What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 4695430?

The tribunal order states: Joseph Mitchell to pay Five AM Property Management Limited As Agent For

How much money was awarded in case 4695430?

Lawns and Garden Work: $150.00 awarded to landlord; Reimbursement Of Flea Treatment And…: $150.00 awarded to tenant; Water Rates: $69.87 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4695430?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4695430?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9618434-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 4695430?

The tribunal order states: Joseph Mitchell to pay Five AM Property Management Limited As Agent For

How much money was awarded in case 4695430?

Lawns and Garden Work: $150.00 awarded to landlord; Reimbursement Of Flea Treatment And…: $150.00 awarded to tenant; Water Rates: $69.87 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4695430?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4695430?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9618434-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

47A Marendellas Drive, Bucklands Beach, Auckland 2014 Tenancy Tribunal Case 4695430 — Tenancy dispute

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47A Marendellas Drive, Bucklands Beach, Auckland 2014 Tenancy Tribunal Case 4695430 — Tenancy dispute | TenantCheck

Claims & awards

What this tenancy cost at tribunal — claim, category, amount, and party awarded, with reconciled net total.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4695430 — net $69.87 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Tenant	Reason
Water rates	$69.87		Water rates
Lawns and Garden work	$150.00		Lawns and Garden work
reimbursement of flea treatment and reasonable costs		$150.00	reimbursement of flea treatment and reasonable costs
Total award	$219.87	$150.00
Net award	$69.87
Bond	$3,160.00
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$69.87

Claims and awards for application 4695430 — net $69.87 NZD. Verify on MoJ.

Water rates

Amount: $69.87
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Water rates

Lawns and Garden work

Amount: $150.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Lawns and Garden work

reimbursement of flea treatment and reasonable costs

Amount: $150.00
Awarded to: Tenant
Reason: reimbursement of flea treatment and reasonable costs

Total award

Landlord $219.87 · Tenant $150.00

Net award

Landlord $69.87

Bond

Landlord $3,160.00

Total payable by Tenant to Landlord

Landlord $69.87

Claim types — money lines allowed on this order

Lawns And Garden Work Water Rates

Order

Joseph Mitchell to pay Five AM Property Management Limited As Agent For Ajay Khedkar $69.87 from the bond, calculated as shown in table below.
The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $3,160.00 (5935566-004) immediately apportioned as follows: Five AM Property Management Limited As Agent For Ajay Khedkar: $69.87 Joseph Mitchell: $3,090.13

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
The landlord has applied for water arrears, compensation, refund of the bond, and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy. The tenant counterclaimed for costs incurred and water leaks.

How much is owed for water rates?

The landlord provided water rates invoices which prove the amount owing at the end of the tenancy.

Is the tenant liable to pay break lease costs?

The fixed term tenancy ended prematurely on 15 July 2023. The landlord seeks a break lease fee totalling $786.60 for reletting the premises earlier than necessary.
The landlord’s itemising of administrative, advertising and other costs appear reasonable but for the fact that the tenant had only broken the fixed term tenancy by exactly 3 weeks.
The original end date of the fixed term tenancy is 4 August 2023.
I consider that had the fixed term tenancy not been broken by the tenant on 15 July 2023, the landlord would have had to start looking for new tenants in any event prior to 4 August 2023.
The landlord merely had to kick-start the process of readvertising for new tenants 2-3 weeks earlier.
Consequently, I am not satisfied that the landlord had incurred any actual or real loss from the tenant vacating on 15 July 2023. As it were, new tenants commenced their tenancy on 16 July 2023 and there was no loss of rent from the early re-letting of the premises.
The landlord’s claim for a break lease fee totalling $786.60 therefore fails.

Did the tenant comply with their obligations at the end of the tenancy?

At the end of the tenancy the tenant must leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy, and remove all rubbish. See section 40(1)(e)(ii)-(v) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The entry and exit photographs of the garden and grounds show that the tenant had not left the garden reasonably tidy.
The amounts ordered for lawns and garden work are proved.

Should the landlord pay for the pest control measures undertaken by the tenant?

At the start of the tenancy the landlord must provide the premises in a reasonable state of cleanliness. See section 45(1)(a) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The landlord adduced evidence that on 4 February 2023, professional cleaners had attended to the premises for “house cleaning, pest spray” at a cost of $299.00.
The tenant’s children however suffered from flea bites within 1-2 days of moving into the premises and given the previous tenants having kept a dog, it is more likely than not that the premises were not free of fleas at the start of this tenancy.
I consider it fair and reasonable in the circumstances for the tenant to be reimbursed with $150.00 to further treat the property for fleas after their children were bitten and had to be treated by doctors. The tenant’s other claims
The remaining claims by the tenant are unsuccessful.
There is no basis for the tenant to seek reimbursement of $800.00 for the so- called weekly carpet change charge of $40.00 during the tenancy. The rent was advertised at $790.00 per week and as per the tenancy agreement, rent was stated as $790.00 per week. The fact that the landlord has justified a $40.00 rent increase from the previous tenancy of $750.00 due to the landlord replacing existing carpets with new ones is irrelevant. The rent is $790.00 and the landlord was entitled to receive that agreed amount for rent. I therefore reject the tenant’s argument that they indirectly paid carpet replacement charges.
The tenant’s claim for deep cleaning expenses also fails. I am satisfied that the landlord has provided the premises in a reasonably clean and tidy condition when they engaged professional cleaners to tend to the property. The further cleaning undertaken by the tenant are understandable but not claimable.
Finally, there is insufficient evidence before the Tribunal to show that an unrepaired leak occurred at the premises, nor has the tenant showed details of the landlord being allegedly told about leaks on the premises which they have not attended to. There is nothing untoward in the water bills adduced by the landlord to indicate an unusually high water usage. Accordingly, the tenant’s claim for reimbursement of water charges of $120.00 fails.
Only the amounts ordered are proved.
I decline to award reimbursement of the filing fee to either party as neither party were wholly successful on their respective claims.
The bond will be disbursed to the parties as set out above.

Claims & awards

What this tenancy cost at tribunal — claim, category, amount, and party awarded, with reconciled net total.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4695430 — net $69.87 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Tenant	Reason
Water rates	$69.87		Water rates
Lawns and Garden work	$150.00		Lawns and Garden work
reimbursement of flea treatment and reasonable costs		$150.00	reimbursement of flea treatment and reasonable costs
Total award	$219.87	$150.00
Net award	$69.87
Bond	$3,160.00
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$69.87

Claims and awards for application 4695430 — net $69.87 NZD. Verify on MoJ.

Water rates

Amount: $69.87
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Water rates

Lawns and Garden work

Amount: $150.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Lawns and Garden work

reimbursement of flea treatment and reasonable costs

Amount: $150.00
Awarded to: Tenant
Reason: reimbursement of flea treatment and reasonable costs

Total award

Landlord $219.87 · Tenant $150.00

Net award

Landlord $69.87

Bond

Landlord $3,160.00

Total payable by Tenant to Landlord

Landlord $69.87

Claim types — money lines allowed on this order

Lawns And Garden Work Water Rates

Order

Joseph Mitchell to pay Five AM Property Management Limited As Agent For Ajay Khedkar $69.87 from the bond, calculated as shown in table below.
The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $3,160.00 (5935566-004) immediately apportioned as follows: Five AM Property Management Limited As Agent For Ajay Khedkar: $69.87 Joseph Mitchell: $3,090.13

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
The landlord has applied for water arrears, compensation, refund of the bond, and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy. The tenant counterclaimed for costs incurred and water leaks.

How much is owed for water rates?

The landlord provided water rates invoices which prove the amount owing at the end of the tenancy.

Is the tenant liable to pay break lease costs?

The fixed term tenancy ended prematurely on 15 July 2023. The landlord seeks a break lease fee totalling $786.60 for reletting the premises earlier than necessary.
The landlord’s itemising of administrative, advertising and other costs appear reasonable but for the fact that the tenant had only broken the fixed term tenancy by exactly 3 weeks.
The original end date of the fixed term tenancy is 4 August 2023.
I consider that had the fixed term tenancy not been broken by the tenant on 15 July 2023, the landlord would have had to start looking for new tenants in any event prior to 4 August 2023.
The landlord merely had to kick-start the process of readvertising for new tenants 2-3 weeks earlier.
Consequently, I am not satisfied that the landlord had incurred any actual or real loss from the tenant vacating on 15 July 2023. As it were, new tenants commenced their tenancy on 16 July 2023 and there was no loss of rent from the early re-letting of the premises.
The landlord’s claim for a break lease fee totalling $786.60 therefore fails.

Did the tenant comply with their obligations at the end of the tenancy?

At the end of the tenancy the tenant must leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy, and remove all rubbish. See section 40(1)(e)(ii)-(v) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The entry and exit photographs of the garden and grounds show that the tenant had not left the garden reasonably tidy.
The amounts ordered for lawns and garden work are proved.

Should the landlord pay for the pest control measures undertaken by the tenant?

At the start of the tenancy the landlord must provide the premises in a reasonable state of cleanliness. See section 45(1)(a) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The landlord adduced evidence that on 4 February 2023, professional cleaners had attended to the premises for “house cleaning, pest spray” at a cost of $299.00.
The tenant’s children however suffered from flea bites within 1-2 days of moving into the premises and given the previous tenants having kept a dog, it is more likely than not that the premises were not free of fleas at the start of this tenancy.
I consider it fair and reasonable in the circumstances for the tenant to be reimbursed with $150.00 to further treat the property for fleas after their children were bitten and had to be treated by doctors. The tenant’s other claims
The remaining claims by the tenant are unsuccessful.
There is no basis for the tenant to seek reimbursement of $800.00 for the so- called weekly carpet change charge of $40.00 during the tenancy. The rent was advertised at $790.00 per week and as per the tenancy agreement, rent was stated as $790.00 per week. The fact that the landlord has justified a $40.00 rent increase from the previous tenancy of $750.00 due to the landlord replacing existing carpets with new ones is irrelevant. The rent is $790.00 and the landlord was entitled to receive that agreed amount for rent. I therefore reject the tenant’s argument that they indirectly paid carpet replacement charges.
The tenant’s claim for deep cleaning expenses also fails. I am satisfied that the landlord has provided the premises in a reasonably clean and tidy condition when they engaged professional cleaners to tend to the property. The further cleaning undertaken by the tenant are understandable but not claimable.
Finally, there is insufficient evidence before the Tribunal to show that an unrepaired leak occurred at the premises, nor has the tenant showed details of the landlord being allegedly told about leaks on the premises which they have not attended to. There is nothing untoward in the water bills adduced by the landlord to indicate an unusually high water usage. Accordingly, the tenant’s claim for reimbursement of water charges of $120.00 fails.
Only the amounts ordered are proved.
I decline to award reimbursement of the filing fee to either party as neither party were wholly successful on their respective claims.
The bond will be disbursed to the parties as set out above.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4695430 — Tenancy dispute at 47A Marendellas Drive, Bucklands Beach, Auckland 2014

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4695430 — Tenancy dispute at 47A Marendellas Drive, Bucklands Beach, Auckland 2014

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

How much is owed for water rates?

Is the tenant liable to pay break lease costs?

Did the tenant comply with their obligations at the end of the tenancy?

Should the landlord pay for the pest control measures undertaken by the tenant?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Property management

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

How much is owed for water rates?

Is the tenant liable to pay break lease costs?

Did the tenant comply with their obligations at the end of the tenancy?

Should the landlord pay for the pest control measures undertaken by the tenant?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Property management

Frequently asked questions