What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 4613629?

The tribunal order states: Justina Liu and Jason Liu must pay Changwang Jia and Ke Jia $3,946.01

How much money was awarded in case 4613629?

Compensation: Breach of Quiet Enjoym…: $500.00 awarded to tenant; Property Damage: $500.00 awarded to tenant; Property Damage: $2,000.00 awarded to tenant; Property Damage: $500.00 awarded to tenant; Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to tenant; Rent Arrears: $91.43 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4613629?

The primary dispute was Healthy homes. Related themes: Exemplary damages.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4613629?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9688138-Tribunal_Order.pdf.

What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 4613629?

The tribunal order states: Justina Liu and Jason Liu must pay Changwang Jia and Ke Jia $3,946.01

How much money was awarded in case 4613629?

Compensation: Breach of Quiet Enjoym…: $500.00 awarded to tenant; Property Damage: $500.00 awarded to tenant; Property Damage: $2,000.00 awarded to tenant; Property Damage: $500.00 awarded to tenant; Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to tenant; Rent Arrears: $91.43 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4613629?

The primary dispute was Healthy homes. Related themes: Exemplary damages.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4613629?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9688138-Tribunal_Order.pdf.

11 Autumn Avenue, Glen Eden, Auckland 0602 Tenancy Tribunal Case 4613629 — Healthy homes

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4613629 — net $3,946.01 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Tenant	Reason
Rent arrears for 6 July 2023	$91.43		Rent arrears for 6 July 2023
Exemplary damages: Healthy Homes		$2,000.00	Healthy Homes
Compensation: Breach of Quiet Enjoyment		$500.00	Breach of Quiet Enjoyment
Exemplary damages: Unlawful Entry		$500.00	Unlawful Entry
Exemplary damages: Failure to Lodge Bond		$500.00	Failure to Lodge Bond
Refund of Bond held		$517.00	Refund of Bond held
Filing fee reimbursement		$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Total award	$91.43	$4,037.44
Net award		$3,946.01
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant		$3,946.01

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4613629 — net $3,946.01 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Tenant	Reason
Rent arrears for 6 July 2023	$91.43		Rent arrears for 6 July 2023
Exemplary damages: Healthy Homes		$2,000.00	Healthy Homes
Compensation: Breach of Quiet Enjoyment		$500.00	Breach of Quiet Enjoyment
Exemplary damages: Unlawful Entry		$500.00	Unlawful Entry
Exemplary damages: Failure to Lodge Bond		$500.00	Failure to Lodge Bond
Refund of Bond held		$517.00	Refund of Bond held
Filing fee reimbursement		$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Total award	$91.43	$4,037.44
Net award		$3,946.01
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant		$3,946.01

Order

Justina Liu and Jason Liu must pay Changwang Jia and Ke Jia $3,946.01 immediately.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing. Mr Changwang Jia and his sister Ms Ke Jia. Mr Jason Liu and his support person Mr Deng from his new Property Management company. The hearing was conducted with the assistance of an interpreter.
This was a tenancy that began on 22 February as a fixed term tenancy to 1 August 2023 but ended by agreement on 6 July 2023.
The home is a newly renovated (inside) 3 bedroom brick and tile home. The standard from the photos provided show it is of average renovation. The outside at the start of the tenancy had what appears to be the leftovers of the building renovations and remained so for almost the total length of the tenancy. The outside was not of a good standard.
The weekly rent was $650.00.
The tenants claim the following: (a)The landlord breached Healthy Home Standard due to no heating provided. (b)The landlord did not clear the yard of construction materials as promised within the month and there was no access to park their car or use the front or back yard. Hence they seek a reduction in market rent for this. (c)The landlord illegally entered the home. (d)There was a breach of their quiet enjoyment due to the landlord constantly being around in the weekends clearing the yard after the one month period. (e) The landlord kept portions of the bond for repairing a window, cleaning and one day rent. (f) There was no insulation statement, insurance information or receipt given for the 2 cash payments made to the landlord. Healthy Homes – Heating
The tenants claim the landlord has breached the landlord’s obligations under section 45(1)(bb) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA), which requires compliance with the Residential Tenancies (Healthy Homes Standards) 2019 (HHS).
Compliance dates for the HHS vary depending on the tenancy: a. All private rentals must comply within 90 days of any new or renewed tenancy after 1 July 2021, with all private rentals complying by 1 July 2024.
The heating standard requires landlords to provide one or more ‘qualifying heaters’, with a capacity to heat the room to a required level. The heating standard defines what a qualifying heater would be and confirms that certain types of heaters are unacceptable heaters for the purpose of the HHS.
The heating standard requires that heaters in the particular tenancy have a minimum heating capacity. An on-line calculator has been produced in order to determine what level of heating is required for any particular premises, and that can be found at https://www.tenancy.govt.nz/heating-tool/
The HHS does provide exemptions in specific circumstances.
Breaching this obligation is an unlawful act for which exemplary damages may be awarded up to a maximum of $7,200.00. See section 45(1A).
In this case the landlord admits the heat pump/airconditioner unit was not installed until 2 July 2023. The landlord tried to get his electrician to install the heatpump (since March 2023) but it never eventuated. It is surprising the landlord did not install one during the renovations done to the property from May 2022 after he purchased it. When the electrician kept failing to install the heat pump, the landlord could have taken further steps to address this but didn’t.
I find landlord committed an unlawful act.
Where a party has committed an unlawful act intentionally, the Tribunal may award exemplary damages where it is satisfied it would be just to do so, having regard to the party’s intent, the effect of the unlawful act, the interest of the other party, and the public interest. See section 109(3) RTA.
The landlord should have known of his obligations to ensure the property met the heating standard. He obtained a Healthy Homes report in January 2023 which alerted him to this fact. The delay due to the weather events in Auckland delaying contractors becomes unreasonable when looked at the impact of winter on the tenants. There is a reason why there is a grace period of 90 days given to landlords.
The Tribunal awards the tenants exemplary damages of $2000.00 for the breach. Breach of Quiet Enjoyment
The tenant says the fact the landlord took at least another 3-4 months on weekends to clear the yard after estimating it would take 1 month affected their privacy.
A landlord must not interfere with the reasonable peace, comfort or privacy of the tenant in their use of the premises. See section 38(2) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
Breaching this obligation in circumstances that amount to harassment is an unlawful act for which exemplary damages may be awarded up to a maximum of $3,000.00. See section 38(3) and Schedule 1A RTA.
Harassment means "to trouble, worry or distress" or "to wear out, tire, or exhaust" and "indicates a particular pattern of behaviour directed towards another person". MacDonald v Dodds, CIV-2009-019-001524, DC Hamilton, 26 February 2010.
The landlord explained the work was larger than he estimated and took longer due to bad weather or illness on his part.
I accept the landlord underestimated the work required to clear the front and back yard (the front which still has car shell items) but should have communicated this clearly. It appears the landlord on 24 May 2023 offered a rent reduction of $50.00 a week to the tenant which was not taken up. It appears the tenant accepted a rent reduction from 6 June to 6 July of $10.00 a week.
Where a party has committed an unlawful act intentionally, the Tribunal may award exemplary damages where it is satisfied that it would be just to do so, having regard to the party’s intent, the effect of the unlawful act, the interests of the other party, and the public interest. See section 109(3) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The landlord should have been more aware of the amount to time and work required. It is not acceptable that the tenant was constantly disturbed during the weekends for an extended period with landlord turning up to the property and working on the property. However, there is no evidence to suggest the landlord intended to harass the tenants but the disruption to their quiet enjoyment was a consequence.
On that basis I award the tenants compensation of $500.00. Unlawful Entry
The tenants claim the landlord entered the premises without consent or notice.
A landlord may not enter the premises during the tenancy except with the tenant's consent, in an emergency, or after giving the required notice for inspections and repairs and maintenance. See section 48(1) and (2) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
Breaching this obligation is an unlawful act for which exemplary damages may be awarded up to a maximum of $1,500.00. See section 48 (4)(a) and Schedule 1A Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The landlord wanted to get the heatpump unit installed. Rather than give the tenant appropriate notice, a text was sent just prior to the electrician arriving. The landlord then told the electrician to use the door code to enter the premises on a Saturday morning. One tenant was asleep. This caused the tenant distress and anger.
Where a party has committed an unlawful act intentionally, the Tribunal may award exemplary damages where it is satisfied it would be just to do so, having regard to the party’s intent, the effect of the unlawful act, the interests of the other party, and the public interest. See section 109(3) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The landlord says because there had been several delays in installing the heatpump that when the electrician called him late the night before, rather than inform the tenant, he waited the following day. At an earlier date, the tenant had given consent for the electrician to enter the premises and he took that on the second occasion when it came to finalise installation, it did not require further entry consent.
On other occasions, the landlord entered with the tenant’s permission. On one occasion, he entered when there was a fire alarm going off.
It is not ok at any time for a landlord to enter the tenant’s home without express consent and reasonable notice unless in an emergency.
The tenants are awarded exemplary damages of $500.00 for this breach. Failure to Lodge Bond
The tenants claimed the landlord has not lodged the bond with the Bond Centre within the required time.
The landlord accepts he did not lodge the bond as he did not know about this.
A landlord must send any bond payment to the Bond Centre within 23 working days after the payment is received. See section 19(1) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
Breaching this obligation is an unlawful act for which the Tribunal may award exemplary damages up to a maximum of $1,500.00. See section 19(2) and Schedule 1A Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
Where a party has committed an unlawful act intentionally, the Tribunal may award exemplary damages where it is satisfied it would be just to do so, having regard to the party’s intent, the effect of the unlawful act, the interests of the other party, and the public interest. See section 109(3) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
It is important that landlords are aware of their obligations. Ignorance of the law is not an excuse but can be a mitigating factor as to the award amount.
The tenants are awarded $500 for the failure of the landlord to lodge the Bond.
The landlord also kept $608.43 from the refund of the bond at the end of the tenancy for repairs and cleaning. The landlord accepts $437.00 for the repairs should not have been kept and this will be refunded to the tenant.
The landlord sought to setoff the amount of $80.00 for cleaning done by him and his wife at the end of the tenancy. The landlord showed pictures of cobwebs and some dead bugs on window sills and dirt in a gap between the dishwasher and cabinet. The tenant showed a video of the premises he cleaned at the end of the tenancy. Having considered the photos and video, the standard of cleaning was to a reasonable standard. The amount of $80.00 is to be refunded to the tenant.
The tenants seeks is refund of one days rent being $91.43. The parties agreed the last day of the tenancy was 6 July 2023. This includes the whole day, not part of and rent is to be paid for the whole day regardless of when the tenant moved out. Receipt of Cash Payment/Insulation Statement and Insurance Information
The tenants claim the landlord has not issued a receipt for rent paid in cash, did not provide an insulation statement in the tenancy agreement or insurance information. Receipt
A landlord must give a written receipt immediately for any rent paid by cash. See section 29(1) and (2)(a) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
Breaching this obligation is an unlawful act for which the Tribunal may award exemplary damages up to a maximum of $350.00. See section 29(5) and Schedule 1A Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The landlord accepts he did not issue a receipt for 2 cash payments.
Paying by cash is unusual nowadays and I cannot find any intention by the landlord to deliberately avoid this obligation. Insulation Statement
A landlord must include a signed statement in the tenancy agreement that provides the following information: a. whether or not insulation is installed in any ceilings, walls and floors, and b. details of the location, type and condition of all insulation installed. See section 13A(1A) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
Alternatively, if the landlord is unable to provide some or all of the information required, they must include a statement explaining what information cannot be obtained, why it cannot be, and that all reasonable efforts have been made to do so. See section 13A(1B) and (1C) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
Breaching these obligations is an unlawful act for which the Tribunal may award exemplary damages up to a maximum of $750.00. See section 13(1F)(a) and Schedule 1A Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The landlord accepts he did not have this statement as he used the tenancy agreement online but failed to include all the parts required.
Though ignorance of the law is not an excuse, the failure of the insulation statement did not have an impact on the tenant. The insulation was installed as noted in the Healthy Homes report provided.
There was no impact or consequential loss to the tenants. No damages are awarded for these breaches. Insurance Information
The tenants say insurance information was not provided by the landlord.
A tenant can request the landlord to provide a copy of any insurance policy which relates to the tenant’s liability for destruction of, or damage to, the premises. The landlord must provide a copy of the policy within a reasonable time. The landlord must notify the tenant of any changes to the information provided, or if the premises are no longer insured. See s 45(2B) and (2C) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The tenants did not request any insurance information from the landlord during the tenancy and this claim is dismissed. Market Rent
The tenants have applied for a market rent assessment. Sections 25(1) and (3) Residential Tenancies Act 1986 provide: (1) On an application made to it at any time by the tenant, the Tribunal may, in accordance with the succeeding provisions of this section, on being satisfied that the rent payable or to become payable for the tenancy exceeds the market rent by a substantial amount, make an order reducing the rent to an amount, to be specified in the order, that is in line with the market rent. (3) For the purposes of this Act, the market rent for any tenancy shall be the rent that, without regard to the personal circumstances of the landlord or the tenant, a willing landlord might reasonably expect to receive and a willing tenant might reasonably expect to pay for the tenancy, taking into consideration the general level of rents (other than income-related rents within the meaning of section 2(1) of the Public and Community Housing Management Act 1992) for comparable tenancies of comparable premises in the locality or in similar localities and such other matters as the Tribunal considers relevant.
In the case of a fixed term tenancy, any application must be filed no later than 3 months after the start of the tenancy or the last rent review (see s 25(2) RTA).
Section 25(4) RTA provides that a market rent order may not take effect any earlier than the date of the application or any later than 30 days after the date of the order. The order may last for up to 6 months in the case of a periodic tenancy, or for such shorter period the Tribunal specifies. In the case of a fixed term tenancy, the order remains in force for the period specified in the order.
This application was filed on 4 July 2023. The tenancy began on 22 February 2023 with the rent agreed between the parties. This was on the basis the work done outside in the yard would be finished.
In order to succeed in this claim, the tenants should have lodged the claim for market rent by 22 May 2023. By 24 May 2023, the tenant was already contemplating leaving the tenancy. Despite an offer for rent reduction by $50.00 a week from the landlord, the tenants did not take this up. The tenants instead agreed to pay $10.00 a week less rent for the last month of the tenancy.
The claim for market rent is out of time and this claim is dismissed. Filing Fee
Because Changwang Jia, Ke Jia have substantially succeeded with the claim I have reimbursed the filing fee.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4613629 — Healthy homes at 11 Autumn Avenue, Glen Eden, Auckland 0602

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4613629 — Healthy homes at 11 Autumn Avenue, Glen Eden, Auckland 0602

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Dismissed claims

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Dismissed claims

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions