What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 4936974?

The tribunal order states: Fiasili Seuava must pay Main Real Estate Limited $2,728.28 immediately,

How much money was awarded in case 4936974?

Water Rates: $2,728.28 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4936974?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4936974?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10909294-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 4936974?

The tribunal order states: Fiasili Seuava must pay Main Real Estate Limited $2,728.28 immediately,

How much money was awarded in case 4936974?

Water Rates: $2,728.28 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4936974?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4936974?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10909294-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

21 Water Street, Otahuhu, Auckland 1062 Tenancy Tribunal Case 4936974 — Tenancy dispute

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21 Water Street, Otahuhu, Auckland 1062 Tenancy Tribunal Case 4936974 — 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 4936974 — net $2,728.28 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Water rates for the period 9 Feb 2023 to 9 Feb 2024	$2,728.28	2. The tenant filed an application on 27 April 2024 disputing the landlord’s claims for historic water rates arrears from the start of the tenancy in September
Net award	$2,728.28
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$2,728.28

Claims and awards for application 4936974 — net $2,728.28 NZD. Verify on MoJ.

Water rates for the period 9 Feb 2023 to 9 Feb 2024

Amount: $2,728.28
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: 2. The tenant filed an application on 27 April 2024 disputing the landlord’s claims for historic water rates arrears from the start of the tenancy in September

Net award

Landlord $2,728.28

Total payable by Tenant to Landlord

Landlord $2,728.28

Claim types — money lines allowed on this order

Water Rates

Order

Fiasili Seuava must pay Main Real Estate Limited $2,728.28 immediately, calculated as shown in table below:

Reasons

Only the landlord attended the hearing.
The tenant filed an application on 27 April 2024 disputing the landlord’s claims for historic water rates arrears from the start of the tenancy in September 2022. The landlord counterclaimed for outstanding water rates totalling $4,359.98.

How much is owed for water rates?

The tenancy agreement provides that the tenant is responsible for paying water rates.
While the tenant has told the landlord’s agent that someone who introduced them to the property had advised them that the tenancy includes all water charges, there is no evidence before the Tribunal that such representation had been made. The tenancy agreement states clearly that water charges are to be paid by the tenant.
That said, issue arises as to whether water accounts have been provided to the tenant in regular intervals and if so, from when.
In Woollams v Simpson, Auckland DC CIV 2005-004-1583, 16 March 2006, District Court Judge McElrea held that that there is an implied term in the parties’ tenancy agreement that the landlord would provide accounts to the tenant at regular intervals so as to enable payment to be made. This implied term is necessary to make commercial sense of the agreement, otherwise how can a tenant be expected to pay for a regular charge such as a quarterly charge unless it is told the amount of the charge from time to time. This failure to provide regular accounts makes nonsense of any attempt to budget which most tenants have to do as well as proper concept of financial management as between parties to a commercial arrangement. The result of failure by the landlord to provide regular accounts meant that the landlord is not entitled to recover water rates except for the last/most recent water account.
Here the landlord’s evidence is that the first demand for water rates was made through their email of 15 March 2023 attaching the 9 February 2023 water bill. This demand for payment of water rates was made 6 months into the tenancy. The tenant’s application acknowledges that the first demand for payment of water rates from the landlord was made in March 2023.
Following the District Court judgment in Woollams, I consider that the tenant is only liable to pay for water rates from 9 February 2023 onwards because water accounts have only been provided to the tenant in regular intervals from March 2023 onwards. I accept the landlord’s evidence that the water rates payable for the period 9 February 2023 to 9 February 2024 is $2,728.28. I accordingly make an order for the tenant to pay that sum forthwith.
The tenant has since paid the water rates from February 2024 to July 2024. Payments made by the tenant in May 2024 of $193.78, July 2024 of $666.48 and September 2024 of $160.00 went towards the water rates invoices for March, April, May, June and July 2024.
The tenant should continue to pay current water rates. The landlord is at liberty to reapply to the Tribunal for current water rates outstanding in the event of further default by the tenant.

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 4936974 — net $2,728.28 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Water rates for the period 9 Feb 2023 to 9 Feb 2024	$2,728.28	2. The tenant filed an application on 27 April 2024 disputing the landlord’s claims for historic water rates arrears from the start of the tenancy in September
Net award	$2,728.28
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$2,728.28

Claims and awards for application 4936974 — net $2,728.28 NZD. Verify on MoJ.

Water rates for the period 9 Feb 2023 to 9 Feb 2024

Amount: $2,728.28
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: 2. The tenant filed an application on 27 April 2024 disputing the landlord’s claims for historic water rates arrears from the start of the tenancy in September

Net award

Landlord $2,728.28

Total payable by Tenant to Landlord

Landlord $2,728.28

Claim types — money lines allowed on this order

Water Rates

Order

Fiasili Seuava must pay Main Real Estate Limited $2,728.28 immediately, calculated as shown in table below:

Reasons

Only the landlord attended the hearing.
The tenant filed an application on 27 April 2024 disputing the landlord’s claims for historic water rates arrears from the start of the tenancy in September 2022. The landlord counterclaimed for outstanding water rates totalling $4,359.98.

How much is owed for water rates?

The tenancy agreement provides that the tenant is responsible for paying water rates.
While the tenant has told the landlord’s agent that someone who introduced them to the property had advised them that the tenancy includes all water charges, there is no evidence before the Tribunal that such representation had been made. The tenancy agreement states clearly that water charges are to be paid by the tenant.
That said, issue arises as to whether water accounts have been provided to the tenant in regular intervals and if so, from when.
In Woollams v Simpson, Auckland DC CIV 2005-004-1583, 16 March 2006, District Court Judge McElrea held that that there is an implied term in the parties’ tenancy agreement that the landlord would provide accounts to the tenant at regular intervals so as to enable payment to be made. This implied term is necessary to make commercial sense of the agreement, otherwise how can a tenant be expected to pay for a regular charge such as a quarterly charge unless it is told the amount of the charge from time to time. This failure to provide regular accounts makes nonsense of any attempt to budget which most tenants have to do as well as proper concept of financial management as between parties to a commercial arrangement. The result of failure by the landlord to provide regular accounts meant that the landlord is not entitled to recover water rates except for the last/most recent water account.
Here the landlord’s evidence is that the first demand for water rates was made through their email of 15 March 2023 attaching the 9 February 2023 water bill. This demand for payment of water rates was made 6 months into the tenancy. The tenant’s application acknowledges that the first demand for payment of water rates from the landlord was made in March 2023.
Following the District Court judgment in Woollams, I consider that the tenant is only liable to pay for water rates from 9 February 2023 onwards because water accounts have only been provided to the tenant in regular intervals from March 2023 onwards. I accept the landlord’s evidence that the water rates payable for the period 9 February 2023 to 9 February 2024 is $2,728.28. I accordingly make an order for the tenant to pay that sum forthwith.
The tenant has since paid the water rates from February 2024 to July 2024. Payments made by the tenant in May 2024 of $193.78, July 2024 of $666.48 and September 2024 of $160.00 went towards the water rates invoices for March, April, May, June and July 2024.
The tenant should continue to pay current water rates. The landlord is at liberty to reapply to the Tribunal for current water rates outstanding in the event of further default by the tenant.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4936974 — Tenancy dispute at 21 Water Street, Otahuhu, Auckland 1062

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4936974 — Tenancy dispute at 21 Water Street, Otahuhu, Auckland 1062

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

How much is owed for water rates?

Topics & place

Key findings

Property management

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

How much is owed for water rates?

Topics & place

Key findings

Property management

Frequently asked questions