What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 4805899?

The tribunal order states: The application is referred to mediation at the landlord's request.

How much money was awarded in case 4805899?

Verified claim lines are listed on this page.

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4805899?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4805899?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10539427-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order - OP.pdf.

What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 4805899?

The tribunal order states: The application is referred to mediation at the landlord's request.

How much money was awarded in case 4805899?

Verified claim lines are listed on this page.

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4805899?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4805899?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10539427-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order - OP.pdf.

11 Glenfield Place, Brookfield, Tauranga 3110 Tenancy Tribunal Case 4805899 — Tenancy dispute

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Reasons

The tenant, Mr Vaughan Read, filed an application alleging the landlord did not lodge the bond with the Bond Centre. The tenant did not attend the hearing. I contacted the tenant twice via phone and left two voicemail messages.

Mr Warburton, the landlord, attended the hearing via teleconference.

I continued the hearing in Mr Read’s absence.

Mr Warburton provided the following details about the bond money at hand. Initial Tenants and Bond Payment

The original tenancy agreement was with four tenants: Vaughan Read, Rachel Cochrane, Chaz Holloway, and Vance Read.

The bond amount was $1,980, which was four weeks' rent.

Rachel Cochrane paid the bond from her bank account. Change in tenants

Rachel Cochrane and Chaz Holloway were removed from the agreement during the tenancy.

The tenancy agreement then became only for Vaughan and Vance Read. Property management changeover

Another company (Eves Realty) took over the property management in October 2023.

Mr. Warburton was not given instructions on how to handle the existing bond during the changeover. Attempts to Resolve the Bond Issue

On 14 th May 2024, Mr. Warburton emailed Vaughan and Vance Reed requesting guidance on resolving the bond issue but received no response.

He offered to refund the $1,980 bond to whoever it needed to go to, so they could set up a new bond with the new property manager, but there was no response. Confusion and Lack of Communication

Mr. Warburton expressed confusion about who the $1,980 bond should be refunded to, as one of the original tenants (Rachel Cochrane) who paid the bond is no longer a tenant.

The tenants have been uncommunicative, making it difficult to resolve the bond issue.

Was the bond lodged with the Bond Centre?

Mr. Warburton acknowledged the bond was not lodged properly, and he had the bond amount of $1,980 but was uncertain about who to refund it to due to the change in tenants and property management. He made attempts to resolve the issue but faced a lack of communication from the tenants.

Where to from here?

Mr Warburton asked the matter to go to mediation.

In the meantime, he said he would dig through his files to find email addresses for each of the four original tenants (Vaughan Read, Rachel Cochrane, Chaz Holloway, and Vance Read), and make every attempt to contact them to sort out what should be done with the $1,980 bond money.

Mr. Warburton mentioned he could check if a new bond is lodged with the current property manager (Eves Realty) for that property in the new tenants' names. This would help determine if the bond money has already been handled or is still outstanding.

If no bond is lodged with Eves Realty, Mr. Warburton would consider he could potentially transfer the $1,980 bond money he is holding to Eves Realty, indicating it is from the previous tenants, and let them handle dispersing it appropriately.

Ordinarily, I would have dismissed the application for want of prosecution. However, Mr Warburton wanted to find the right person to refund the bond money. On that basis, it was appropriate to refer this matter for mediation, and the parties might be able to resolve the issue without the Tribunal’s intervention.

Reasons