Published tribunal order
Tenancy Tribunal case 9059684 — Tenancy dispute in Mount Albert, Auckland
Decided 4 Jun 2025 · Published 4 Jun 2025 · Application 9059684
Landlord favoured
- Unit Titles
Order
- Kok Yuen Kenneth Yeo and Bun Cing Mustafa must pay Body Corporate 314950 $38,681.56 immediately, calculated as follows: DescriptionsApplicantRespondent Outstanding levies to and including levy due 10 March 2025 $25,850.87 Interest on outstanding levies to 3 June 2025 Recovery costs $8,864.44 $3,466.25 Filing Fee$500.00 Total award$38,681.56 Total payable by Respondent to Applicant $38,681.56
Reasons
- The Body Corporate’s agent attended the hearing which was held by teleconference. The Unit Owners were unable to be contacted on the numbers recorded in the Owners’ Register.
- The Body Corporate has applied for recovery of unpaid levies, interest, costs and the filing fee from the unit owner.
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 Owners’ 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 owners have 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.
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. 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 costs claim is for $5,141,83 being the GST exclusive sum of four invoices for legal work, each with supporting time records, as follows: a. $362.25 - dated 31 October 2024, for Tribunal correspondence and filing the claim.; b. $1,155.58 – dated 31 March 2025 for reviewing the file and updating the Tribunal; c. $520.00 – dated 12 April 2025 for preparation and attendance at the 17 March hearing d. $3,104.00 - dated 16 June 2025 for pursuing recovery, reviewing the account history, updating the Tribunal and attending this hearing.
- This matter was scheduled for hearing on 17 March 2025. The hearing was adjourned on that date as the Body Corporate needed to confirm service requirements and because included in the claim was an invoice for $33,075.24 which the Body Corporate confirms was erroneously characterised in the initial claim as a debt due.
- In my view, the costs recorded in the 31 October 2024 and 16 June 2025 invoice are reasonable and should be awarded. The costs recorded in the 16 June invoice are however essentially a repetition of the file review, hearing preparation and hearing attendance undertaken for the 17 March hearing. The need for further attendances and hearing time was not as a result of the Unit Owners’ breach but due to other factors under the control of the Body Corporate that prevented the claim from being heard on 17 March. I accept that due to the complex history of the account, further time after that date was required to ready the claim but that is included in the costs awarded for the 16 June invoice.
- The costs award therefore excludes the 31 March and 12 April invoices, which reduces the award to $3,466.25 plus the filing fee.
- 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.