Published tribunal order
Tenancy Tribunal case 9057144 — Tenancy dispute in Auckland, Auckland
Decided 21 Feb 2025 · Published 21 Feb 2025 · Application 9057144
Landlord favoured
- Unit Titles
Order
- Hu Chang must pay Body Corporate 191561 $14,645.40 immediately, calculated as follows: Descriptions Levy 1/7/23 - 30/6/25$8,459.69 Costs: debt collection charges $632.50 Costs: debt collection handover $287.50 Costs: legal reasonable incurred $4,136.86 Costs: hearing attendance (1/2 hour incl. GST) $155.25 Filing Fee $500.00 Total award$14,171.80 Total interest$473.60 Total award with interest$14,645.40 Total payable by Respondent to Applicant $14,645.40
Reasons
- The applicant only attended the hearing. Ms MacGregor represented the Body Corporate.
- The respondent did not attend the hearing. He had been notified of the hearing by email and sent the link for attendance, accordingly pursuant to section 92 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 1 the hearing continued in his absence.
- The body corporate has applied for recovery of unpaid levies, interest, costs and the filing fee from the unit owner.
- The Tribunal must consider an application from the Body Corporate for unpaid levies and associated collection costs and interest.
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; accordingly, the order is made as sought.
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 at 10% per annum on unpaid levies. 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. 1 As empowered by section 171 of the Unit Titles Act 2010
- 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.
- The documents provided by the Body Corporate and the invoices issued by the solicitors acting for the Body Corporate set out the work completed, and the time spent in attempting to recover the unpaid levies. All costs incurred were identified to the respondent prior to incursion.
- I am satisfied that the debt collection costs claimed by the Body Corporate are reasonable and substantiated in evidence.
- The legal costs were only incurred following letters of demand and follow-ups first by the Body Corporate and then by the Solicitors acting. The respondent has therefore had every opportunity to pay. These costs were all avoidable.
- Accordingly, I find that the actual solicitor and client costs are, in the circumstances of this case, reasonable costs incurred in collecting the levies and can therefore be recovered from the unit owner. Half an hour of time was awarded for Ms MacGregor’s attendance at the hearing.
- 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.