What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 5080175?

The tribunal order states: The tenancy of Megan Antoinette Clare at 148 Landing Road, Kerikeri, Kerikeri

How much money was awarded in case 5080175?

Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $17,350.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5080175?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5080175?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11262440-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 5080175?

The tribunal order states: The tenancy of Megan Antoinette Clare at 148 Landing Road, Kerikeri, Kerikeri

How much money was awarded in case 5080175?

Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $17,350.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5080175?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5080175?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11262440-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

148 Landing Road, Kerikeri, Kerikeri 0230 Tenancy Tribunal Case 5080175 — Rent arrears

Reasons

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5080175 — net $17,377.00 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 23 December 2024	$17,350.00	Rent arrears to 23 December 2024
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$17,377.00
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$17,377.00

A hearing was held by teleconference on 23 December 2024. Ms Mitchell (the landlord) attended and was represented by counsel, Mr Mark. Her niece and her niece’s husband attended in support. Ms Clare (the tenant) also attended.

It is noted that the tenant made a late request for an adjournment, citing that she and her family were going camping in an area without cell phone reception. She explained that she was only informed on Friday that the hearing date had been changed from 22 January 2025 to 23 December 2024. Consequently, she claimed she did not have sufficient time to make alternative arrangements and requested that the hearing be rescheduled to the original date of 22 January 2025, as she had already organised leave and plans for that date.

After considering the request, I declined the request for an adjournment. Hearing notices were sent to all parties on 9 December 2024. These notices were sent via email to the same address the tenant used to submit her adjournment request. Based on this, I was satisfied that the hearing notice was served in a timely manner, providing the tenant with sufficient opportunity to make arrangements to attend.

Given the circumstances, particularly the serious nature of the application (involving termination due to significant rent arrears and alleged breaches of the tenancy agreement), I determined it was in the interests of justice to proceeding with the hearing as scheduled. The tenant had reasonable notice and the opportunity to participate, and the urgency of the matter necessitated timely resolution.

The landlord has applied for termination of the tenancy, recovery of rent arrears, and reimbursement of the filing fee.

The parties entered into a tenancy agreement commencing on 12 January 2024. The agreement initially recorded the rent as $300 per week, but this amount was crossed out, and $350 was handwritten over it. The landlord asserts that the tenant has not paid rent since the start of the tenancy. At the time the application was filed on 26 November 2024, rent arrears totalled $15,900.00. The landlord provided a rent summary to substantiate the claim, and by calculating arrears using the Tribunal’s rent calculator, the total as of the hearing date was $17,350.00.

Under section 55(1)(a) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA), the Tribunal must order the termination of a tenancy if the rent is at least 21 days in arrears when the landlord filed the application. In this case, the rent was significantly in arrears at the time the application was filed. Therefore, the tenancy is terminated in accordance with the statutory requirement.

The tenant consented to vacating the tenancy by 8 January 2025 but disputed the amount of rent arrears claimed by the landlord. However, the tenant has not provided any evidence to substantiate her challenge to the arrears or to dispute the landlord’s claim. In the absence of such evidence, the Tribunal accepts the landlord’s rent summary and calculations as accurate. Accordingly, rent arrears to the date of the hearing are awarded, totalling $17,350.00.

The tenant also indicated that she may have claims for compensation against the landlord for alleged breaches of obligations under the tenancy agreement or the RTA. However, as the tenant has not filed a cross-application, these potential claims cannot be considered in this proceeding. The Tribunal can only consider the claims that have been properly filed and served. The tenant is entitled to file her own application with Tenancy Services if she wishes to pursue compensation. If successful, she may request that any compensation awarded be offset against the arrears owed. This would need to be adjudicated separately on another hearing date.

The landlord agreed to the termination of the tenancy on 8 January 2025. Accordingly, the application for termination is granted, and the tenancy is to end on the agreed date. Rent arrears to the date of the hearing are also awarded to the landlord.

As the landlord has substantially succeeded with their claim, I must order the tenant to reimburse the filing fee.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5080175 — net $17,377.00 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 23 December 2024	$17,350.00	Rent arrears to 23 December 2024
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$17,377.00
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$17,377.00

Order

The tenancy of Megan Antoinette Clare at 148 Landing Road, Kerikeri, Kerikeri 0230 is terminated, and possession is granted to Glenys Mitchell, at 5pm on Wednesday 8 January 2025.
Megan Antoinette Clare must pay Glenys Mitchell $17,377.00 immediately, calculated as shown in the table below:

Reasons

A hearing was held by teleconference on 23 December 2024. Ms Mitchell (the landlord) attended and was represented by counsel, Mr Mark. Her niece and her niece’s husband attended in support. Ms Clare (the tenant) also attended.
It is noted that the tenant made a late request for an adjournment, citing that she and her family were going camping in an area without cell phone reception. She explained that she was only informed on Friday that the hearing date had been changed from 22 January 2025 to 23 December 2024. Consequently, she claimed she did not have sufficient time to make alternative arrangements and requested that the hearing be rescheduled to the original date of 22 January 2025, as she had already organised leave and plans for that date.
After considering the request, I declined the request for an adjournment. Hearing notices were sent to all parties on 9 December 2024. These notices were sent via email to the same address the tenant used to submit her adjournment request. Based on this, I was satisfied that the hearing notice was served in a timely manner, providing the tenant with sufficient opportunity to make arrangements to attend.
Given the circumstances, particularly the serious nature of the application (involving termination due to significant rent arrears and alleged breaches of the tenancy agreement), I determined it was in the interests of justice to proceeding with the hearing as scheduled. The tenant had reasonable notice and the opportunity to participate, and the urgency of the matter necessitated timely resolution.
The landlord has applied for termination of the tenancy, recovery of rent arrears, and reimbursement of the filing fee.
The parties entered into a tenancy agreement commencing on 12 January 2024. The agreement initially recorded the rent as $300 per week, but this amount was crossed out, and $350 was handwritten over it. The landlord asserts that the tenant has not paid rent since the start of the tenancy. At the time the application was filed on 26 November 2024, rent arrears totalled $15,900.00. The landlord provided a rent summary to substantiate the claim, and by calculating arrears using the Tribunal’s rent calculator, the total as of the hearing date was $17,350.00.
Under section 55(1)(a) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA), the Tribunal must order the termination of a tenancy if the rent is at least 21 days in arrears when the landlord filed the application. In this case, the rent was significantly in arrears at the time the application was filed. Therefore, the tenancy is terminated in accordance with the statutory requirement.
The tenant consented to vacating the tenancy by 8 January 2025 but disputed the amount of rent arrears claimed by the landlord. However, the tenant has not provided any evidence to substantiate her challenge to the arrears or to dispute the landlord’s claim. In the absence of such evidence, the Tribunal accepts the landlord’s rent summary and calculations as accurate. Accordingly, rent arrears to the date of the hearing are awarded, totalling $17,350.00.
The tenant also indicated that she may have claims for compensation against the landlord for alleged breaches of obligations under the tenancy agreement or the RTA. However, as the tenant has not filed a cross-application, these potential claims cannot be considered in this proceeding. The Tribunal can only consider the claims that have been properly filed and served. The tenant is entitled to file her own application with Tenancy Services if she wishes to pursue compensation. If successful, she may request that any compensation awarded be offset against the arrears owed. This would need to be adjudicated separately on another hearing date.
The landlord agreed to the termination of the tenancy on 8 January 2025. Accordingly, the application for termination is granted, and the tenancy is to end on the agreed date. Rent arrears to the date of the hearing are also awarded to the landlord.
As the landlord has substantially succeeded with their claim, I must order the tenant to reimburse the filing fee.

Tenancy Tribunal case 5080175 — Rent arrears at 148 Landing Road, Kerikeri, Kerikeri 0230

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 5080175 — Rent arrears at 148 Landing Road, Kerikeri, Kerikeri 0230

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