What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 4802357?

The tribunal order states: Nganeko Ngeru must pay Hokipera Ruakere Papuni, Wade Papuni $1,270.44

How much money was awarded in case 4802357?

Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Previous Order Application 4769837 D…: $1,090.00 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $160.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4802357?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4802357?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10087651-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 4802357?

The tribunal order states: Nganeko Ngeru must pay Hokipera Ruakere Papuni, Wade Papuni $1,270.44

How much money was awarded in case 4802357?

Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Previous Order Application 4769837 D…: $1,090.00 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $160.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4802357?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4802357?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10087651-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

14 Raleigh Street, Vogeltown, New Plymouth 4310 Tenancy Tribunal Case 4802357 — Rent arrears

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4802357 — net $1,270.44 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 14 March 2024	$160.00	Rent arrears to 14 March 2024
Previous order application 4769837 dated 01/02/2024	$1,090.00	Previous order application 4769837 dated 01/02/2024
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$1,270.44
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$1,270.44

Order

Nganeko Ngeru must pay Hokipera Ruakere Papuni, Wade Papuni $1,270.44 immediately, calculated as shown in table below.
The landlord’s application for termination of the tenancy is dismissed.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing which took place by telephone.
Hokipera Ruakere Papuni wanted her husband Wade Papuni to attend the hearing and be added to the application. He is her husband and jointly owns the property. With the tenant’s consent he is added as a party to this application.
The landlord seeks $1,850 being rent arrears to 14 March 2024 and the termination of the tenancy. The weekly rent is $600.

How much does the tenant owe in rent?

The landlord and the tenant disagree on the amount the tenant owes in total. The landlord says it is $1,850 and the tenant says it is $1,250.
I have needed to consider this in more detail. This is not a case where I can simply look at the length of the tenancy and compare the amount that should have been paid to the amount that has actually been paid. This is because an earlier order was made in respect of arrears for this tenancy in case number 4769837.
There is a sealed mediation order in 4769837 dated 1 February 2024 (the Mediation Order) which stands as an order of the Tribunal. Importantly, I cannot go behind the Mediation Order.
The mediation took place on 24 January 2024. The Mediation Order says that there was a debt owed of $490 of rent arrears and that the current week’s rent of $600 should be paid on 25 January 2024. The order records that “as at 1 February 2024 the debt is $490”.
I find that the wording of the Mediation Order means that for the tenant to be up to date with her rent, taking her to 1 February 2024, the tenant needed to pay $1,090 ($490 + $600).
The parties agree that the tenant has, since the mediation, paid $430 eight times. This totals $3,440.
The period from 2 February 2024 (the date subsequent to the Mediation Order) to 14 March 2024 (date of hearing) is an additional 6 weeks ($600 x 6 =$3,600 in rent) (subsequent rent).
$1,090 (from the Mediation Order) plus $3,600 (subsequent rent) is a total of $4,690 that is due (since and including the sum in the Mediation Order).
I find that this means that the tenant presently owes $1,250 in total incorporating the sums in the Mediator’s Order which I have accounted for in my order. This is because $4,690 less $3,600 is $1,250. The landlord’s rent summary has some typographical errors but I am satisfied on the basis that both parties say that $430 has been paid eight times since the mediation, and on the basis of the tenant’s overall admission, that it is proven that this sum is owing to 14 March 2024.
It is important for the landlord to understand that once an order of the Tribunal has been made the Tribunal cannot simply disregard it. The Mediation Order must be the starting point for this present application. Discrepancies can sometimes seem to arise looking at the sum owed for the whole tenancy compared to the amount the tenant has actually paid when an earlier order has been made. However, an earlier order of the Tribunal (after a hearing or a mediation with a sealed order) will stand. Any discrepancies which might exist (for example, due to an agreement at mediation or even realising a mistake later on) cannot be adjusted by this order of the Tribunal because I cannot go behind the Mediation Order. Termination
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. See section 56(1) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
Where the breach is capable of remedy the landlord must first serve a notice on the tenant requiring them to remedy the breach within at least 14 days and establish that the tenant has failed to do so.
I must therefore consider the 14-day notice that has been served as this is the basis for the application to terminate the tenancy.
The 14-day notice provides that the amount outstanding as at 7 February 2024 is $830.
I find that this is not correct and so the 14-day notice is not valid because in calculating this sum the landlord has clearly included the sum that remains outstanding from the Mediation Order. The impact of the Mediation Order is that on 1 February 2024 the rent ledger/debt is reset to zero (and then liability to pay rent, and debt if the rent is not paid, starts again). Once in an order, the arrears become a debt that is enforceable, if not paid, via Ministry of Justice Collections rather than a non-payment of rent being a breach of the tenancy agreement. This means it should not form part of the sum included in a 14-day notice.
I cannot turn to consider the impact of the arrears on the landlord without their first being a valid 14-day notice.
The landlord’s application for termination is therefore dismissed.
I have not ordered the Bond to be refunded out of the Bond Centre because the tenancy is continuing.
Because the earlier order of 1 February 2024 has now been incorporated into this order the landlord should only use this order dated 15 March 2024 if it is necessary to enforce payment of these sums. The earlier order dated 1 February 2024 no longer applies.
Because the landlord has substantially succeeded with the claim, given that they have recovered some arrears, I have reimbursed the filing fee.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4802357 — net $1,270.44 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 14 March 2024	$160.00	Rent arrears to 14 March 2024
Previous order application 4769837 dated 01/02/2024	$1,090.00	Previous order application 4769837 dated 01/02/2024
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$1,270.44
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$1,270.44

Order

Nganeko Ngeru must pay Hokipera Ruakere Papuni, Wade Papuni $1,270.44 immediately, calculated as shown in table below.
The landlord’s application for termination of the tenancy is dismissed.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing which took place by telephone.
Hokipera Ruakere Papuni wanted her husband Wade Papuni to attend the hearing and be added to the application. He is her husband and jointly owns the property. With the tenant’s consent he is added as a party to this application.
The landlord seeks $1,850 being rent arrears to 14 March 2024 and the termination of the tenancy. The weekly rent is $600.

How much does the tenant owe in rent?

The landlord and the tenant disagree on the amount the tenant owes in total. The landlord says it is $1,850 and the tenant says it is $1,250.
I have needed to consider this in more detail. This is not a case where I can simply look at the length of the tenancy and compare the amount that should have been paid to the amount that has actually been paid. This is because an earlier order was made in respect of arrears for this tenancy in case number 4769837.
There is a sealed mediation order in 4769837 dated 1 February 2024 (the Mediation Order) which stands as an order of the Tribunal. Importantly, I cannot go behind the Mediation Order.
The mediation took place on 24 January 2024. The Mediation Order says that there was a debt owed of $490 of rent arrears and that the current week’s rent of $600 should be paid on 25 January 2024. The order records that “as at 1 February 2024 the debt is $490”.
I find that the wording of the Mediation Order means that for the tenant to be up to date with her rent, taking her to 1 February 2024, the tenant needed to pay $1,090 ($490 + $600).
The parties agree that the tenant has, since the mediation, paid $430 eight times. This totals $3,440.
The period from 2 February 2024 (the date subsequent to the Mediation Order) to 14 March 2024 (date of hearing) is an additional 6 weeks ($600 x 6 =$3,600 in rent) (subsequent rent).
$1,090 (from the Mediation Order) plus $3,600 (subsequent rent) is a total of $4,690 that is due (since and including the sum in the Mediation Order).
I find that this means that the tenant presently owes $1,250 in total incorporating the sums in the Mediator’s Order which I have accounted for in my order. This is because $4,690 less $3,600 is $1,250. The landlord’s rent summary has some typographical errors but I am satisfied on the basis that both parties say that $430 has been paid eight times since the mediation, and on the basis of the tenant’s overall admission, that it is proven that this sum is owing to 14 March 2024.
It is important for the landlord to understand that once an order of the Tribunal has been made the Tribunal cannot simply disregard it. The Mediation Order must be the starting point for this present application. Discrepancies can sometimes seem to arise looking at the sum owed for the whole tenancy compared to the amount the tenant has actually paid when an earlier order has been made. However, an earlier order of the Tribunal (after a hearing or a mediation with a sealed order) will stand. Any discrepancies which might exist (for example, due to an agreement at mediation or even realising a mistake later on) cannot be adjusted by this order of the Tribunal because I cannot go behind the Mediation Order. Termination
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. See section 56(1) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
Where the breach is capable of remedy the landlord must first serve a notice on the tenant requiring them to remedy the breach within at least 14 days and establish that the tenant has failed to do so.
I must therefore consider the 14-day notice that has been served as this is the basis for the application to terminate the tenancy.
The 14-day notice provides that the amount outstanding as at 7 February 2024 is $830.
I find that this is not correct and so the 14-day notice is not valid because in calculating this sum the landlord has clearly included the sum that remains outstanding from the Mediation Order. The impact of the Mediation Order is that on 1 February 2024 the rent ledger/debt is reset to zero (and then liability to pay rent, and debt if the rent is not paid, starts again). Once in an order, the arrears become a debt that is enforceable, if not paid, via Ministry of Justice Collections rather than a non-payment of rent being a breach of the tenancy agreement. This means it should not form part of the sum included in a 14-day notice.
I cannot turn to consider the impact of the arrears on the landlord without their first being a valid 14-day notice.
The landlord’s application for termination is therefore dismissed.
I have not ordered the Bond to be refunded out of the Bond Centre because the tenancy is continuing.
Because the earlier order of 1 February 2024 has now been incorporated into this order the landlord should only use this order dated 15 March 2024 if it is necessary to enforce payment of these sums. The earlier order dated 1 February 2024 no longer applies.
Because the landlord has substantially succeeded with the claim, given that they have recovered some arrears, I have reimbursed the filing fee.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4802357 — Rent arrears at 14 Raleigh Street, Vogeltown, New Plymouth 4310

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4802357 — Rent arrears at 14 Raleigh Street, Vogeltown, New Plymouth 4310

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

How much does the tenant owe in rent?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

How much does the tenant owe in rent?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions