What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 4971373?

The tribunal order states: Paea Tonga Mafi must pay North Island Community Services Limited t/as

How much money was awarded in case 4971373?

Cleaning: $430.00 awarded to landlord; Electrical Work: $417.25 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to landlord; Lawns and Garden Work: $564.50 awarded to landlord; Pest Control: $287.45 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $1,950.00 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $1,049.00 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $2,774.99 awarded to landlord; Water Rates: $1,646.10 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4971373?

The primary dispute was Property damage. Related themes: Rent arrears, Cleanliness.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4971373?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11232828-Tribunal_Order.pdf.

What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 4971373?

The tribunal order states: Paea Tonga Mafi must pay North Island Community Services Limited t/as

How much money was awarded in case 4971373?

Cleaning: $430.00 awarded to landlord; Electrical Work: $417.25 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to landlord; Lawns and Garden Work: $564.50 awarded to landlord; Pest Control: $287.45 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $1,950.00 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $1,049.00 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $2,774.99 awarded to landlord; Water Rates: $1,646.10 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4971373?

The primary dispute was Property damage. Related themes: Rent arrears, Cleanliness.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4971373?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11232828-Tribunal_Order.pdf.

148 Logan Street, Dargaville 0310 Tenancy Tribunal Case 4971373 — Property damage

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Order

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4971373 — net $6,966.29 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears	$2,774.99	Rent arrears
Water rates	$1,646.10	Water rates
Lawns and garden, and rubbish removal	$564.50	Lawns and garden, and rubbish removal
Cleaning	$430.00	7. The amount claimed is proven.
Repairs	$1,950.00	Repairs
Pest control	$287.45	Pest control
Stove replacement	$1,049.00	Stove replacement
Electrical work	$417.25	Electrical work
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$6,966.29
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$6,966.29

Paea Tonga Mafi must pay North Island Community Services Limited t/as Propertyscouts Whangarei (as agent for Henoch & Deanna Kloosterboer) $6,966.29 immediately, calculated as shown in table below.

The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $2,180.00 (5418451-003) to North Island Community Services Limited t/as Propertyscouts Whangarei immediately.

Reasons

Background

The tenancy ended on 22 May 2024.

The landlord’s application seeks rent arrears, water rates, cleaning, rubbish removal, repairs, and pest treatment costs.

The hearing took place in Whangarei on 13 December 2024. Ms de Beer and Ms Kelly represented the landlord at the hearing. Ms Mafi attended by phone with the consent of the Tribunal. Rent and water

The landlord’s rent record shows rent arrears of $2,774.99 to the end of the tenancy.

Ms Mafi did not dispute the claim for rent arrears.

Water rates are owed, comprised of the last Kaipara District Council invoice and water used to the end of the tenancy.

The amount claimed is proven. Lawns, gardens, cleaning, rubbish

At the end of the tenancy the tenant leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy and remove all rubbish.

The tenancy was terminated on short notice, following breach of a Tenancy Tribunal conditional termination order. 1

Ms Mafi acknowledged that due to the short notice and her personal circumstances, she was not able to complete the cleaning or mow the lawns.

Ms de Beer provided detailed video evidence showing the condition of the premises at the end of the tenancy.

The landlord was entitled to have the property cleaned, the lawns mowed and gardens tidied at the end of the tenancy. There was also a small amount of rubbish to be removed and dumped.

The amounts claimed by the landlord for this work are proven, and are fair and reasonable. Damage 1 North Island Community Services Ltd v Mafi [2024] NZTT 4783537

The landlord’s claim seeks the amount of the owner’s insurance excess ($650.00) for each of the three bedrooms.

Ms de Beer and Ms Kelly provided details of the repair work that was carried out in the bedrooms, which mostly comprised of painting walls, carpet cleaning, and replacement of curtains.

The entry inspection reports that the walls and floor coverings in the bedrooms (and throughout the house) were in “Good” condition at the start of the tenancy.

Ms de Beer’s video shows that at the end of the carpets were stained. The walls were marked. The curtains were dirty and some were mouldy on the back.

There are no holes in the walls or serious damage, but the extent of marking is beyond fair wear and tear and re-painting of the walls was warranted.

Ms de Beer was not able to confirm the age of the exiting paint or carpet.

Factoring in depreciation and fair wear and tear, Ms Mafi could not be held liable for the full cost of work in the bedrooms. However, the claim for the amount of the insurance excess, which represents only a portion of the actual cost of the work, is a fair and reasonable assessment of the scope of the tenant’s liability.

I also note that there was some ‘under excess’ repair work done, that the landlord is not claiming against the tenant. Pests and pest damage, electrical work

The claims seeks $574.89 for pest treatment (cockroaches and rodents), $417.25 for electrical work, and $2098.00 for replacement of the “second stove”.

Ms Mafi said that she had problems with cockroaches from the start of her tenancy, and the situation got worse over time.

She said that there some mice in the garage at the start of her tenancy. She spoke to her father about how to deal with them. The problem with rodents also got worse over time.

During the tenancy, rodents chewed a hole in the dishwasher pipe.

Ms Mafi raised the issue with Ms de Beer several months into her tenancy. Ms de Beer told her that it was her responsibility to deal with the pests.

By the end of the tenancy there was what can only be described as a serious pest problem at the property.

The established principles regarding responsibility for pests in a tenancy may be summarised as follows: a. The presence of pests at any property can be influenced by a wide range of factors some of which are outside of the control of the tenant or the landlord. b. Both the landlord and the tenant have a responsibility to take reasonable steps to prevent pests from becoming established at the property. Tenants must keep the premises reasonably clean and tidy and (critically) not allow a build up of rubbish. Landlords must maintain the premises in a reasonable state of repair. c. Tenants and landlords should work together to mitigate / control pests that do become established. Tenants must set a reasonable number of traps and use normal household products such as pest sprays. Landlords should be involved if commercial pest control becomes necessary.

In this instance: a. The premises were not reasonably clean and tidy, and this contributed to the problem. b. Ms Mafi took her concerns to Ms de Beer and was told that it was her responsibility to deal with pests. With respect, I do not agree that a landlord has no responsibility for pest control after the first month or so of the tenancy.

My finding is that the tenant is liable for half of the pest treatment cost.

In March 2024 the landlord replaced the existing stove because it was old and two of the elements were not working. There was no rodent damage to that stove.

At the end of the tenancy, in May 2024, the landlords discovered that the new stove had been effectively destroyed by rats. They had chewed the power cable and had made a nest in the insulation material in the stove.

Ms Mafi said that her husband did see a large rat in the kitchen one night. She did not know that rats were nesting in the stove. She set a trap for the rat but did not catch it.

Ms de Beer provided a short video, taken by the electrician, showing the new stove at the end of the tenancy.

Again I acknowledge that the need for cleaning, of the property generally and of the stove in particular, is a contributing factor and Ms Mafi is responsible for this.

However I also note that there was no rodent damage to the previous oven, and the new oven was destroyed within a two month period. This type of damage is not reasonably foreseeable and was not directly caused by the tenant.

Having regard to these factors I will Ms Mafi liable for 50% of the cost of the new oven.

The claim for electrical work includes a small amount of assessment of the damaged oven, and also other work (damaged light fittings etc). I am satisfied that this pertains to damage for which the tenant is liable. Filing fee, bond

The landlord has been successful in this application and I will also award the landlord the filing fee of $27.00.

The bond will be released to the landlord.

Order

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4971373 — net $6,966.29 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears	$2,774.99	Rent arrears
Water rates	$1,646.10	Water rates
Lawns and garden, and rubbish removal	$564.50	Lawns and garden, and rubbish removal
Cleaning	$430.00	7. The amount claimed is proven.
Repairs	$1,950.00	Repairs
Pest control	$287.45	Pest control
Stove replacement	$1,049.00	Stove replacement
Electrical work	$417.25	Electrical work
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$6,966.29
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$6,966.29