What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 4656287?

The tribunal order states: Harold Hyde owes Don Stevens $2,420.44 (“the debt”) in accordance with the

How much money was awarded in case 4656287?

Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $2,400.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4656287?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4656287?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9377986-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 4656287?

The tribunal order states: Harold Hyde owes Don Stevens $2,420.44 (“the debt”) in accordance with the

How much money was awarded in case 4656287?

Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $2,400.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4656287?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4656287?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9377986-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

168 Cecil Road, Wilton, Wellington 6012 Tenancy Tribunal Case 4656287 — Rent arrears

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4656287 — net $2,420.44 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 15/9/23	$2,400.00	Rent arrears to 15/9/23
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$2,420.44
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$2,420.44

Order

Harold Hyde owes Don Stevens $2,420.44 (“the debt”) in accordance with the following table:
Harold Hyde must pay rent and the debt as follows: a. A payment of $2,420.44 for the debt on 13 September 2023. b. Rent of $400 on or before 15 September 2023.
Payments will be allocated in the following order: rent, rent arrears, and the filing fee.
If Mr Hyde fails to pay rent and rent arrears within 2 working days of the due dates: a. The tenancy at 168 Cecil Road, Wilton, Wellington 6012 will terminate and the landlord will have immediate possession of the premises. b. The balance of the debt will be payable immediately.
If Mr Hyde fails to pay the filing fee within 2 working days of the due date, the filing fee will be payable immediately.
Mr Hyde must reinstate his rental payments to occur on or before each Friday after his next rental payment in accordance with order 2(b).
No application for suppression has been made in this case and no suppression orders apply around publication of this decision.

Reasons

Mr Stevens has applied for termination of the tenancy and rent arrears. Mr Hyde wishes to have an opportunity to repay the debt and have his rent payments from Work and Income New Zealand (WINZ) reinstated to avoid immediate termination.
Where rent is at least 21 days in arrears on the date the application was filed, the Tribunal must make either a final or a conditional termination order. See section 55(1)(a) and (1A) Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA). The Tribunal can only make a conditional order if satisfied that the tenant will pay the debt within the period specified in the order and is unlikely to commit any further relevant breach.
Mr Stevens does not want a conditional order as he says Mr Hyde is unreliable and likely to get into such a situation again. In support of this submission, he notes the following: a. Mr Hyde was previously in arrears from July 2022 (one month after the tenancy started) until January 2023 and then has got into arrears again in June 2023. Therefore, for the majority of the tenancy he has been in arrears. b. Mr Hyde does not communicate with him regularly or clearly and is very hard to get hold of. c. Mr Hyde has provided false information to WINZ as to the reason his Chartered membership of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants (CAANZ) has been suspended. d. Mr Hyde’s CAANZ membership was suspended on reasons of likely misappropriation of funds which he says is relevant in an assessment of his credibility. e. Mr Hyde’s previous tenancy was terminated in June 2022 as he was considerably in rent arrears. f. He has been very generous to and lenient of Mr Hyde but cannot financially continue the tenancy if the rent is not paid on time.
Mr Hyde was forthcoming, acknowledging and contrite. He accepts that Mr Stevens is entitled to his rent, and he acknowledges he has not paid it. The reasoning he says is issues he is having with WINZ. Because he works as well as receives a benefit, WINZ look into his accounts each year. This year when they did so they assessed the wrong information and as a result withdraw his redirection of rent (they were paying his rent directly) and ceased his full benefit entitlements.
He says he has been trying to resolve this issue with them actively and had a meeting yesterday and has another next week. At the meeting yesterday they paid him some payments they had missed which meant he was able to pay Mr Stevens $1600 towards the arrears. The meeting next week is to consider reinstating their rent payments and his full benefit. Mr Hyde is quite sure this will happen as he simply does not have any other income and is entitled to the benefit. For this reason, he says Mr Stevens can be assured that the situation will be rectified and not recur.
Mr Hyde accepts he is difficult to communicate with as he prefers not to use a phone. The evidence also substantiates that WINZ have been trying to call Mr Hyde to discuss and resolve this in July and August, but he made himself uncontactable.
Having carefully assessed all the evidence and submissions provided by the parties, I find it appropriate to make a conditional order. I accept Mr Hyde’s evidence that he has no material income and therefore it is very likely that WINZ will assist him in paying the debt and reinstating his direct rental payments. I also accept his submission that this situation was created by WINZ making an assessment of his income that was incorrect and the inaccuracies have taken some time to rectify.
I appreciate that Mr Stevens does not consider Mr Hyde reliable anymore, however the fact remains that if WINZ are paying his rent, his reliability should, in theory, not be the issue.
Accordingly, I have granted a conditional termination order. Mr Hyde must ensure that it is complied with, otherwise Mr Stevens is entitled to end the tenancy. The dates for payment accord with his meeting with WINZ.
The conditional termination order will lapse if it is fully complied with. If the tenant breaches the order, the possession order may be enforced for 90 days from the first breach. See section 64(4)(b) RTA.
I note that should Mr Stevens have to make a similar application to the Tribunal in the future, it is unlikely the Tribunal will take the same approach as I have today. Essentially, this is a last chance. I also advise Mr Stevens to improve his method of communication both with his landlord, with WINZ and with any other official body, or he is likely to find himself in even more difficult circumstances in the future.
Because Mr Stevens has substantially succeeded with the claim I have reimbursed the filing fee.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4656287 — net $2,420.44 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 15/9/23	$2,400.00	Rent arrears to 15/9/23
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$2,420.44
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$2,420.44

Order

Harold Hyde owes Don Stevens $2,420.44 (“the debt”) in accordance with the following table:
Harold Hyde must pay rent and the debt as follows: a. A payment of $2,420.44 for the debt on 13 September 2023. b. Rent of $400 on or before 15 September 2023.
Payments will be allocated in the following order: rent, rent arrears, and the filing fee.
If Mr Hyde fails to pay rent and rent arrears within 2 working days of the due dates: a. The tenancy at 168 Cecil Road, Wilton, Wellington 6012 will terminate and the landlord will have immediate possession of the premises. b. The balance of the debt will be payable immediately.
If Mr Hyde fails to pay the filing fee within 2 working days of the due date, the filing fee will be payable immediately.
Mr Hyde must reinstate his rental payments to occur on or before each Friday after his next rental payment in accordance with order 2(b).
No application for suppression has been made in this case and no suppression orders apply around publication of this decision.

Reasons

Mr Stevens has applied for termination of the tenancy and rent arrears. Mr Hyde wishes to have an opportunity to repay the debt and have his rent payments from Work and Income New Zealand (WINZ) reinstated to avoid immediate termination.
Where rent is at least 21 days in arrears on the date the application was filed, the Tribunal must make either a final or a conditional termination order. See section 55(1)(a) and (1A) Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA). The Tribunal can only make a conditional order if satisfied that the tenant will pay the debt within the period specified in the order and is unlikely to commit any further relevant breach.
Mr Stevens does not want a conditional order as he says Mr Hyde is unreliable and likely to get into such a situation again. In support of this submission, he notes the following: a. Mr Hyde was previously in arrears from July 2022 (one month after the tenancy started) until January 2023 and then has got into arrears again in June 2023. Therefore, for the majority of the tenancy he has been in arrears. b. Mr Hyde does not communicate with him regularly or clearly and is very hard to get hold of. c. Mr Hyde has provided false information to WINZ as to the reason his Chartered membership of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants (CAANZ) has been suspended. d. Mr Hyde’s CAANZ membership was suspended on reasons of likely misappropriation of funds which he says is relevant in an assessment of his credibility. e. Mr Hyde’s previous tenancy was terminated in June 2022 as he was considerably in rent arrears. f. He has been very generous to and lenient of Mr Hyde but cannot financially continue the tenancy if the rent is not paid on time.
Mr Hyde was forthcoming, acknowledging and contrite. He accepts that Mr Stevens is entitled to his rent, and he acknowledges he has not paid it. The reasoning he says is issues he is having with WINZ. Because he works as well as receives a benefit, WINZ look into his accounts each year. This year when they did so they assessed the wrong information and as a result withdraw his redirection of rent (they were paying his rent directly) and ceased his full benefit entitlements.
He says he has been trying to resolve this issue with them actively and had a meeting yesterday and has another next week. At the meeting yesterday they paid him some payments they had missed which meant he was able to pay Mr Stevens $1600 towards the arrears. The meeting next week is to consider reinstating their rent payments and his full benefit. Mr Hyde is quite sure this will happen as he simply does not have any other income and is entitled to the benefit. For this reason, he says Mr Stevens can be assured that the situation will be rectified and not recur.
Mr Hyde accepts he is difficult to communicate with as he prefers not to use a phone. The evidence also substantiates that WINZ have been trying to call Mr Hyde to discuss and resolve this in July and August, but he made himself uncontactable.
Having carefully assessed all the evidence and submissions provided by the parties, I find it appropriate to make a conditional order. I accept Mr Hyde’s evidence that he has no material income and therefore it is very likely that WINZ will assist him in paying the debt and reinstating his direct rental payments. I also accept his submission that this situation was created by WINZ making an assessment of his income that was incorrect and the inaccuracies have taken some time to rectify.
I appreciate that Mr Stevens does not consider Mr Hyde reliable anymore, however the fact remains that if WINZ are paying his rent, his reliability should, in theory, not be the issue.
Accordingly, I have granted a conditional termination order. Mr Hyde must ensure that it is complied with, otherwise Mr Stevens is entitled to end the tenancy. The dates for payment accord with his meeting with WINZ.
The conditional termination order will lapse if it is fully complied with. If the tenant breaches the order, the possession order may be enforced for 90 days from the first breach. See section 64(4)(b) RTA.
I note that should Mr Stevens have to make a similar application to the Tribunal in the future, it is unlikely the Tribunal will take the same approach as I have today. Essentially, this is a last chance. I also advise Mr Stevens to improve his method of communication both with his landlord, with WINZ and with any other official body, or he is likely to find himself in even more difficult circumstances in the future.
Because Mr Stevens has substantially succeeded with the claim I have reimbursed the filing fee.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4656287 — Rent arrears at 168 Cecil Road, Wilton, Wellington 6012

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4656287 — Rent arrears at 168 Cecil Road, Wilton, Wellington 6012

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