What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 4794638?

The tribunal order states: The tenancy of Shauntel Liana Patterson at Unit/Flat 7, 14B Kaponga Crescent,

How much money was awarded in case 4794638?

Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $4,420.00 awarded to landlord; Water And Gas From 12/05/203 To 26/0…: $525.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4794638?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4794638?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10132398-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 4794638?

The tribunal order states: The tenancy of Shauntel Liana Patterson at Unit/Flat 7, 14B Kaponga Crescent,

How much money was awarded in case 4794638?

Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $4,420.00 awarded to landlord; Water And Gas From 12/05/203 To 26/0…: $525.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4794638?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4794638?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10132398-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

Unit/Flat 7, 14B Kaponga Crescent, New Lynn, Auckland Tenancy Tribunal Case 4794638 — Rent arrears

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4794638 — net $4,965.44 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears (to 29/03.2024	$4,420.00	Rent arrears (to 29/03.2024
Water and Gas from 12/05/203 to 26/03/24 at 50	$525.00	Water and Gas from 12/05/203 to 26/03/24 at 50
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$4,965.44
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$4,965.44

Order

The tenancy of Shauntel Liana Patterson at Unit/Flat 7, 14B Kaponga Crescent, New Lynn, Auckland 0600 is terminated, and possession is granted to Tim Luo and Helen Dong, at 11:59pm on Tuesday 2 April 2024.
Shauntel Liana Patterson owes Tim Luo and Helen Dong $4,965.44, calculated as shown in the table below (“the debt”):
Shauntel Liana Patterson must pay rent owing to 2 April 2024 and the debt, set out in the table above, as follows: a. $4,965.44 to be paid in full by 5pm on Thursday 28 March 2024 for rent, water and gas arrears and the filing fee; and. b. $388.57 to be paid in full by 5pm on Friday 29 March 2024 for rent for the 4- day period from 30 March 2024 to 2 April 2024.
If Shauntel Liana Patterson fails to pay the amounts set out in paragraphs 3(a) and 3(b) above on the due dates, the full amounts of these debts will fall due immediately and the tenancy will be terminated immediately, and possession granted to Tim Luo and Helen Dong.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
The landlord has applied for rent arrears, water rate and gas arrears, compensation for damages and termination of the tenancy for breach of the tenant’s statutory and tenancy agreement-based obligations, including non payment of rent for 6 weeks and permitting another person to: a. Cause, or threatened to cause, substantial damage to the premises; and b. Engaging in anti-social and threatening conduct.

Should the tenancy be terminated?

Section 551(b) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA) states that the Tribunal “shall make an order terminating the tenancy if the Tribunal is satisfied that the tenant has caused, or has permitted any other person to cause, or has threatened to cause, substantial damage to the premises”.
Section 56(1) of the RTA also confirms the Tribunal may terminate a tenancy for breach where, due to the nature or extent of the breach, it would be inequitable to refuse to terminate.
Where the breach is not capable of remedy, the landlord is not expressly required to serve a 14-day breach notice on the tenant. A breach is not capable to remedy where the thing done, or its effect, cannot be undone.
However, unless the breach is serious, the Tribunal usually requires the landlord to have warned the tenant about the likely consequences of continued breach before it will exercise its discretion to terminate.
The tenant has breached her statutory and tenancy agreement-based obligations by permitting her husband, whom she was aware had mental health issues to engage in conduct on 9 and 10 December 2023 and 24 February 2024 to that has caused, or has threatened to cause, substantial damage to the premises.
Specifically, the tenant’s husband, who lived at the premises with her consent, shut the gas switches off to two buildings, effecting at least 15 other tenants supply of gas, damaged the gas switches and smoked near the broken gas switches on three separate occasions. The landlords also provided video and photographic evidence that the tenant’s husband threatened and abused them outside of their apartment, which is in the same complex. In addition, the landlords produced photographic evidence and police reports that prove the tenant’s husband had been charged with wilful damage to one of the apartment’s the fire doors and has flicked cigarette buts from the second level of the apartment block causing damage to the sun sail shade below.
It was claimed by the landlords, but not proven, that the tenant’s husband has also caused damage to other tenants’ vehicles by punching their vehicles in a fit of rage in the carpark of the complex and opening a car door on to the door of another tenant’s vehicle. The tenant says her, and her husband do not own any vehicles, she does not have a drivers licence for medical reasons and her husband has been in no fit mental state to drive. The tenant did accept her brother’s vehicle was parked at the complex for a month but for most of that time it was not driveable. The tenant also claimed that these allegations were false, unjust and representative of the attitude the landlords held of her and her husband during the entire tenancy.
The breaches of the tenancy agreement and the tenant’s statutory obligations are not capable of remedy because: a. The tenant’s husband is currently incarcerated, and she does not have the funds to repair the damage he has caused during his mental health episodes. He is however, no longer living at the premises and causing any further damage or risk to others living in the two complexes; and b. The tenant’s rent is now 6 weeks in arrears, she has not been able to pay her water and gas bills for nearly twelve months and the tenant has acknowledged that, with her husband in jail, she cannot pay the rent on her own. She gave evidence that he had been paying half of the rent and is no longer able to offer her that support.
It would be inequitable to refuse to terminate the tenancy when the landlords have suffered significant damage to their property and the tenant has admitted she will not be able to pay her rent in full and on time and has not been able to since her husband was arrested, despite going to Work and Income New Zealand for help.

How much does the tenant owe for rent, water and gas arrears?

The landlord provided rent records which prove the amount owing at the end of the tenancy is $4,808.57.
The landlord also provided gas and water records that show the tenant owes arrears of $1,050.00 to the end of the tenancy. During the hearing the landlords accepted that they had not provided the tenant with regular gas and water bills and that the gas and water arrears came as a shock to the tenant when she was first made aware of these as part of the landlords’ application to the Tribunal.
Section 49 of the RTA states “Where any party to a tenancy agreement breaches any of the provisions of the agreement or of this Act, the other party shall take all reasonable steps to limit the damage or loss arising from that breach, in accordance with the rules of law relating to mitigation of loss or damage upon breach of contract”. The landlords have not taken reasonable steps to mitigate their loss from non-payment of the water and gas used by the tenant by not providing her with regular bills thereby denying her the opportunity to pay these costs as they were incurred. I therefore find that it would be inequitable to award the landlords the full sum being claimed when they have rested on their laurels and then surprised the tenant with a large bill that she cannot pay. It would also be inequitable to not require the tenant to pay some of amount claimed when she has the benefit of consuming the water and gas the landlords are seeking reimbursement for.
I find that in all the circumstances, it is fair and reasonable for the tenant to be required to pay 50% of the sum sought, being $525.00, for the water and gas consumed from 12 May 2023 to 26 March 2024. Fire door and sunshade sail repairs
The landlords made claims for repairs to the fire door and sunshade sail that they say is damage caused by the tenant’s husband during the tenancy either intentionally or carelessly. They provided quotes for the work to be undertaken.
Those claims are premature, as no costs have been incurred by the landlord.
I declined to award compensation. A new application may be made once the work has been done and invoices can be produced in evidence. Reimbursement of filing fee
Because Tim Luo, Helen Dong has wholly succeeded with the claim I must reimburse the filing fee.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4794638 — net $4,965.44 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears (to 29/03.2024	$4,420.00	Rent arrears (to 29/03.2024
Water and Gas from 12/05/203 to 26/03/24 at 50	$525.00	Water and Gas from 12/05/203 to 26/03/24 at 50
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$4,965.44
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$4,965.44

Order

The tenancy of Shauntel Liana Patterson at Unit/Flat 7, 14B Kaponga Crescent, New Lynn, Auckland 0600 is terminated, and possession is granted to Tim Luo and Helen Dong, at 11:59pm on Tuesday 2 April 2024.
Shauntel Liana Patterson owes Tim Luo and Helen Dong $4,965.44, calculated as shown in the table below (“the debt”):
Shauntel Liana Patterson must pay rent owing to 2 April 2024 and the debt, set out in the table above, as follows: a. $4,965.44 to be paid in full by 5pm on Thursday 28 March 2024 for rent, water and gas arrears and the filing fee; and. b. $388.57 to be paid in full by 5pm on Friday 29 March 2024 for rent for the 4- day period from 30 March 2024 to 2 April 2024.
If Shauntel Liana Patterson fails to pay the amounts set out in paragraphs 3(a) and 3(b) above on the due dates, the full amounts of these debts will fall due immediately and the tenancy will be terminated immediately, and possession granted to Tim Luo and Helen Dong.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
The landlord has applied for rent arrears, water rate and gas arrears, compensation for damages and termination of the tenancy for breach of the tenant’s statutory and tenancy agreement-based obligations, including non payment of rent for 6 weeks and permitting another person to: a. Cause, or threatened to cause, substantial damage to the premises; and b. Engaging in anti-social and threatening conduct.

Should the tenancy be terminated?

Section 551(b) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA) states that the Tribunal “shall make an order terminating the tenancy if the Tribunal is satisfied that the tenant has caused, or has permitted any other person to cause, or has threatened to cause, substantial damage to the premises”.
Section 56(1) of the RTA also confirms the Tribunal may terminate a tenancy for breach where, due to the nature or extent of the breach, it would be inequitable to refuse to terminate.
Where the breach is not capable of remedy, the landlord is not expressly required to serve a 14-day breach notice on the tenant. A breach is not capable to remedy where the thing done, or its effect, cannot be undone.
However, unless the breach is serious, the Tribunal usually requires the landlord to have warned the tenant about the likely consequences of continued breach before it will exercise its discretion to terminate.
The tenant has breached her statutory and tenancy agreement-based obligations by permitting her husband, whom she was aware had mental health issues to engage in conduct on 9 and 10 December 2023 and 24 February 2024 to that has caused, or has threatened to cause, substantial damage to the premises.
Specifically, the tenant’s husband, who lived at the premises with her consent, shut the gas switches off to two buildings, effecting at least 15 other tenants supply of gas, damaged the gas switches and smoked near the broken gas switches on three separate occasions. The landlords also provided video and photographic evidence that the tenant’s husband threatened and abused them outside of their apartment, which is in the same complex. In addition, the landlords produced photographic evidence and police reports that prove the tenant’s husband had been charged with wilful damage to one of the apartment’s the fire doors and has flicked cigarette buts from the second level of the apartment block causing damage to the sun sail shade below.
It was claimed by the landlords, but not proven, that the tenant’s husband has also caused damage to other tenants’ vehicles by punching their vehicles in a fit of rage in the carpark of the complex and opening a car door on to the door of another tenant’s vehicle. The tenant says her, and her husband do not own any vehicles, she does not have a drivers licence for medical reasons and her husband has been in no fit mental state to drive. The tenant did accept her brother’s vehicle was parked at the complex for a month but for most of that time it was not driveable. The tenant also claimed that these allegations were false, unjust and representative of the attitude the landlords held of her and her husband during the entire tenancy.
The breaches of the tenancy agreement and the tenant’s statutory obligations are not capable of remedy because: a. The tenant’s husband is currently incarcerated, and she does not have the funds to repair the damage he has caused during his mental health episodes. He is however, no longer living at the premises and causing any further damage or risk to others living in the two complexes; and b. The tenant’s rent is now 6 weeks in arrears, she has not been able to pay her water and gas bills for nearly twelve months and the tenant has acknowledged that, with her husband in jail, she cannot pay the rent on her own. She gave evidence that he had been paying half of the rent and is no longer able to offer her that support.
It would be inequitable to refuse to terminate the tenancy when the landlords have suffered significant damage to their property and the tenant has admitted she will not be able to pay her rent in full and on time and has not been able to since her husband was arrested, despite going to Work and Income New Zealand for help.

How much does the tenant owe for rent, water and gas arrears?

The landlord provided rent records which prove the amount owing at the end of the tenancy is $4,808.57.
The landlord also provided gas and water records that show the tenant owes arrears of $1,050.00 to the end of the tenancy. During the hearing the landlords accepted that they had not provided the tenant with regular gas and water bills and that the gas and water arrears came as a shock to the tenant when she was first made aware of these as part of the landlords’ application to the Tribunal.
Section 49 of the RTA states “Where any party to a tenancy agreement breaches any of the provisions of the agreement or of this Act, the other party shall take all reasonable steps to limit the damage or loss arising from that breach, in accordance with the rules of law relating to mitigation of loss or damage upon breach of contract”. The landlords have not taken reasonable steps to mitigate their loss from non-payment of the water and gas used by the tenant by not providing her with regular bills thereby denying her the opportunity to pay these costs as they were incurred. I therefore find that it would be inequitable to award the landlords the full sum being claimed when they have rested on their laurels and then surprised the tenant with a large bill that she cannot pay. It would also be inequitable to not require the tenant to pay some of amount claimed when she has the benefit of consuming the water and gas the landlords are seeking reimbursement for.
I find that in all the circumstances, it is fair and reasonable for the tenant to be required to pay 50% of the sum sought, being $525.00, for the water and gas consumed from 12 May 2023 to 26 March 2024. Fire door and sunshade sail repairs
The landlords made claims for repairs to the fire door and sunshade sail that they say is damage caused by the tenant’s husband during the tenancy either intentionally or carelessly. They provided quotes for the work to be undertaken.
Those claims are premature, as no costs have been incurred by the landlord.
I declined to award compensation. A new application may be made once the work has been done and invoices can be produced in evidence. Reimbursement of filing fee
Because Tim Luo, Helen Dong has wholly succeeded with the claim I must reimburse the filing fee.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4794638 — Rent arrears at Unit/Flat 7, 14B Kaponga Crescent, New Lynn, Auckland

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4794638 — Rent arrears at Unit/Flat 7, 14B Kaponga Crescent, New Lynn, Auckland

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Should the tenancy be terminated?

How much does the tenant owe for rent, water and gas arrears?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Should the tenancy be terminated?

How much does the tenant owe for rent, water and gas arrears?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions