Published tribunal order
Tenancy Tribunal case 9047024 — Tenancy dispute in Te Aro, Wellington
Decided 24 Apr 2024 · Published 24 Apr 2024 · Application 9047024
Landlord favoured
- Unit Titles
Order
- Mountain Oyster Properties Limited must pay Body Corporate 86062 the sum of $100,000.00 immediately, calculated as follows: DescriptionsApplicant Ordinary Levy$90,234.84 Debt collection charges$287.50 Legal debt collection charges$7,063.84 Filing Fee$500.00 Interest$1,913.82 Total payable by Respondent to Applicant $100,000.00
Reasons
- The Body Corporate has applied for recovery of unpaid levies, interest, costs and the filing fee from the Unit Owner.
- Only the Body Corporate via its representative, attended the hearing today. However I can see the Unit Owner was aware of the hearing and has conceded to the claim from the Body Corporate. In that regard the Unit Owner has emailed the Body Corporate’s representative stating in part: Thank You for all the work that you have put into this and appreciate we have been absent at our end in regard to dealing with this issue. I was hoping to make the hearing today, but an ongoing family issue has got in the road again. For clarity we are not contesting the amount being sought by the BC from ourselves. We would love to sit down and have a discussion to put a plan together after the decision from the Tribunal today. There is a lot of challenges we have faced and would like to get together with the BC to offer the background issues and get a plan outlined to have this resolved.
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.
- But as above, the Unit Owner does not dispute the claim before the Tribunal, so the amounts claimed are ordered by consent.
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.
- 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.