What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 5089748?

The tribunal order states: Kareem Ragab must pay Kathleen Grace Morgan $2,495.00 immediately,

How much money was awarded in case 5089748?

Compensation: unlawful residential p…: $2,468.00 awarded to tenant; Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5089748?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5089748?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11925927-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 5089748?

The tribunal order states: Kareem Ragab must pay Kathleen Grace Morgan $2,495.00 immediately,

How much money was awarded in case 5089748?

Compensation: unlawful residential p…: $2,468.00 awarded to tenant; Filing Fee: $27.00 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5089748?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5089748?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11925927-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

Room 8, 477 Barrington Street, Addington, Christchurch Tenancy Tribunal Case 5089748 — Tenancy dispute

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Reasons

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5089748 — net $2,495.00 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Tenant	Reason
Compensation: unlawful residential premises	$2,468.00	unlawful residential premises
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$2,495.00
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant	$2,495.00

Both parties attended the hearing.

The tenant, Ms Morgan, had a tenancy of the premises commencing on 22 February 2024. Rent was agreed at $350.00 per week. The tenancy ended on 5 December 2024 and Ms Morgan applied for a refund of all rent paid for the tenancy on the basis that the premises was not consented to be occupied for residential purposes.

The premises consist of a garage which was converted to a ‘granny flat’ in or about 2023 by the landlord, Mr Ragib. The premises are fully self-contained with a kitchen and bathroom.

In support of her claim that the premises cannot lawfully be occupied as a residential dwelling, Ms Morgan provided correspondence from the Christchurch City Council. In an email dated 17 February 2025, Sarah Congdon from the Council states “there has been no approval to change this garage into a secondary unit” and “some of the works involved like insulation, installation of plumbing and drainage would have required building consent”.

There was no dispute that the change in the premises from garage to a dwelling did not have change of use approval/consent or building consent for the plumbing work (associated with the bathroom and kitchen facilities), and the insulation installation. Mr Ragib claims that it did not require change of use consent because it is a small (32m 2) ) standalone building. However, the change in law that allows small standalone dwellings up to 70m 2 is not expected to be in force until early 2026.

The premises could therefore not be lawfully occupied as a residential dwelling without the required building and change of use consents: section 77A(2) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (the Act). Failure to obtain the necessary consents is a breach of section 36 of the Act which provides that the landlord must take all reasonable steps to ensure that, at the commencement of the tenancy, there is no legal impediment to the occupation of the premises for residential purposes.

Is Ms Morgan entitled to a refund of all rent paid for the tenancy?

Where the Tribunal finds the residential premises to be unlawful, the Tribunal may order the return of all rent paid by the tenant, although it may deduct an amount from that sum if, in the special circumstances of the case, it would be fair to do so: sections 78A(3)(a), (4) and (5) of the Act.

In the circumstances here I consider it fair that Ms Morgan pays some rent for the premises. She had use of it for almost 10 months and she did not dispute that the premises were warm and dry. She said that the effect the lack of consent for the premises was that the shower tray was not level and water would drain very slowly from the shower. She said that sometimes the water would build up in the shower tray and seep out onto the floor. She also said that there was an issue with the skylight leaking and a window seal, but Mr Ragib did attend to those matters.

Ms Morgan also said that she felt uncomfortable when she found out that no consents were obtained for the garage conversion, and she was living in an unlawful dwelling. She said that moved out of the premises within weeks of finding out about it being unlawful.

Taking into account all the circumstances, I consider the sum of $2,468.00, calculated at $60.00 per week for the 41 weeks of the tenancy, reasonable to compensate Ms Morgan for the premises being unlawful residential premises.

Ms Morgan has been successful in her claim, and I consider this an appropriate case to award her payment of the Tribunal application fee.

Reasons

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 5089748 — net $2,495.00 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Tenant	Reason
Compensation: unlawful residential premises	$2,468.00	unlawful residential premises
Filing fee reimbursement	$27.00	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$2,495.00
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant	$2,495.00

Both parties attended the hearing.

The premises consist of a garage which was converted to a ‘granny flat’ in or about 2023 by the landlord, Mr Ragib. The premises are fully self-contained with a kitchen and bathroom.

Is Ms Morgan entitled to a refund of all rent paid for the tenancy?

Ms Morgan has been successful in her claim, and I consider this an appropriate case to award her payment of the Tribunal application fee.

Tenancy Tribunal case 5089748 — Tenancy dispute at Room 8, 477 Barrington Street, Addington, Christchurch

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 5089748 — Tenancy dispute at Room 8, 477 Barrington Street, Addington, Christchurch

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Is Ms Morgan entitled to a refund of all rent paid for the tenancy?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Is Ms Morgan entitled to a refund of all rent paid for the tenancy?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions