Published tribunal order
Tenancy Tribunal case 9075004 — Tenancy dispute in Auckland Central, Auckland
Decided 18 February 2026 · Published 18 February 2026 · Application 9075004
Landlord favoured
- Unit Titles
Order
1
- Wanqi Jia must pay Body Corporate 501310 $9261.55 immediately, calculated as follows: DescriptionApplicant Levies$4771.38 Legal costs$2895.00 Interest to date. Body Corporate debt collection charges $175.17 $920.00 Filing fee$500.00 Total payable by Respondent to Applicant $9261.55 1 This order was initially issued on 13 February 2026 but was recalled and is now reissued as a result of an error in calculation.
Reasons
- Ms Donovan appeared for the Body Corporate. There was no appearance for the respondent.
- The Body Corporate applies for: a. Operational levies of $4771.38, b. Body Corporate handover and debt recovery costs of $920, c. Legal costs of $2665.00 plus time spent preparing and attending the hearing at an hourly rate of $250 plus GST per hour. d. The filing fee of $500. e. Interest of $175.17 to date.
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 the respondent’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 respondent 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 amounts claimed and ordered above for levies.
Is the respondent 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 proven the amount of interest owing from the due date to the hearing date, as ordered above.
Is the unit owner liable for costs?
- Pursuant to section 124 UTA, 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 judgments (of the District Court and Court of Appeal respectively) in Body Corporate 162791 v Cheah 2 and Body Corporate 162791 v Gilbert, 3 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 assessment of reasonableness of costs in connection with a contractual indemnity for reasonable solicitor and client costs was discussed in Exuberant Ltd v Quinovic Management Limited 4 and, in the context, of s 124 of the UTA, in Body Corporate 45131 v 88 CHI Ltd, where the approach taken in Exuberant was adopted and applied. 5
- The District Court in Body Corporate 45131 v 88 CHI Ltd summarised the key elements of the relevant legal framework as follows: 6 a) the relevant test is as set out in section 124(2) of the Unit Titles Act – the body corporate is entitled to recover “any reasonable costs incurred in collecting the levy”; and b) solicitor and client costs are a category of costs that can be recovered under this provision; and c) the task is to assess the reasonableness of the solicitor and client costs that are claimed.
- Having set out that framework, the Court reviewed the relevant method to be applied in assessing the reasonableness of the solicitor and client costs, concluding: 7 ... the essential method is as follows: a) first, ask whether the work that was done was reasonably necessary; b) second, ask whether the amount charged for the reasonably necessary work was reasonable; c) in both instances the NZLS Rules and Rule 9 in particular are prime reference points when assessing reasonableness; d) third, test the analysis against other available reference points.
- At para [8], the District Court observed: 8 I make the following observations from the discussions on the cases and having regard to the way in which the methodology has been applied in the cases: 2 DC Auckland, CIV2014-004-0120, 24 June 2014. 3 [2015] NZCA 185. 4 [2021] NZ HC 3533. 5 CIV 2022 – 096 – 000494 [2023] NZDC 9036, at paragraph [5]. 6 Body Corporate 45131 v 88 CHI Ltd CIV 2022 – 096 – 000494 [2023] NZDC 9036, at paragraph [5]. 7 At [6], citing Exuberant Ltd v Quinovic Property Management Limited [2021] NZHC 3533 and other authorities. 8 Footnotes from the quote omitted. (a) the exercise the adjudicator or the judge is engaged in is an objective one. The adjudicator or the judge must make a principled assessment of reasonableness against stated criteria; (b) the adjudicator or the judge must do the work required by the methodology, and in particular grapple with the available information on the specific tasks that were undertaken by the lawyers, and the amounts that were charged for them; (c) when doing that, the adjudicator or the judge must test the work and the invoicing against the realities of the legal market that we have, not an idealised or hypothetical standard; (d) the Rule 9 considerations are helpful in providing some structure to this assessment. Time expended is one of these factors but it is not the only factor; (e) if an adjustment to actual solicitor client costs is made, this should be explained with some specificity by identifying tasks that were seen to be unnecessary, or the necessary steps that were seen to have been overcharged in some way.
- The reference to Rule 9 above is a reference to rule 9.1 of the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Conduct and Client Care) Rules 2008. This sets out the “reasonable fee factors”, which are listed as follows:
- 1 The factors to be taken into account in determining the reasonableness of a fee in respect of any service provided by a lawyer to a client include the following: (a) the time and labour expended: (b) the skill, specialised knowledge, and responsibility required to perform the services properly: (c) the importance of the matter to the client and the results achieved: (d) the urgency and circumstances in which the matter is undertaken and any time limitations imposed, including those imposed by the client: (e) the degree of risk assumed by the lawyer in undertaking the services, including the amount or value of any property involved: (f) the complexity of the matter and the difficulty or novelty of the questions involved: (g) the experience, reputation, and ability of the lawyer: (h) the possibility that the acceptance of the particular retainer will preclude engagement of the lawyer by other clients: (i) whether the fee is fixed or conditional (whether in litigation or otherwise): (j) any quote or estimate of fees given by the lawyer: (k) any fee agreement (including a conditional fee agreement) entered into between the lawyer and client: (l) the reasonable costs of running a practice: (m) the fee customarily charged in the market and locality for similar legal services. Analysis and application of the law
- Applying the methodology endorsed by the District Court and set out above, I have viewed the time records associated with the costs that are claimed.
- There have been a number of legal attendances in this matter. The application is relatively formulaic but I accept that time still needs to be spent completing the application and checking all the details.
- Whether or not there is a conditional fee agreement in place is a rule 9.1 consideration I am required to take into account.
- I consider that this entails assessing whether or not the Body Corporate will be required to pay the full amount of the invoice claimed, in the event the applicant is unsuccessful in claiming those costs today.
- Ms Donovan assures me the fees are still payable regardless.
- I am required to take a “standing back assessment”. Taking a “standing back assessment”, I am of the view that the costs claimed are reasonable. I also allow $200 plus GST for time spent preparing and attending the hearing.
- As to the Body Corporate charges, I find these to be reasonable for all the work that was done in an attempt to collect the debt and thereby avoid the application having to be filed in the first place
- 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.