How much money was awarded in case 4656269?

Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $7,527.86 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4656269?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4656269?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9421042-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

How much money was awarded in case 4656269?

Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $7,527.86 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4656269?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4656269?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9421042-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

62 Ara Paiwhenua, Tawa, Wellington 5028 Tenancy Tribunal Case 4656269 — Rent arrears

Q: What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 4656269?

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

Order

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4656269 — net $4,368.30 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 12.9.2023	$7,527.86	Rent arrears to 12.9.2023
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$4,368.30
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$4,368.30

No application for suppression has been made in this case and no suppression orders apply around publication of this decision.

Gareth Anthony Wilson and Megan Jane Connor must pay Cindy Juanlingchen Christensen $4,368.30 immediately, calculated as shown in the table below.

Cindy Juanlinghchen Christensen is to retain the bond of $3,180.00 immediately.

Reasons

Ms Christensen, the landlord, attended the hearing by teleconference, as did the tenants, Mr Wilson and Ms Connor.

The landlord has applied for termination and possession, rent arrears, refund of the bond and refund of the application fee.

During the hearing, the landlord said the property has been vacated. Therefore, the claim for termination and possession is withdrawn.

This is a fixed term tenancy to 10 February 2024. The parties disputed whether the tenants gave notice to terminate the tenancy and whether that was agreed to by the landlord. The tenants maintain they gave the landlord notice a couple of weeks before they moved out. The landlord said she was never given notice by the tenants and only discovered for the first time on 15 August 2023 that the tenants had moved out. The tenants said they moved out on 14 August 2023.

The landlord said she had agreed with the tenants that she would waive the cost of her finding new tenants for the property, if they paid the rent arrears they owed. She said the tenants did not pay their rent arrears and she no longer agreed to waive these costs.

The tenants said they received several different amounts from the landlord that she said they owed for rent arrears. The tenants did not agree with the rent arrears amount owing currently on the rent summary provided by the landlord, and said they would need to check their bank statements. The rent summary of the landlord was copied to the tenants prior to the hearing. The tenants did not provide any evidence, such as bank statements or documents from WINZ, to contradict the landlord’s rent summary. Mr Wilson said they believed they would likely have owed around $4,400.00 rent arrears when they moved out on 14 August 2023.

Landlords are generally entitled to receive at least 28 days’ notice from tenants to leave a property in a periodic tenancy. In fixed term tenancies, such as this one, tenants must obtain the landlord’s consent to leave early or apply to the Tribunal to reduce the fixed term of the tenancy. See section 66 Residential Tenancies Act 1986 ("RTA”).

Ms Christensen said she did not consent to the tenants leaving early, especially as they did not pay their rent arrears. The tenants did not provide sufficient evidence to prove that the landlord did consent to them leaving the tenancy early. Neither did the tenants apply to the Tribunal to reduce the fixed term of the tenancy. As such, the tenants are liable for rent to the landlord.

The date of the hearing was 12 September 2023. The landlord provided rent records which proved rent owing to 14 September 2023, which is $7,755.00. Weekly rent is $795.00 so daily rent is $113.57. Two days rent @ $113.57/day must be deducted from this for 13 & 14 September 2023, for a sub-total of $227.14. Therefore, the tenants owe the landlord a total of $7,527.86 to 12 September 2023, the date of the hearing.

The tenants paid a bond of $3,180.00 to the landlord, which was not lodged. The landlord said this was because the tenants did not sign and return the bond form to her. The tenants denied this and said they did sign a bond lodgement form. The tenants did not consent to the bond being retained by the landlord, as they said it was not lodged with the Bond Centre. The tenants can claim separately in relation to the non-lodgement of the bond if they choose. However, the landlord is to retain the bond paid of $3,180.00 to apply towards the rent arrears owing by the tenants.

Because Cindy Juanlingchen Christensen has been successful with the claim I must reimburse the filing fee.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4656269 — net $4,368.30 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 12.9.2023	$7,527.86	Rent arrears to 12.9.2023
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$4,368.30
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$4,368.30

Order

No application for suppression has been made in this case and no suppression orders apply around publication of this decision.
Gareth Anthony Wilson and Megan Jane Connor must pay Cindy Juanlingchen Christensen $4,368.30 immediately, calculated as shown in the table below.
Cindy Juanlinghchen Christensen is to retain the bond of $3,180.00 immediately.

Reasons

Ms Christensen, the landlord, attended the hearing by teleconference, as did the tenants, Mr Wilson and Ms Connor.
The landlord has applied for termination and possession, rent arrears, refund of the bond and refund of the application fee.
During the hearing, the landlord said the property has been vacated. Therefore, the claim for termination and possession is withdrawn.
This is a fixed term tenancy to 10 February 2024. The parties disputed whether the tenants gave notice to terminate the tenancy and whether that was agreed to by the landlord. The tenants maintain they gave the landlord notice a couple of weeks before they moved out. The landlord said she was never given notice by the tenants and only discovered for the first time on 15 August 2023 that the tenants had moved out. The tenants said they moved out on 14 August 2023.
The landlord said she had agreed with the tenants that she would waive the cost of her finding new tenants for the property, if they paid the rent arrears they owed. She said the tenants did not pay their rent arrears and she no longer agreed to waive these costs.
The tenants said they received several different amounts from the landlord that she said they owed for rent arrears. The tenants did not agree with the rent arrears amount owing currently on the rent summary provided by the landlord, and said they would need to check their bank statements. The rent summary of the landlord was copied to the tenants prior to the hearing. The tenants did not provide any evidence, such as bank statements or documents from WINZ, to contradict the landlord’s rent summary. Mr Wilson said they believed they would likely have owed around $4,400.00 rent arrears when they moved out on 14 August 2023.
Landlords are generally entitled to receive at least 28 days’ notice from tenants to leave a property in a periodic tenancy. In fixed term tenancies, such as this one, tenants must obtain the landlord’s consent to leave early or apply to the Tribunal to reduce the fixed term of the tenancy. See section 66 Residential Tenancies Act 1986 ("RTA”).
Ms Christensen said she did not consent to the tenants leaving early, especially as they did not pay their rent arrears. The tenants did not provide sufficient evidence to prove that the landlord did consent to them leaving the tenancy early. Neither did the tenants apply to the Tribunal to reduce the fixed term of the tenancy. As such, the tenants are liable for rent to the landlord.
The date of the hearing was 12 September 2023. The landlord provided rent records which proved rent owing to 14 September 2023, which is $7,755.00. Weekly rent is $795.00 so daily rent is $113.57. Two days rent @ $113.57/day must be deducted from this for 13 & 14 September 2023, for a sub-total of $227.14. Therefore, the tenants owe the landlord a total of $7,527.86 to 12 September 2023, the date of the hearing.
The tenants paid a bond of $3,180.00 to the landlord, which was not lodged. The landlord said this was because the tenants did not sign and return the bond form to her. The tenants denied this and said they did sign a bond lodgement form. The tenants did not consent to the bond being retained by the landlord, as they said it was not lodged with the Bond Centre. The tenants can claim separately in relation to the non-lodgement of the bond if they choose. However, the landlord is to retain the bond paid of $3,180.00 to apply towards the rent arrears owing by the tenants.
Because Cindy Juanlingchen Christensen has been successful with the claim I must reimburse the filing fee.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4656269 — Rent arrears at 62 Ara Paiwhenua, Tawa, Wellington 5028

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4656269 — Rent arrears at 62 Ara Paiwhenua, Tawa, Wellington 5028

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