What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 4959774?

The tribunal order states: Elizabeth Agustina Wongkar must pay Murice Wing To Kwok And Ya Lang

How much money was awarded in case 4959774?

Compensation: Loss Of Amenity: $1,471.25 awarded to tenant; Rent Arrears: $7,450.00 awarded to landlord; Water Rates: $85.08 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4959774?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4959774?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10965167-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 4959774?

The tribunal order states: Elizabeth Agustina Wongkar must pay Murice Wing To Kwok And Ya Lang

How much money was awarded in case 4959774?

Compensation: Loss Of Amenity: $1,471.25 awarded to tenant; Rent Arrears: $7,450.00 awarded to landlord; Water Rates: $85.08 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4959774?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4959774?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10965167-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

23 Chedworth Drive, Glenfield, Auckland 0629 Tenancy Tribunal Case 4959774 — Rent arrears

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4959774 — net $3,063.83 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Tenant	Reason
Rent arrears	$7,450.00		Rent arrears
Water rates	$85.08		Water rates
Compensation: Loss of amenity		$1,471.25	Loss of amenity
Bond received		$3,000.00	Bond received
Total award	$7,535.08	$4,471.25
Net award	$3,063.83
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$3,063.83

Order

Elizabeth Agustina Wongkar must pay Murice Wing To Kwok And Ya Lang Wong As The Trustees For The Welland Family Trust $3,063.83 immediately, as set out in the table below.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
The landlord has applied for rent arrears and water rates.
The tenant has applied for compensation due to an injury she suffered when the landlord gave her notice to end the tenancy. Landlord’s application
The rent summary produced by the landlord shows that rent arrears owed when the tenancy ended amounted to $13,500.00.
As discussed at the hearing, the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 requires that a party mitigate their loss, which means in short that that they must take actions to limit any loss from a breach of the other party. When rent arrears occur, a reasonable landlord will mitigate that loss by applying to the Tenancy Tribunal for appropriate orders.
I refer to section 49 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 which 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.
In this case the landlord did not apply to the Tribunal until 1 July 2023 when the rent was months behind, and the tenant owed $8,250.00. The tenant had consistently been more than three weeks in arrears since December 2023. The landlord did not apply to the Tribunal until July 2024 some seven months later.
The landlord said that he had spoken to the tenant a few times about the rent arrears, and he said that she needed to get a roommate to meet the costs. The landlord said that he knew the tenant could not afford the rent so he told her that if you can’t pay you should move out.
The rent arrears increased over the time between the landlord applying to the Tribunal and allocation of the hearing. There were a handful of weeks in April and May 2024 where the tenant tried to make extra payments to reduce the arrears but there was no significant reduction in the amount owed.
The Tribunal would usually see a landlord having applied for orders within say three months.
In the circumstances, I consider the landlord has not mitigated its loss, so I will only consider rent arrears from 1 April 2024, which is the three months a prudent landlord usually takes to file an application.
The landlord produced water rates that prove that $85.08 is owed for water which is ordered. Tenant application
The tenant applied for compensation due to a significant injury she suffered after the landlord gave her notice for the tenancy to end.
The tenant said that the landlord gave her one weeks’ notice to move out of the tenancy. That notice was given on 22 June 2024 with the date for her to move out being 29 June 2024.
The landlord said that there was agreement between the parties that the tenant would move out on 29 June 2024. It was then agreed that the tenant would move out on 3 July 2024.
The landlord attended at the premises on 29 June 2024 at 5pm. He said that the tenant was still cleaning. Because she had not completely moved out the landlord said that the tenant could stay in the garage but only use the toilet in the house. The landlord gave the tenant the garage remote for this purpose. The landlord proceeded to remove the curtains and arrange for the house to be painted.
The tenant said that she thought it was legal that the landlord could give her one weeks’ notice to leave. She said that she discovered that the landlord could not do this on 1 July 2024 and that is why she refused to move out. She advised the landlord on that day. The landlord said that he brought the curtains back and gave the keys to the tenant.
When asked about the short notice the landlord insists that it was by agreement, but that agreement was not recorded. There was some text communication between the parties about this, but I have reached the view that the tenant did not freely agree for the tenancy to end within a week.
The landlord had insisted that the tenant not involve the Tribunal because the process for filing an application would take too long. However, if the landlord had filed an application to terminate the tenancy due to rent arrears earlier when the tenant had first started to be more than 21 days in arrears such an order would have been made months earlier.
The tenant said that she suffered an injury because the landlord had put her under pressure to move out. The accident she suffered occurred on 2 July 2024. The tenant fainted while cooking and suffered severe burns as a result.
On the weekend prior to the accident the tenant had slept in the garage, although apparently moved to sleep in the bathroom as it was warmer. She said that she had started to vomit.
The landlord knew that the tenant planned to sleep in the garage, but he thought it was acceptable because she would sleep in her car. He only agreed for her to use the bathroom when she asked.
In his application the landlord sought that the tenant pays full rent during this time. I accept that the tenant was under a lot of pressure around the time of the accident, but the landlord did not cause the accident. I have awarded compensation to the tenant for the loss of amenity that she suffered during this period. I have calculated the compensation at 25% of the weekly rent for the 55 days from when the landlord unlawfully gave notice for the tenancy to end until the tenant moved out.
The tenant sought that her ex-partner, Dean Scott, who was a tenant during the tenancy, should be liable for half of the rent owed. The tenant said that Mr Scott moved in on 19 July 2023 and signed a tenancy agreement on 28 July 2023. He moved out of the tenancy on 1 September 2023.
While Mr Scott may have signed a document to be joined as a tenant, that document was not produced at the hearing. I also note that neither the landlord nor the tenant had named him as a party to these proceedings.
During the short period that Mr Scott is said to have lived at the premises there were no rent arrears owed. He has also not been served with the proceedings.
For all these reasons I am not prepared to join Mr Scott as a party and therefore make him jointly liable for the costs owed by the tenant. Bond and filing fee
The tenancy agreement records that the tenant paid a bond of $3,000.00. The landlord acknowledged that this money was not lodged with the Bond Centre. I have refunded the bond to the tenant in the table above.
As both parties have had some success with their claim I make no award for reimbursement of the filing fee.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4959774 — net $3,063.83 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Tenant	Reason
Rent arrears	$7,450.00		Rent arrears
Water rates	$85.08		Water rates
Compensation: Loss of amenity		$1,471.25	Loss of amenity
Bond received		$3,000.00	Bond received
Total award	$7,535.08	$4,471.25
Net award	$3,063.83
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$3,063.83

Order

Elizabeth Agustina Wongkar must pay Murice Wing To Kwok And Ya Lang Wong As The Trustees For The Welland Family Trust $3,063.83 immediately, as set out in the table below.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
The landlord has applied for rent arrears and water rates.
The tenant has applied for compensation due to an injury she suffered when the landlord gave her notice to end the tenancy. Landlord’s application
The rent summary produced by the landlord shows that rent arrears owed when the tenancy ended amounted to $13,500.00.
As discussed at the hearing, the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 requires that a party mitigate their loss, which means in short that that they must take actions to limit any loss from a breach of the other party. When rent arrears occur, a reasonable landlord will mitigate that loss by applying to the Tenancy Tribunal for appropriate orders.
I refer to section 49 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 which 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.
In this case the landlord did not apply to the Tribunal until 1 July 2023 when the rent was months behind, and the tenant owed $8,250.00. The tenant had consistently been more than three weeks in arrears since December 2023. The landlord did not apply to the Tribunal until July 2024 some seven months later.
The landlord said that he had spoken to the tenant a few times about the rent arrears, and he said that she needed to get a roommate to meet the costs. The landlord said that he knew the tenant could not afford the rent so he told her that if you can’t pay you should move out.
The rent arrears increased over the time between the landlord applying to the Tribunal and allocation of the hearing. There were a handful of weeks in April and May 2024 where the tenant tried to make extra payments to reduce the arrears but there was no significant reduction in the amount owed.
The Tribunal would usually see a landlord having applied for orders within say three months.
In the circumstances, I consider the landlord has not mitigated its loss, so I will only consider rent arrears from 1 April 2024, which is the three months a prudent landlord usually takes to file an application.
The landlord produced water rates that prove that $85.08 is owed for water which is ordered. Tenant application
The tenant applied for compensation due to a significant injury she suffered after the landlord gave her notice for the tenancy to end.
The tenant said that the landlord gave her one weeks’ notice to move out of the tenancy. That notice was given on 22 June 2024 with the date for her to move out being 29 June 2024.
The landlord said that there was agreement between the parties that the tenant would move out on 29 June 2024. It was then agreed that the tenant would move out on 3 July 2024.
The landlord attended at the premises on 29 June 2024 at 5pm. He said that the tenant was still cleaning. Because she had not completely moved out the landlord said that the tenant could stay in the garage but only use the toilet in the house. The landlord gave the tenant the garage remote for this purpose. The landlord proceeded to remove the curtains and arrange for the house to be painted.
The tenant said that she thought it was legal that the landlord could give her one weeks’ notice to leave. She said that she discovered that the landlord could not do this on 1 July 2024 and that is why she refused to move out. She advised the landlord on that day. The landlord said that he brought the curtains back and gave the keys to the tenant.
When asked about the short notice the landlord insists that it was by agreement, but that agreement was not recorded. There was some text communication between the parties about this, but I have reached the view that the tenant did not freely agree for the tenancy to end within a week.
The landlord had insisted that the tenant not involve the Tribunal because the process for filing an application would take too long. However, if the landlord had filed an application to terminate the tenancy due to rent arrears earlier when the tenant had first started to be more than 21 days in arrears such an order would have been made months earlier.
The tenant said that she suffered an injury because the landlord had put her under pressure to move out. The accident she suffered occurred on 2 July 2024. The tenant fainted while cooking and suffered severe burns as a result.
On the weekend prior to the accident the tenant had slept in the garage, although apparently moved to sleep in the bathroom as it was warmer. She said that she had started to vomit.
The landlord knew that the tenant planned to sleep in the garage, but he thought it was acceptable because she would sleep in her car. He only agreed for her to use the bathroom when she asked.
In his application the landlord sought that the tenant pays full rent during this time. I accept that the tenant was under a lot of pressure around the time of the accident, but the landlord did not cause the accident. I have awarded compensation to the tenant for the loss of amenity that she suffered during this period. I have calculated the compensation at 25% of the weekly rent for the 55 days from when the landlord unlawfully gave notice for the tenancy to end until the tenant moved out.
The tenant sought that her ex-partner, Dean Scott, who was a tenant during the tenancy, should be liable for half of the rent owed. The tenant said that Mr Scott moved in on 19 July 2023 and signed a tenancy agreement on 28 July 2023. He moved out of the tenancy on 1 September 2023.
While Mr Scott may have signed a document to be joined as a tenant, that document was not produced at the hearing. I also note that neither the landlord nor the tenant had named him as a party to these proceedings.
During the short period that Mr Scott is said to have lived at the premises there were no rent arrears owed. He has also not been served with the proceedings.
For all these reasons I am not prepared to join Mr Scott as a party and therefore make him jointly liable for the costs owed by the tenant. Bond and filing fee
The tenancy agreement records that the tenant paid a bond of $3,000.00. The landlord acknowledged that this money was not lodged with the Bond Centre. I have refunded the bond to the tenant in the table above.
As both parties have had some success with their claim I make no award for reimbursement of the filing fee.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4959774 — Rent arrears at 23 Chedworth Drive, Glenfield, Auckland 0629

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4959774 — Rent arrears at 23 Chedworth Drive, Glenfield, Auckland 0629

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Property management

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Property management

Frequently asked questions