What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 4715689?

The tribunal order states: Sarah Cully to pay Monju Sarkar $1,473.82 from the bond, calculated as shown

How much money was awarded in case 4715689?

Cleaning: $300.00 awarded to landlord; Compensation: Power: $320.46 awarded to tenant; Compensation: Unreasonable Draughts: $220.00 awarded to tenant; Rent Arrears: $1,672.00 awarded to landlord; Replace Furnishings: Rug: $42.28 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4715689?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears. Related themes: Cleanliness.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4715689?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10506824-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 4715689?

The tribunal order states: Sarah Cully to pay Monju Sarkar $1,473.82 from the bond, calculated as shown

How much money was awarded in case 4715689?

Cleaning: $300.00 awarded to landlord; Compensation: Power: $320.46 awarded to tenant; Compensation: Unreasonable Draughts: $220.00 awarded to tenant; Rent Arrears: $1,672.00 awarded to landlord; Replace Furnishings: Rug: $42.28 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4715689?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears. Related themes: Cleanliness.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4715689?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10506824-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

745 Hakarimata Road, RD 1, Huntly 3771 Tenancy Tribunal Case 4715689 — Rent arrears

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4715689 — net $1,473.82 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Tenant	Reason
Rent arrears	$1,672.00		Rent arrears
Carpet Cleaning	$300.00		Carpet Cleaning
Replace furnishings: rug	$42.28		Replace furnishings: rug
Compensation: power		$320.46	power
Compensation: unreasonable draughts		$220.00	unreasonable draughts
Total award	$2,014.28	$540.46
Net award	$1,473.82
Bond	$2,600.00
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$1,473.82

Order

Sarah Cully to pay Monju Sarkar $1,473.82 from the bond, calculated as shown in table below.
The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $2,600.00 (6256751-019) immediately apportioned as follows: Monju Sarkar: $1,473.82 Sarah Cully: $1,126.18

Reasons

The landlord and the tenant’s representative attended the hearing in person. The tenant attended part of the hearing by phone (from overseas).
Both parties have made applications to the Tribunal about this tenancy which ran for 3 months and ended on 15 October 2023. The tenant did not want to continue past this date which was the end of the fixed term.
The parties provided some documentary evidence (tenancy agreement, texts and emails, photographs) however a lot of the evidence comes from their oral recollections. These events happened some time ago and memory can be unreliable. I have done the best I can with the evidence available. The legal requirements
Both landlords and tenants have legal obligations under the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA).
The landlord’s obligations include to:- a. provide a written and signed tenancy agreement with insurance, insulation, and Healthy Homes Standards compliance statements fully completed; b. provide and maintain the premises in a reasonable state of repair; c. provide smoke alarms; d. comply with the Healthy Homes Standards (HHS); 1
The HHS are set standards for heating in the main living area, ceiling and underfloor insulation, ventilation from windows and bathroom and kitchen extractor fans, draught stopping, an efficient drainage system and a moisture prevention barrier under the house. A landlord must keep any records to show compliance for 12 months after a tenancy has ended; s123A RTA.
A tenant’s obligations include:- a. Paying rent when due; b. Paying for outgoings (eg power, water) that are used only by them; c. Leaving the premises reasonably clean and tidy, removing all rubbish, returning all keys, and leaving all landlord chattels.
If making a claim for damage, a landlord must prove that any damage happened during this tenancy and is more than fair wear and tear. If this is 1 Within 90 days of any new, or renewed, tenancy that commences on a date between 1 July 2021 and 27 August 2022 or within 120 days if the tenancy commences after 27 August 2022; Clause 2 of Schedule 1, Residential Tenancies (Healthy Homes Standards) Regulations 2019. established, to avoid liability, the tenant must prove they did not carelessly or intentionally cause or permit the damage. Sections 40(2)(a), 41 and 49B RTA. Claims and decisions I list the claims below and the decisions on each.
Rent: the tenant agreed at mediation that she owes $1,672.00 for rent up to the end of the tenancy.
Power: the landlord agreed at mediation that she should compensate the tenant for power used by the landlord but paid for by the tenant.
The power bill was in the tenant’s name. The landlord accepts that there is only one power meter at the large rural property and that there is power supply to a garage and a separate dwelling unit in which the landlord and her husband stay when they come to the property.
Section 39 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA) covers the responsibility for payment of outgoings. Section 39(1) says that a landlord is responsible for "all outgoings in respect of the premises that - (a) are incurred whether or not the premises are occupied;". Section 39(3) says that a tenant is responsible for outgoings that are "exclusively attributable to the tenant's occupation of the premises or use of the facilities".
My decision is that it is fairest if the landlord pays the fixed charges for the power during the tenancy. If there is only one power meter and the landlord uses power at the property, then the landlord should have the power bill in the landlord’s name which means they are liable to pay all the fixed charge.
The daily fixed charge is $2.278 (+GST) per day. The landlord says this is too high and that fixed charges are never more than about $1.15 per day. The fact is that the daily charge is $2.278 as this is what is written on the tenant’s power bill. The tenancy was 88 days long. This is 88 x $2.278 = $200.46 +GST = $230.53.
There is no way of separately measuring how much power the tenant and her family (4 children) used and how much the landlord and her husband used. I must make an assessment as best I can.
The tenant says that the landlord stayed at the property for about 9 weekends (Thursday to Sunday). The landlord denies that it was this often. There is no way to know for sure.
The landlord supplied a power bill from after this tenancy ended. It shows power usage costs of about $35.00 over 40 days. Again, there is no way to know how this compares to usage during the tenancy.
I order that the landlord compensate the tenant an additional $120.00 towards power usage over the tenancy.
This is total compensation of $320.46.
If the landlord is unhappy with this outcome, the best way to avoid this in future is to install separate meters at the property so that the power used by tenants can be measured separately.
Oven: the tenant claims compensation as she says she could not use the oven during the tenancy because there were holes in the bottom of it. These look like rust holes. The landlord supplied the tenant with a metal oven tray to sit in the oven and cover the holes. The landlord says that it was safe to use the oven like this and she has a written email from an electrician to say so. I can understand why the tenant did not want to use the oven as it was. However, the first time there is a record of it being mentioned to the landlord was at an inspection on 15 September 2023 and I accept the evidence that it was safe. I do not award compensation because if the tenant was very inconvenienced, I would expect to see texts or other mention of it earlier on.
Unreasonable gaps around French doors (lounge) and the ranchslider: the tenant says the house was cold and draughty because of unreasonable gaps. Her photographs show a large gap along the top of one of the wooden French doors. There was no photo to prove the ranchslider was missing the door barrel leaving a hole. I agree that the gap around the French doors is a breach of the HHS draught stopping requirement. I accept the tenant’s oral evidence that when she asked the landlord about this, she was told that the long drapes would stop the draught. This is not good enough. It was the middle of winter when the tenant lived here. I award compensation of $220.00 which is $2.50 per day of the tenancy (partly to recognise higher electricity costs to heat a draughty house).
Carpet cleaning: the landlord says the carpet was left stained and that this happened during the tenancy. The tenant says that there were stains from the beginning (although many of these were covered by rugs or furniture) and that she shampooed the carpet herself to try to improve things. There are four ingoing photos, and I cannot see any stains. The ingoing inspection report does not mention existing stains. On balance, I accept the claim and award the cost to clean based on the invoice which is $300.00.
Damaged wool rug and missing second rug: The parties agree that two floor rugs were tenancy chattels. One is missing and the landlord says the blue wool rug is damaged by smell and it could not be cleaned. The tenant says these were in poor condition at the start but there is no record of her communicating this to the landlord. I award $42.28 towards the missing rug which is 25% of the estimate cost for a replacement. I do not award more because there is no evidence of the age or condition of the rug at the start of the tenancy and the landlord has not actually replaced it. The landlord has not proven that the wool rug was damaged during the tenancy, so this claim is dismissed.
Holes in walls from tv brackets: the tenant asked the landlord if she could put up TV brackets in several rooms and the landlord agreed. The landlord says that the tenant did not fill the holes. There are no photos of the holes, and no cost has been incurred, so I dismiss this claim.
Cracked glass in one pane of door: the landlord has not proved this happened during the tenancy and has not repaired it as it is an old style of glass. I do not award compensation.
Chimney cleaning: the landlord has not done this work, so I do not award this claim. Chimney cleaning is often paid for by a landlord as part of maintaining the heating.
Damaged drawer in kitchen: the landlord has not proven that the drawer damage is more than wear and tear. I dismiss the claim.
Removal of dog poo: there is no evidence of a cost to do this, the place where the waste was found is not in the tenancy area, and the only evidence of a dog at the property was when one visited on one occasion. I dismiss the claim. I note that the landlord also has a dog which she brought to the property when she stayed.
Filing fees: I make no order about these.
The bond is refunded in accordance with the amounts awarded.
I mention the healthy homes standards compliance statements. These are not fully completed. The landlord should make sure that the premises comply with all of the Healthy Homes Standards (eg check the heating required and the heating supplied, the current standard of insulation, all gaps in this old villa, and all other requirements) and make sure the compliance statements are accurate. To fail to do so breaches the Act and large fines can apply.
Neither party has been substantially successful with their claims, so no suppression orders are made.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4715689 — net $1,473.82 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Tenant	Reason
Rent arrears	$1,672.00		Rent arrears
Carpet Cleaning	$300.00		Carpet Cleaning
Replace furnishings: rug	$42.28		Replace furnishings: rug
Compensation: power		$320.46	power
Compensation: unreasonable draughts		$220.00	unreasonable draughts
Total award	$2,014.28	$540.46
Net award	$1,473.82
Bond	$2,600.00
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$1,473.82

Order

Sarah Cully to pay Monju Sarkar $1,473.82 from the bond, calculated as shown in table below.
The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $2,600.00 (6256751-019) immediately apportioned as follows: Monju Sarkar: $1,473.82 Sarah Cully: $1,126.18

Reasons

The landlord and the tenant’s representative attended the hearing in person. The tenant attended part of the hearing by phone (from overseas).
Both parties have made applications to the Tribunal about this tenancy which ran for 3 months and ended on 15 October 2023. The tenant did not want to continue past this date which was the end of the fixed term.
The parties provided some documentary evidence (tenancy agreement, texts and emails, photographs) however a lot of the evidence comes from their oral recollections. These events happened some time ago and memory can be unreliable. I have done the best I can with the evidence available. The legal requirements
Both landlords and tenants have legal obligations under the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA).
The landlord’s obligations include to:- a. provide a written and signed tenancy agreement with insurance, insulation, and Healthy Homes Standards compliance statements fully completed; b. provide and maintain the premises in a reasonable state of repair; c. provide smoke alarms; d. comply with the Healthy Homes Standards (HHS); 1
The HHS are set standards for heating in the main living area, ceiling and underfloor insulation, ventilation from windows and bathroom and kitchen extractor fans, draught stopping, an efficient drainage system and a moisture prevention barrier under the house. A landlord must keep any records to show compliance for 12 months after a tenancy has ended; s123A RTA.
A tenant’s obligations include:- a. Paying rent when due; b. Paying for outgoings (eg power, water) that are used only by them; c. Leaving the premises reasonably clean and tidy, removing all rubbish, returning all keys, and leaving all landlord chattels.
If making a claim for damage, a landlord must prove that any damage happened during this tenancy and is more than fair wear and tear. If this is 1 Within 90 days of any new, or renewed, tenancy that commences on a date between 1 July 2021 and 27 August 2022 or within 120 days if the tenancy commences after 27 August 2022; Clause 2 of Schedule 1, Residential Tenancies (Healthy Homes Standards) Regulations 2019. established, to avoid liability, the tenant must prove they did not carelessly or intentionally cause or permit the damage. Sections 40(2)(a), 41 and 49B RTA. Claims and decisions I list the claims below and the decisions on each.
Rent: the tenant agreed at mediation that she owes $1,672.00 for rent up to the end of the tenancy.
Power: the landlord agreed at mediation that she should compensate the tenant for power used by the landlord but paid for by the tenant.
The power bill was in the tenant’s name. The landlord accepts that there is only one power meter at the large rural property and that there is power supply to a garage and a separate dwelling unit in which the landlord and her husband stay when they come to the property.
Section 39 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA) covers the responsibility for payment of outgoings. Section 39(1) says that a landlord is responsible for "all outgoings in respect of the premises that - (a) are incurred whether or not the premises are occupied;". Section 39(3) says that a tenant is responsible for outgoings that are "exclusively attributable to the tenant's occupation of the premises or use of the facilities".
My decision is that it is fairest if the landlord pays the fixed charges for the power during the tenancy. If there is only one power meter and the landlord uses power at the property, then the landlord should have the power bill in the landlord’s name which means they are liable to pay all the fixed charge.
The daily fixed charge is $2.278 (+GST) per day. The landlord says this is too high and that fixed charges are never more than about $1.15 per day. The fact is that the daily charge is $2.278 as this is what is written on the tenant’s power bill. The tenancy was 88 days long. This is 88 x $2.278 = $200.46 +GST = $230.53.
There is no way of separately measuring how much power the tenant and her family (4 children) used and how much the landlord and her husband used. I must make an assessment as best I can.
The tenant says that the landlord stayed at the property for about 9 weekends (Thursday to Sunday). The landlord denies that it was this often. There is no way to know for sure.
The landlord supplied a power bill from after this tenancy ended. It shows power usage costs of about $35.00 over 40 days. Again, there is no way to know how this compares to usage during the tenancy.
I order that the landlord compensate the tenant an additional $120.00 towards power usage over the tenancy.
This is total compensation of $320.46.
If the landlord is unhappy with this outcome, the best way to avoid this in future is to install separate meters at the property so that the power used by tenants can be measured separately.
Oven: the tenant claims compensation as she says she could not use the oven during the tenancy because there were holes in the bottom of it. These look like rust holes. The landlord supplied the tenant with a metal oven tray to sit in the oven and cover the holes. The landlord says that it was safe to use the oven like this and she has a written email from an electrician to say so. I can understand why the tenant did not want to use the oven as it was. However, the first time there is a record of it being mentioned to the landlord was at an inspection on 15 September 2023 and I accept the evidence that it was safe. I do not award compensation because if the tenant was very inconvenienced, I would expect to see texts or other mention of it earlier on.
Unreasonable gaps around French doors (lounge) and the ranchslider: the tenant says the house was cold and draughty because of unreasonable gaps. Her photographs show a large gap along the top of one of the wooden French doors. There was no photo to prove the ranchslider was missing the door barrel leaving a hole. I agree that the gap around the French doors is a breach of the HHS draught stopping requirement. I accept the tenant’s oral evidence that when she asked the landlord about this, she was told that the long drapes would stop the draught. This is not good enough. It was the middle of winter when the tenant lived here. I award compensation of $220.00 which is $2.50 per day of the tenancy (partly to recognise higher electricity costs to heat a draughty house).
Carpet cleaning: the landlord says the carpet was left stained and that this happened during the tenancy. The tenant says that there were stains from the beginning (although many of these were covered by rugs or furniture) and that she shampooed the carpet herself to try to improve things. There are four ingoing photos, and I cannot see any stains. The ingoing inspection report does not mention existing stains. On balance, I accept the claim and award the cost to clean based on the invoice which is $300.00.
Damaged wool rug and missing second rug: The parties agree that two floor rugs were tenancy chattels. One is missing and the landlord says the blue wool rug is damaged by smell and it could not be cleaned. The tenant says these were in poor condition at the start but there is no record of her communicating this to the landlord. I award $42.28 towards the missing rug which is 25% of the estimate cost for a replacement. I do not award more because there is no evidence of the age or condition of the rug at the start of the tenancy and the landlord has not actually replaced it. The landlord has not proven that the wool rug was damaged during the tenancy, so this claim is dismissed.
Holes in walls from tv brackets: the tenant asked the landlord if she could put up TV brackets in several rooms and the landlord agreed. The landlord says that the tenant did not fill the holes. There are no photos of the holes, and no cost has been incurred, so I dismiss this claim.
Cracked glass in one pane of door: the landlord has not proved this happened during the tenancy and has not repaired it as it is an old style of glass. I do not award compensation.
Chimney cleaning: the landlord has not done this work, so I do not award this claim. Chimney cleaning is often paid for by a landlord as part of maintaining the heating.
Damaged drawer in kitchen: the landlord has not proven that the drawer damage is more than wear and tear. I dismiss the claim.
Removal of dog poo: there is no evidence of a cost to do this, the place where the waste was found is not in the tenancy area, and the only evidence of a dog at the property was when one visited on one occasion. I dismiss the claim. I note that the landlord also has a dog which she brought to the property when she stayed.
Filing fees: I make no order about these.
The bond is refunded in accordance with the amounts awarded.
I mention the healthy homes standards compliance statements. These are not fully completed. The landlord should make sure that the premises comply with all of the Healthy Homes Standards (eg check the heating required and the heating supplied, the current standard of insulation, all gaps in this old villa, and all other requirements) and make sure the compliance statements are accurate. To fail to do so breaches the Act and large fines can apply.
Neither party has been substantially successful with their claims, so no suppression orders are made.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4715689 — Rent arrears at 745 Hakarimata Road, RD 1, Huntly 3771

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4715689 — Rent arrears at 745 Hakarimata Road, RD 1, Huntly 3771

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