Tenantcheck Insights · Case study
Tenancy Tribunal case 5343876 — Rent arrears at 196 Carruth Road, Poroti, RD9, Whangarei 0179
Published 6 March 2026 · Application 5343876
Landlord favoured
- Rent arrears
At a glance
Key facts from the published tribunal order.
Outcome
Landlord favoured
From published order
Location
Whangarei
Tribunal region
Adjudicator
N Blake
Dispute themes
Award balance
Gross awards, any bond applied per the order, and the remaining balance payable.
- Gross award
- $4,528.00
- Bond payment as ordered
- −$1,125.00
- Total balance for Tenant to pay Landlord
- $3,403.00
Claims & awards
What this tenancy cost at tribunal — claim, category, amount, and party awarded, with reconciled net total.
| Claim | Landlord | Tenant | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent arrears | $4,500.00 | The claim for rent arrears is proven. Filing fee, bond | |
| Filing fee reimbursement | $28.00 | Filing fee reimbursement | |
| Net award | $3,403.00 | ||
| Total payable by Tenant to Landlord | $3,403.00 |
Claims and awards for application 5343876 — net $3,403.00 NZD. Verify on MoJ.
Rent arrears
- Amount
- $4,500.00
- Awarded to
- Landlord
- Reason
- The claim for rent arrears is proven. Filing fee, bond
Filing fee reimbursement
- Amount
- $28.00
- Awarded to
- Landlord
- Reason
- Filing fee reimbursement
Net award
Landlord $3,403.00
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord
Landlord $3,403.00
Claim types — money lines allowed on this order
Order
- Callisto Ropata must pay David Owen Crequer $3,403.00 immediately, calculated as shown in table below.
- The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $1,125.00 (5995034-003) to David Owen Crequer immediately.
Reasons
Background
- The tenancy began on 24 April 2017 and ended on 25 October 2025.
- The landlord filed this application on 12 September 2025. The application sought rent arrears ($450.00 at the date of filing) and compensation of $10,000 for “any damage”.
- The hearing took place in Whangarei on 20 February 2026. Both parties participated in the hearing. Mr Crequer attended by phone with the consent of the Tribunal.
- The file available to me did not include any details of Mr Crequer’s possible claim for damage.
- At the hearing I asked Mr Crequer whether there was any damage at the end of the tenancy. He said that there was damage to the carpet and vinyl and some curtains were missing.
- Mr Crequer has not provided any details of those possible claims or any supporting evidence. The claims cannot be dealt with in this application. Rent arrears
- The landlord’s rent record shows rent arrears of $4,500.00 to the end of the tenancy.
- Ms Ropata agrees that the tenancy ended on 25 October 2025 and that her last rent payment was made on 1 September 2025.
- Ms Ropata disputes the claim for rent arrears on the grounds that she overpaid the rent during the tenancy, beginning in March 2020, and therefore she has a substantial rent credit.
- The initial rent, per the tenancy agreement, was $375.00 per week. In March 2020 Ms Ropata began paying $450.00 per week.
- Ms Ropata said that she initiated this increased rent payment. It was not a rent increase requested by the landlord. She said that she did this to build up a rent credit, so that her tenancy would not be put at risk if there were any issues with rent payments in the future.
- Mr Crequer said that this wasn’t right. He said that he issued notice to increase the rent in March 2020.
- The rent for a tenancy can lawfully increase if: a. The landlord gives a notice of rent increase that meets the requirements of section 24 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986; or b. The landlord and tenant agree. Did the landlord give effective notice to increase the rent from $375 per week to $450 per week in March 2020?
- At the hearing, Mr Crequer recalled that he gave notice to tenant to increase the rent in March 2020.
- He did not have a copy of that document to hand, and he did not have access to his records.
- At the end of the hearing, I told the parties that I would not issue a decision immediately, but would allow Mr Crequer a period of two weeks (to 6 March 2026) to try to locate that document.
- On 6 March, Mr Crequer confirmed that he has been unable to locate the document.
- It is not proven that the landlord gave effective notice to increase the rent in March 2020. Did the landlord and tenant agree to increase the rent to $450.00 per week?
- I have made a finding that it is not proven that the landlord gave notice to increase the rent.
- There is no other evidence of the landlord requesting a rent increase around that time.
- I accept Ms Ropata’s statement that she spontaneously increased the rent.
- There is no evidence of any communication between Ms Ropata and Mr Crequer about this in March 2020. There is no email or text message from Ms Ropata telling Mr Crequer that she is going to pay more each week so that she can build up a credit. There is no email or text message from Mr Crequer to Ms Ropata asking her why she has changed the rent payment.
- There were some messages exchanged in February 2022. Mr Crequer sent Ms Ropata an email about missed rent payments, attaching a 14-day breach notice. Ms Ropata replied: I am in the process of getting rent payments started back up with winz. But as I was the one who increased my rent payments nearly two years ago from $375 to $450 voluntarily I thought I was well in credit. Also the last time you were here, you said you were happy that the $50 of the extra payment was to go on rent and I said yes, with the other $25 going as extra in case I ever needed to not pay the rent
- Mr Crequer replied: I agreed with the rent increase to $450 per and that is what WINZ have been paying to me, which is your rent. There is no $25 extra. When I came and saw you suggested to me that it could be treated as $425 rent and $25 in advance but I did not agree to your suggestion about extra rent in advance. It is not my understanding that WINZ are, or were ever paying extra on top of the rent, on your behalf. We agreed that the rent that was being paid ($450) was the rental amount. That is the amount that you continue to have paid.
- The wording of Mr Crequer’s reply supports the view that the rent was not increased pursuant to a notice that he issued in 2020. Mr Crequer does not dispute Ms Ropata’s statement that she increased the rent voluntarily. He says that “we agreed that the rent that was being paid ($450) was the rental amount”.
- Rent can be changed by agreement. Agreement is offer and acceptance, or a “meeting of minds”.
- The very unusual aspect of this case is that the offer of rent increase effectively came from the tenant not the landlord.
- Ms Ropata increased her payment to $450.00 per week. There is no evidence to show that she told Mr Crequer at the time that $375.00 of this payment (or $400.00) was to go to current rent with the balance held has a credit or surplus.
- Mr Crequer accepted the additional payment.
- In February 2022 (per the email quoted above) Mr Crequer confirmed his understanding that he accepted the $450 per week as the new rent amount. Ms Ropata did not reply to Mr Crequer’s email.
- My finding is that there was offer and acceptance. The new agreed rent amount was $450 from March 2020. That agreement is binding on both parties.
- Mr Crequer’s rent record is correct. The claim for rent arrears is proven. Filing fee, bond
- The landlord has been successful in this application and I must also award him the filing fee of $28.00.
- The bond will be released to the landlord.
Topics & place
Topics are dispute themes across the order (not the same as claim-type money lines).
Residential Tenancies Act sections
s24, s7
Key findings
- Dispute theme: rent arrears
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about this Tenancy Tribunal case.
What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 5343876?
The tribunal order states: Callisto Ropata must pay David Owen Crequer $3,403.00 immediately,
How much money was awarded in case 5343876?
Filing Fee: $28.00 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $4,500.00 awarded to landlord
What type of tenancy dispute was case 5343876?
The primary dispute was Rent arrears.
Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5343876?
The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/13159202-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.