What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 4979189?

The tribunal order states: Tory Lamb must pay Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities $18,820.74

How much money was awarded in case 4979189?

Rent Arrears: $18,820.74 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4979189?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4979189?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11059580-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 4979189?

The tribunal order states: Tory Lamb must pay Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities $18,820.74

How much money was awarded in case 4979189?

Rent Arrears: $18,820.74 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4979189?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4979189?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11059580-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

24 Cottrell Crescent, Onekawa, Napier 4110 Tenancy Tribunal Case 4979189 — Rent arrears

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24 Cottrell Crescent, Onekawa, Napier 4110 Tenancy Tribunal Case 4979189 — Rent arrears | 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 4979189 — net $18,820.74 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 13 November 2024 (including a failure to mitigation deduction	$18,820.74	Rent arrears to 13 November 2024 (including a failure to mitigation deduction
Net award	$18,820.74
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$18,820.74

Claims and awards for application 4979189 — net $18,820.74 NZD. Verify on MoJ.

Rent arrears to 13 November 2024 (including a failure to mitigation deduction

Amount: $18,820.74
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Rent arrears to 13 November 2024 (including a failure to mitigation deduction

Net award

Landlord $18,820.74

Total payable by Tenant to Landlord

Landlord $18,820.74

Claim types — money lines allowed on this order

Rent arrears

Order

Tory Lamb must pay Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities $18,820.74 immediately, being rent arrears to 13 November 2024.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
The landlord has applied for rent arrears and has provided rent records which prove the amount owing of $37,641.48 through to 13 November 2024. The weekly rent is means tested but is currently $544.00 a week.
The landlord is not seeking termination at this stage. The landlord explains that they continue to work with the tenant on the rental arrears and ongoing rent payments to ensure that the tenant and his family remain in the property.
The tenant does not dispute the rental amount but explained that he has been working with MSD on the income tested rent amount. The tenant also submits that he would rather have the large monetary amount awarded against him than face eviction from the property.
The rental arrears have been slowly increasing over the past few years, although the evidence shows there have been regular payments by the tenant over that time.
Where any party to a tenancy agreement breaches any of the provisions of the agreement, such as paying rent, the other party should take all reasonable steps to limit the damage or loss arising from that breach, or in other words the other party must seek to mitigate their loss. See section 49 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA).
Accordingly, where a tenant fails to pay rent owing, there is an obligation on the landlord to mitigate the loss, through not allowing the arrears to continue to accrue and instead ending the tenancy. 1
I accept the submission of Kainga Ora that they would prefer to work with the tenant, rather than terminate the tenancy. As a large provider of social housing, it would be contrary to their social and policy obligations to promptly evict tenants who cannot pay their rent. 2
However, this leniency can only continue to a point and even with Kainga Ora acting reasonably to work with the tenant, the amount of rental arrears being sought of $37,641.48 is excessive, amounts to 69 weeks of current rent and is potentially crippling for a tenant.
I therefore find that there should be some deduction for a failure to mitigate by the landlord. To reflect the specific circumstances of this case, I have reduced the amount of rental arrears sought by 50% and amounting to $18,820.74. R Harvey-Lane 12 November 2024 1 Huang v Ashworth [2024] NZDC 15726 at [8]. 2 Housing New Zealand v Witika [1995] DCR 307.

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 4979189 — net $18,820.74 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 13 November 2024 (including a failure to mitigation deduction	$18,820.74	Rent arrears to 13 November 2024 (including a failure to mitigation deduction
Net award	$18,820.74
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$18,820.74

Claims and awards for application 4979189 — net $18,820.74 NZD. Verify on MoJ.

Rent arrears to 13 November 2024 (including a failure to mitigation deduction

Amount: $18,820.74
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Rent arrears to 13 November 2024 (including a failure to mitigation deduction

Net award

Landlord $18,820.74

Total payable by Tenant to Landlord

Landlord $18,820.74

Claim types — money lines allowed on this order

Rent arrears

Order

Tory Lamb must pay Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities $18,820.74 immediately, being rent arrears to 13 November 2024.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
The landlord has applied for rent arrears and has provided rent records which prove the amount owing of $37,641.48 through to 13 November 2024. The weekly rent is means tested but is currently $544.00 a week.
The landlord is not seeking termination at this stage. The landlord explains that they continue to work with the tenant on the rental arrears and ongoing rent payments to ensure that the tenant and his family remain in the property.
The tenant does not dispute the rental amount but explained that he has been working with MSD on the income tested rent amount. The tenant also submits that he would rather have the large monetary amount awarded against him than face eviction from the property.
The rental arrears have been slowly increasing over the past few years, although the evidence shows there have been regular payments by the tenant over that time.
Where any party to a tenancy agreement breaches any of the provisions of the agreement, such as paying rent, the other party should take all reasonable steps to limit the damage or loss arising from that breach, or in other words the other party must seek to mitigate their loss. See section 49 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA).
Accordingly, where a tenant fails to pay rent owing, there is an obligation on the landlord to mitigate the loss, through not allowing the arrears to continue to accrue and instead ending the tenancy. 1
I accept the submission of Kainga Ora that they would prefer to work with the tenant, rather than terminate the tenancy. As a large provider of social housing, it would be contrary to their social and policy obligations to promptly evict tenants who cannot pay their rent. 2
However, this leniency can only continue to a point and even with Kainga Ora acting reasonably to work with the tenant, the amount of rental arrears being sought of $37,641.48 is excessive, amounts to 69 weeks of current rent and is potentially crippling for a tenant.
I therefore find that there should be some deduction for a failure to mitigate by the landlord. To reflect the specific circumstances of this case, I have reduced the amount of rental arrears sought by 50% and amounting to $18,820.74. R Harvey-Lane 12 November 2024 1 Huang v Ashworth [2024] NZDC 15726 at [8]. 2 Housing New Zealand v Witika [1995] DCR 307.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4979189 — Rent arrears at 24 Cottrell Crescent, Onekawa, Napier 4110

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4979189 — Rent arrears at 24 Cottrell Crescent, Onekawa, Napier 4110

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions