unit Titles Act 2010. On this basis the committee have agreed that it should no longer be offered.”
- I find that the Unit Owner cannot be charged for that loss of discount.
- Because the Body Corporate has substantially 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.