What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 4613409?

The tribunal order states: No application for suppression has been made in this case and no suppression

How much money was awarded in case 4613409?

Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $6,079.36 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4613409?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4613409?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9288881-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 4613409?

The tribunal order states: No application for suppression has been made in this case and no suppression

How much money was awarded in case 4613409?

Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $6,079.36 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4613409?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4613409?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9288881-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

Unit/Flat Flat 6, 130 Willis Street, Te Aro, Wellington 6011, Tenancy Tribunal Case 4613409 — Rent arrears

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4613409 — net $2,699.80 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears	$6,079.36	Rent arrears
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$2,699.80
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$2,699.80

Order

No application for suppression has been made in this case and no suppression orders apply around publication of this decision.
The tenancy of Caleb Wall, Michael Albert and Siddhant Lakshman at Unit/Flat Flat 6, 130 Willis Street, Te Aro, Wellington 6011, Symphony House is terminated, and possession is granted to Lloyd Richardson Limited As Agent For The Symphony House Apartments Trust, at 5pm, Sunday 20 August 2023.
The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $3,400.00 (6480433-001) to Lloyd Richardson Limited As Agent For The Symphony House Apartments Trust immediately.
Caleb Wall, Michael Albert and Siddhant Lakshman must pay Lloyd Richardson Limited As Agent For The Symphony House Apartments Trust $2,699.80 immediately, calculated as shown in the table below:
All remaining applications are dismissed.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing. Siddhant Lakshman attended the hearing but did not have authority to represent the other tenants. Caleb Wall and Michael Albert did not attend the hearing. The hearing proceeded in their absence.
The tenancy began on 18 February 2023 and is for a fixed term due to end on 31 January 2024. Landlord application
The landlord has applied for termination of the tenancy, rent arrears and refund of the bond.
Rent was at least 21 days in arrears on the date the application was filed. The tenancy is terminated. See section 55(1)(a) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The landlord provided rent records which prove the amount owing at the end of the tenancy. Tenant application
Siddhant Lakshman has applied for release from the fixed term tenancy, compensation and a claim in respect of the Healthy Homes Standards.
As the tenancy is terminated it has not been necessary to consider Mr Lakshman’s application to be released from the fixed term tenancy. That application is dismissed.
In relation to the claim for compensation Mr Lakshman was seeking the refund of all rent paid. It is not clear from the application what the compensation was for but at the hearing it seems that Mr Lakshman was seeking compensation due to damage caused by mould.
Mr Lakshman’s evidence was that he first noticed the significant mould on 3 or 4 June 2023. He had noticed spots on the net curtains at the beginning of the tenancy but at the time was not aware that it was mould. Mr Lakshman did not raise the issue of mould with the landlord at any stage before filing his application with the Tribunal in June 2023.
Mr Lakshman advised that he moved out of the premises on 5 April 2023, but his belongings remained there and on the odd occasion he would stay overnight at the premises, but not on a regular basis. He said that occasionally the other tenants would have friends stay overnight in Mr Lakshman’s room, but also not on a regular basis.
The impression I get from the evidence is that after 5 April 2023 the room previously occupied by Mr Lakshman was mostly unoccupied and therefore it is unlikely that the room was ventilated. In evidence Mr Lakshman initially said that he never opened the bedroom windows when he lived there as there was ventilation coming into the room from the gaps around the bedroom window. Later in the hearing he said that he did open the bedroom window on occasion.
When the landlord inspected the premises on 8 August 2023, they found all the bedrooms had the blinds pulled and there was no ventilation. They also found washing hanging on a clothes airer in the lounge area.
As the tenant had not raised the issue of mould the landlord did not have an opportunity to investigate and address any water ingress issues.
In Warwick Todd Ltd v Tapper TT1381/02, Christchurch, 14/089/2002, it was said: “A tenant must also tell the landlord where there is a mould problem so that the necessary action can be taken. The landlord is also required to provide premises that are not prone to mould. If the premises have an inherent problem, such as bad construction or water lying under the premises, the landlord has the responsibility to remedy the fault. Premises must be able to be used and lived in, in the normal responsible way, without mould developing. If this can not be done then it is the landlord problem. If the tenant fails to ventilate and heat appropriately when heating and ventilation is available, then it is the tenant’s problem.”
The landlord acknowledged that there was a small issue with the window that they will be addressing. I note that an earlier complaint about a leaking skylight had been addressed by the landlord in a reasonable timeframe.
I find on the evidence that the premises were likely not adequately ventilated, especially during the two-month period when the tenant had vacated but left his belongings in the premises. The lack of ventilation would have caused the mould to grow and resulted in damage to the tenant’s belongings.
As I have reached the conclusion that the landlord was not given an opportunity to address any issues that may have caused the mould the claim for compensation is dismissed.
The tenant claimed in respect of the Healthy Homes standards. He referred to gaps around the windows in his bedroom.
The landlord had not obtained an independent assessment in relation to Healthy Homes compliance. I note that the tenancy agreement signed on 16 February 2023 records that the property is free from unintentional and unreasonable gaps and holes.
Given that the tenancy commenced on 18 February 2023 the compliance date for these premises was 9 May 2023 (being 90 days after the commencement of a new tenancy after 1 July 2021).
While the tenant states that there were gaps in the windows the photographs produced do not clearly show this. In addition, this tenant moved out of the premises before the compliance date.
On the evidence produced I am not satisfied that there is clear evidence of non- compliance with the Healthy Homes standards or that the tenant has been impacted given that he had vacated the premises. The claim in respect of Healthy Homes standards is dismissed.
Because Lloyd Richardson Limited As Agent For The Symphony House Apartments Trust has substantially succeeded with the claim I have reimbursed the filing fee.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4613409 — net $2,699.80 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears	$6,079.36	Rent arrears
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$2,699.80
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$2,699.80

Order

No application for suppression has been made in this case and no suppression orders apply around publication of this decision.
The tenancy of Caleb Wall, Michael Albert and Siddhant Lakshman at Unit/Flat Flat 6, 130 Willis Street, Te Aro, Wellington 6011, Symphony House is terminated, and possession is granted to Lloyd Richardson Limited As Agent For The Symphony House Apartments Trust, at 5pm, Sunday 20 August 2023.
The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $3,400.00 (6480433-001) to Lloyd Richardson Limited As Agent For The Symphony House Apartments Trust immediately.
Caleb Wall, Michael Albert and Siddhant Lakshman must pay Lloyd Richardson Limited As Agent For The Symphony House Apartments Trust $2,699.80 immediately, calculated as shown in the table below:
All remaining applications are dismissed.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing. Siddhant Lakshman attended the hearing but did not have authority to represent the other tenants. Caleb Wall and Michael Albert did not attend the hearing. The hearing proceeded in their absence.
The tenancy began on 18 February 2023 and is for a fixed term due to end on 31 January 2024. Landlord application
The landlord has applied for termination of the tenancy, rent arrears and refund of the bond.
Rent was at least 21 days in arrears on the date the application was filed. The tenancy is terminated. See section 55(1)(a) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The landlord provided rent records which prove the amount owing at the end of the tenancy. Tenant application
Siddhant Lakshman has applied for release from the fixed term tenancy, compensation and a claim in respect of the Healthy Homes Standards.
As the tenancy is terminated it has not been necessary to consider Mr Lakshman’s application to be released from the fixed term tenancy. That application is dismissed.
In relation to the claim for compensation Mr Lakshman was seeking the refund of all rent paid. It is not clear from the application what the compensation was for but at the hearing it seems that Mr Lakshman was seeking compensation due to damage caused by mould.
Mr Lakshman’s evidence was that he first noticed the significant mould on 3 or 4 June 2023. He had noticed spots on the net curtains at the beginning of the tenancy but at the time was not aware that it was mould. Mr Lakshman did not raise the issue of mould with the landlord at any stage before filing his application with the Tribunal in June 2023.
Mr Lakshman advised that he moved out of the premises on 5 April 2023, but his belongings remained there and on the odd occasion he would stay overnight at the premises, but not on a regular basis. He said that occasionally the other tenants would have friends stay overnight in Mr Lakshman’s room, but also not on a regular basis.
The impression I get from the evidence is that after 5 April 2023 the room previously occupied by Mr Lakshman was mostly unoccupied and therefore it is unlikely that the room was ventilated. In evidence Mr Lakshman initially said that he never opened the bedroom windows when he lived there as there was ventilation coming into the room from the gaps around the bedroom window. Later in the hearing he said that he did open the bedroom window on occasion.
When the landlord inspected the premises on 8 August 2023, they found all the bedrooms had the blinds pulled and there was no ventilation. They also found washing hanging on a clothes airer in the lounge area.
As the tenant had not raised the issue of mould the landlord did not have an opportunity to investigate and address any water ingress issues.
In Warwick Todd Ltd v Tapper TT1381/02, Christchurch, 14/089/2002, it was said: “A tenant must also tell the landlord where there is a mould problem so that the necessary action can be taken. The landlord is also required to provide premises that are not prone to mould. If the premises have an inherent problem, such as bad construction or water lying under the premises, the landlord has the responsibility to remedy the fault. Premises must be able to be used and lived in, in the normal responsible way, without mould developing. If this can not be done then it is the landlord problem. If the tenant fails to ventilate and heat appropriately when heating and ventilation is available, then it is the tenant’s problem.”
The landlord acknowledged that there was a small issue with the window that they will be addressing. I note that an earlier complaint about a leaking skylight had been addressed by the landlord in a reasonable timeframe.
I find on the evidence that the premises were likely not adequately ventilated, especially during the two-month period when the tenant had vacated but left his belongings in the premises. The lack of ventilation would have caused the mould to grow and resulted in damage to the tenant’s belongings.
As I have reached the conclusion that the landlord was not given an opportunity to address any issues that may have caused the mould the claim for compensation is dismissed.
The tenant claimed in respect of the Healthy Homes standards. He referred to gaps around the windows in his bedroom.
The landlord had not obtained an independent assessment in relation to Healthy Homes compliance. I note that the tenancy agreement signed on 16 February 2023 records that the property is free from unintentional and unreasonable gaps and holes.
Given that the tenancy commenced on 18 February 2023 the compliance date for these premises was 9 May 2023 (being 90 days after the commencement of a new tenancy after 1 July 2021).
While the tenant states that there were gaps in the windows the photographs produced do not clearly show this. In addition, this tenant moved out of the premises before the compliance date.
On the evidence produced I am not satisfied that there is clear evidence of non- compliance with the Healthy Homes standards or that the tenant has been impacted given that he had vacated the premises. The claim in respect of Healthy Homes standards is dismissed.
Because Lloyd Richardson Limited As Agent For The Symphony House Apartments Trust has substantially succeeded with the claim I have reimbursed the filing fee.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4613409 — Rent arrears at Unit/Flat Flat 6, 130 Willis Street, Te Aro, Wellington 6011,

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4613409 — Rent arrears at Unit/Flat Flat 6, 130 Willis Street, Te Aro, Wellington 6011,

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Dismissed claims

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Property management

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Dismissed claims

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Property management

Frequently asked questions