Published tribunal order
Tenancy Tribunal case 9046244 — Tenancy dispute in Auckland Central, Auckland
Decided 21 Nov 2023 · Published 21 Nov 2023 · Application 9046244
Landlord favoured
- Unit Titles
Order
- An Xie and Guangying Qi must pay Body Corporate 439550 the sum of $22,139.94 immediately, calculated as follows: DescriptionsApplicant Levy Body Corporate secretary charges Legal costs to collect levies Appearance at hearing Tribunal filing fee Interest $8,558.96 $287.50 $10,840.34 $200.00 $500.00 $1,753.14 Total payable by Respondent to Applicant$22,139.94
Reasons
- Both parties attended the hearing.
- The body corporate has applied for recovery of unpaid levies, interest, costs and the filing fee from the unit owner.
- At the hearing today, the unit owner stated that she has not received any documentation in relation to the hearing. I am not persuaded that is the case. I note that the application and supporting documents were emailed to the tenant, at the same email address the unit owner confirmed was her correct email address at the hearing. I also note the unit owner has received text message notifications about the hearing, and in fact contacted the Tribunal from those messages. The body corporates representative advised that emails have been sent to the tenant using that same email address. In short I am not persuaded that the unit owner has not been properly served notice of the hearing, so I will proceed to consider the Body Corporates claim.
- The unit owner also stated that she had paid the money, but has not provided any evidence of that, and when I asked for specific information around payments the response was vague. I accept the position of the body corporate that the amounts claimed remain outstanding.
Does the Unit Owner owe the levies claimed?
- A unit owner must pay all body corporate levies and outgoings payable for the unit. See sections 80(1)(f) and 121(1) Unit Titles Act 2010.
- The body corporate has determined the levies payable and unit owner's share has been calculated according to their utility interest.
- The body corporate has fixed the due date for the levies to be paid, and the unit owner has not paid the levies by that date. See section 124(1) Unit Titles Act 2010. The body corporate has provided records to prove the amount claimed.
- The unit owner raised a concern that she keeps getting charged by the body corporate, and I accept that is the case. The nature of body corporate levies is that they are normally raised annually to cover the operation of the body corporate complex, and levies for the operation of the complex would continue to be raised to allow the premises to operate, including paying for insurance that the unit owners get the benefit of.
Is the Unit owner liable for interest?
- If a unit owner fails to pay levies by the due date, interest accrues on the unpaid balance. A body corporate may charge interest up to 10% per annum. See section 128 Unit Titles Act 2010.
- The body corporate has resolved to charge interest. The Body Corporate has proved the amount of interest owing from the due date to the hearing date.
Is the Unit owner liable for costs?
- Pursuant to section 124 UTA, and as resolved at meetings of the Body Corporate, the Body Corporate is entitled to recover any reasonable costs incurred by it in collecting unpaid levies as a debt due by the owner to the Body Corporate. In accordance with the judgments (of the District Court and Court of Appeal respectively) in Body Corporate 162791 v Cheah DC Auckland, CIV2014-004- 0120, 24 June 2014 and Body Corporate 162791 v Gilbert [2015] NZCA 185, the Tribunal must order that the reasonable costs incurred by the Body Corporate in recovering the levies, objectively assessed, be paid by a defaulting unit owner. I am satisfied that the costs ordered above are reasonable. The amount of the costs claim is large, but as explained by the body corporate representative, include collection costs for the previous levies order issued by the Tribunal in 2021, that claim proceeding to the High Court to recover the debt.
- Because the body corporate has succeeded with the claim I have reimbursed the filing fee. Section 176(1) Unit Titles Act 2010 and section 102(4) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.