What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 5027768?

The tribunal order states: Eru Heta must pay Puriri Properties Northland Limited $11,260.34 immediately,

How much money was awarded in case 5027768?

Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $11,233.34 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5027768?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5027768?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11222990-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 5027768?

The tribunal order states: Eru Heta must pay Puriri Properties Northland Limited $11,260.34 immediately,

How much money was awarded in case 5027768?

Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $11,233.34 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5027768?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5027768?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11222990-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

115 Hillcrest Road, Kaikohe, Kaikohe 0405 Tenancy Tribunal Case 5027768 — Rent arrears

Reasons

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5027768 — net $11,260.34 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 30 October 2024 (including a failure to mitigate deduction	$11,233.34	Rent arrears to 30 October 2024 (including a failure to mitigate deduction
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$11,260.34
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$11,260.34

The landlord’s representative (counsel) attended the hearing. The tenant did not attend and did not respond when telephoned on the number ending in 150.

The landlord has applied for rent arrears, legal costs and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy.

The tenancy commenced in June 2023 and the weekly rent was $350.00. Rent arrears

The tenancy ended on 30 October 2024. The landlord provided rent records that prove the amount owing at the end of the tenancy of $16,850.00.

Where any party to a tenancy agreement breaches any 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, in other words the other party must seek to mitigate their loss.

Accordingly, where a tenant fails to pay rent owing, there is an obligation on the landlord to mitigate the loss through not allowing the rent to continue to accrue and instead ending the tenancy. 1

The landlord’s representative advised that the company had a sole director who was incarcerated and was unable to access its bank accounts failing to identify that the rent had gone into arrears. Once access was available (in the first half of 2024), contact was made with the tenant to recover outstanding rental arrears and numerous promises of outstanding rent payments made. Ultimately, in August a 14-day notice was issued to the tenant for the arrears and an application for termination was made to the Tribunal in October 2024.

Although the landlord may have faced difficulties, the rental arrears being sought is high and amounts to just over 48 weeks of rent. The rental statement shows only four rent payments made by the tenant since January 2024. 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 one-third and amounting to $11,233.34. Legal costs

The landlord has applied for costs. A specific amount for legal costs has not been sought, although the landlord’s representative referred to the District Court Rules costs (Schedules 4 and 5).

Costs can only be awarded in the Tribunal in limited circumstances. Section 102(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 provides that the Tribunal has “no power to award costs to or against any party to proceedings before it”. Subsection (3) provides the Tribunal may award “...the reasonable costs of that other party in connection with the proceedings” in any case to which subsection (2) applies. Subsection (2) provides: The Tribunal may make an order of a kind referred to in subsection (3) in any of the following cases: 1 Huang v Ashworth [2024] NZDC 15726 at [8]. (a) where, in the opinion of the Tribunal, the proceedings are frivolous or vexatious or ought not to have been brought: (b) where any of the parties was represented by counsel: (c) where, in the opinion of the Tribunal, the matter in dispute ought reasonably to have been settled before the Tenancy Mediator but that the party against whom the order is to be made refused, without reasonable excuse, to take part in proceedings before a Tenancy Mediator or acted in any such proceedings in a contemptuous or improper manner: (d) where any applicant to the Tribunal, after receiving notice of the hearing, fails to attend the hearing without good cause.

The landlord engaged counsel as a right, given the monetary amount claimed in the application and was represented at the hearing by counsel. The landlord’s representative advised that since the unavailability of the sole director of the landlord company, he has been managing all the affairs of the company.

Ultimately, the Tribunal has the discretion on whether to award costs. The landlord has chosen to use counsel to manage all its affairs, but this was a simple application for rent arrears that could have been managed by anyone, it did not require counsel. For example, the landlord could have appointed a property manager to manage the tenancy. In addition, no specific legal cost amounts have been claimed.

As Puriri Properties Northland Limited has wholly succeeded with the claim I must reimburse the filing fee, but I make no order for costs beyond the application fee. The landlord is to carry his legal costs. R Harvey-Lane 17 December 2024

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5027768 — net $11,260.34 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 30 October 2024 (including a failure to mitigate deduction	$11,233.34	Rent arrears to 30 October 2024 (including a failure to mitigate deduction
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$11,260.34
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$11,260.34

Order

Eru Heta must pay Puriri Properties Northland Limited $11,260.34 immediately, as calculated in table below:

Reasons

The landlord’s representative (counsel) attended the hearing. The tenant did not attend and did not respond when telephoned on the number ending in 150.
The landlord has applied for rent arrears, legal costs and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy.
The tenancy commenced in June 2023 and the weekly rent was $350.00. Rent arrears
The tenancy ended on 30 October 2024. The landlord provided rent records that prove the amount owing at the end of the tenancy of $16,850.00.
Where any party to a tenancy agreement breaches any 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, in other words the other party must seek to mitigate their loss.
Accordingly, where a tenant fails to pay rent owing, there is an obligation on the landlord to mitigate the loss through not allowing the rent to continue to accrue and instead ending the tenancy. 1
The landlord’s representative advised that the company had a sole director who was incarcerated and was unable to access its bank accounts failing to identify that the rent had gone into arrears. Once access was available (in the first half of 2024), contact was made with the tenant to recover outstanding rental arrears and numerous promises of outstanding rent payments made. Ultimately, in August a 14-day notice was issued to the tenant for the arrears and an application for termination was made to the Tribunal in October 2024.
Although the landlord may have faced difficulties, the rental arrears being sought is high and amounts to just over 48 weeks of rent. The rental statement shows only four rent payments made by the tenant since January 2024. 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 one-third and amounting to $11,233.34. Legal costs
The landlord has applied for costs. A specific amount for legal costs has not been sought, although the landlord’s representative referred to the District Court Rules costs (Schedules 4 and 5).
Costs can only be awarded in the Tribunal in limited circumstances. Section 102(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 provides that the Tribunal has “no power to award costs to or against any party to proceedings before it”. Subsection (3) provides the Tribunal may award “...the reasonable costs of that other party in connection with the proceedings” in any case to which subsection (2) applies. Subsection (2) provides: The Tribunal may make an order of a kind referred to in subsection (3) in any of the following cases: 1 Huang v Ashworth [2024] NZDC 15726 at [8]. (a) where, in the opinion of the Tribunal, the proceedings are frivolous or vexatious or ought not to have been brought: (b) where any of the parties was represented by counsel: (c) where, in the opinion of the Tribunal, the matter in dispute ought reasonably to have been settled before the Tenancy Mediator but that the party against whom the order is to be made refused, without reasonable excuse, to take part in proceedings before a Tenancy Mediator or acted in any such proceedings in a contemptuous or improper manner: (d) where any applicant to the Tribunal, after receiving notice of the hearing, fails to attend the hearing without good cause.
The landlord engaged counsel as a right, given the monetary amount claimed in the application and was represented at the hearing by counsel. The landlord’s representative advised that since the unavailability of the sole director of the landlord company, he has been managing all the affairs of the company.
Ultimately, the Tribunal has the discretion on whether to award costs. The landlord has chosen to use counsel to manage all its affairs, but this was a simple application for rent arrears that could have been managed by anyone, it did not require counsel. For example, the landlord could have appointed a property manager to manage the tenancy. In addition, no specific legal cost amounts have been claimed.
As Puriri Properties Northland Limited has wholly succeeded with the claim I must reimburse the filing fee, but I make no order for costs beyond the application fee. The landlord is to carry his legal costs. R Harvey-Lane 17 December 2024

Tenancy Tribunal case 5027768 — Rent arrears at 115 Hillcrest Road, Kaikohe, Kaikohe 0405

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 5027768 — Rent arrears at 115 Hillcrest Road, Kaikohe, Kaikohe 0405

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