Tenancy Tribunal Rejects Tenant’s Damage Claims

OUTCOME: Dismissed

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[2026] NZTT 5282143

TENANCY TRIBUNAL AT CHRISTCHURCH | TE TARAIPIUNARA RETIHANGA KI ŌTAUTAHI

APPLICANT: [redacted]

Tenant

RESPONDENT: [redacted] As [COMPANY_5] ( [NAME_6], [NAME_7])

Landlord

TENANCY ADDRESS: Unit/[ADDRESS], [POSTCODE]

ORDER

1. The application is dismissed.

Reasons:

1. Both parties attended the hearing. [NAME_4] and Ms [NAME_11] represented the landlord.

2. The tenant, [NAME_2], had a tenancy of the premises commencing on 1 August 2020. The tenancy ended on 17 November 2024, and she applied for exemplary damages and compensation of $100,000 (the Tribunal’s monetary limit) for:

i. Failure by the landlord to repair and maintain the premises at all or in a timely manner (back door lock and ceiling damage); and

ii. Failure by the landlord to comply with all requirements in respect of building, health, and safety under any enactment insofar as they apply to the premises (asbestos).

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3. [NAME_2] made an application to the Tribunal on 13 June 2024 (application number 4914233) for the same issues as those in this application. However, she withdrew that application before it came to a hearing. She said she did so because there were other matters going in in her life at the time.

Is the landlord in breach of the obligation to maintain and repair the premises and/or the obligation to comply with health and safety enactments?

4. Section 45(1)(b) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (the Act) provides that the landlord must provide and maintain the premises in a reasonable state of repair and section 45(1)(c) requires a landlord to comply with all building, health and safety requirements in so far as they apply to the premises.

5. When determining “reasonable” state of repair, the age and character of the premises and the period during which they are likely to remain habitable and available for residential purposes is relevant.

6. Section 40(1)(d) of the Act is also relevant here. It requires the tenant to notify the landlord, as soon as possible after discovery, of any damage or of the need for repairs to the premises. Thus, once [NAME_2] notified the landlord or the landlord became aware of the need for repairs, the obligation in section 45(1)(b) requires those repairs to be attended to within a reasonable time. What time frame is reasonable depends not only on the gravity of the problem but also on the objective evidence of the attempts made by the landlord to investigate, and put right, whatever the problem may be.

7. A failure to comply with section 45(1)(b) or section 45(1)(c) may entitle the tenant to compensation. It is also declared to be an unlawful act for which exemplary damages may be payable: section 45(1A) of the Act.

Back door lock

8. [NAME_2] told the property manager for the tenancy about the problem with the back door lock at a property inspection on 25 January 2024. Repairs to the lock were completed on 14 February 2024. The invoice for the work records that a new lock and key barrel was fitted and the door fixed so it does not jam. [NAME_4] said that [NAME_2] raised the door lock issue again at another property inspection on 16 July 2024 (after the property was broken into) and, on 30 August, she requested a bolt to be installed on the door. That work was completed on 3 September.

9. I am satisfied that in both instances the repairs required to remedy the back door and lock was completed within a reasonable time after the landlord became aware of the issue. The claim for compensation and exemplary damages for the issues with the backdoor and lock is therefore dismissed.

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Ceiling damage

10. There was no dispute that there was a small “bulge” or crack in the second bedroom ceiling at the tenancy commencement. A property inspection report dated 18 October 2022 notes the damage. A photograph of it is provided with the report. The next routine inspection report dated 25 January 2024 records that the property manager was unable to access the bedroom at that time ([NAME_2] used the room for storage and an ‘art room’).

11. While the damage to the bedroom 2 ceiling was known at the tenancy commencement, the damage was minor I do not consider that it was damage that required repair at that time to bring the premises to a reasonable standard of repair given the age and character of the premises.

12. [NAME_2] said that sometime in 2023, she noticed small hairline cracks in the stippled ceilings in other rooms (living room, bathroom and bedroom 1). The cracks could only be observed when close to the ceiling. [NAME_2] said that a neighbour told her that the ceiling may contain asbestos. She claims that in December 2023 she messaged the property manager about her concerns, but nothing was done. She then filed her first application with the Tribunal on 13 June 2024.

13. [NAME_4] denies receiving any message from [NAME_2] in December 2023 about her asbestos concerns and the hairline cracks and she said that there is no record on the file or any property inspection reports of [NAME_2]’s concerns or any damage to the ceilings (other than bedroom 2). She said that [NAME_4] did not become aware of [NAME_2]’s asbestos concerns and the hairline cracks until they received her June 2024 Tribunal application.

14. After receiving the application, the landlord arranged for [NAME_8] to test the ceiling for asbestos. In a report dated 24 July 2024, [NAME_8] states that non friable Chrysotile ([NAME_4]) was found in the ceiling coatings. The report records that the ceilings have moderate to medium damage but with “low potential risk to release fibres”. A photograph with the report of the ceiling damage in bedroom 2 shows more extensive damage than those shown in the photographs taken during the routine property inspection on 18 October 2022, with the edges of the bulge now breaking away. The [NAME_8] report recommends either removing the asbestos or temporarily “encapsulate the ceiling and manage in accordance with an Asbestos Management Plan.”

15. The landlord chose the latter recommendation, and a quote was obtained from a building contractor ([COMPANY_9]) to seal and then paint all the ceilings. The work was arranged to be completed on 4 October 2024, but [NAME_2] denied access to the contractor to complete the work. She said she believes she did so because she was unwell at the time. Then, on 15 [NAME_2] gave the landlord notice to end the tenancy on 14 November and she requested

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that no maintenance be done until she vacated. The work was therefore not completed until 2 December 2024, after [NAME_2] vacated.

16. I do not consider that the landlord is in breach of its obligation in section 45(1)(c) of the Act to repair and maintain the premises. I am not satisfied that [NAME_2] has provided sufficient evidence to establish that it is more likely than not that she told the landlord in December 2023 of her concerns regarding asbestos and the hairline cracks in the ceilings or that the bulge/damage to the bedroom 2 ceiling had deteriorated in the manner shown by [NAME_8]’s photograph. [NAME_2] said that she does not have a copy of the message anymore because she lost her phoned. She thought she had submitted it with her June 2024 application, but the message was not found on that file. I note too that in a text message to [NAME_4] on 17 January 2024 [NAME_2] lists maintenance issues she wanted attended to, but she makes no mention of the ceilings or her concerns regarding the possibility of them containing asbestos.

17.

I therefore find that the landlord was not aware of the hairline cracking, or the deterioration of the bedroom 2 damage, or the possibility that the ceilings may contain asbestos until it received [NAME_2]’s application in June 2024. I consider that they acted promptly after this to have the matter investigated and to have it remedied. Any delay in having the ceilings encapsulated (as recommended by [NAME_8]) was due to [NAME_2] not wanting the work done until she vacated.

18. I therefore find that the landlord is not in breach of the obligation to repair and maintain the ceilings at the premises and the claim for compensation and exemplary damages under this head is dismissed.

19. I am also not satisfied that [NAME_2] has established that the landlord is in breach of section 45(1)(c) of the Act to comply with enactments regarding health and safety requirements in so far as they apply to the premises. This claim is therefore also dismissed.

20. [NAME_2] claims that the landlord breached the Health & Safety at Work (Asbestos) Regulations 2026 made under the Health & Safety at Work Act 2015. The purpose of this Act (and the regulations made under it) is to ensure the safety of workers and others arising from work done on premises that contain asbestos. However, there was no work done by the landlord or its contractors on the ceilings at the premises while [NAME_2] was a tenant. The work was done after she vacated.

Suppression

21. [NAME_2] applied, in her application, for a suppression order. Section 95A of the Act provides that the Tribunal must, on the application of a party who has been wholly or substantially successful in the proceedings, order that the party’s

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name or identifying particulars not be published (unless the limited circumstances set out in the section apply).

22. [NAME_2] has been wholly unsuccessful in her application. Suppression is therefore not granted.

R Merrett

02 June 2026

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Please read carefully: Visit justice.govt.nz/tribunals/tenancy/rehearings-appeals for more information on rehearings and appeals.

Rehearings You can apply for a rehearing if you believe that a substantial wrong or miscarriage of justice has happened. For example: • you did not get the letter telling you the date of the hearing, or • the adjudicator improperly admitted or rejected evidence, or • new evidence, relating to the original application, has become available.

You must give reasons and evidence to support your application for a rehearing. A rehearing will not be granted just because you disagree with the decision. You must apply within five working days of the decision using the Application for Rehearing form: justice.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Forms/TT-Application-for-rehearing.pdf

Right of Appeal Both the landlord and the tenant can file an appeal. You should file your appeal at the District Court where the original hearing took place. The cost for an appeal is $260. You must apply within 10 working days after the decision is issued using this Appeal to the District Court form: justice.govt.nz/tribunals/tenancy/rehearings-appeals

Grounds for an appeal You can appeal if you think the decision was wrong, but not because you don’t like the decision. For some cases, there’ll be no right to appeal. For example, you can’t appeal: • against an interim order • a final order, or the failure to make an order, where the amount in dispute on appeal is

less than $1000 • a final order to undertake work, or the failure to make an order, where the value of the

work in dispute on appeal is less than $1000.

Enforcement Where the Tribunal made an order about money or property this is called a civil debt. The Ministry of Justice Collections Team can assist with enforcing civil debt. You can contact the collections team on [PHONE] or go to justice.govt.nz/fines/civil-debt for forms and information.

Notice to a party ordered to pay money or vacate premises, etc. Failure to comply with any order may result in substantial additional costs for enforcement. It may also involve being ordered to appear in the District Court for an examination of your means or seizure of your property.

If you require further help or information regarding this matter, visit tenancy.govt.nz/disputes/enforcing- decisions or phone Tenancy Services on [PHONE].

Mēna ka hiahia koe ki ētahi atu awhina, kōrero ranei mo tēnei take, haere ki tenei ipurangi tenancy.govt.nz/disputes/enforcing-decisions, waea atu ki Ratonga Takirua ma runga [PHONE] ranei.

https://www.justice.govt.nz/tribunals/tenancy/rehearings-appeals https://www.justice.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Forms/TT-Application-for-rehearing.pdf https://www.justice.govt.nz/tribunals/tenancy/rehearings-appeals/ https://www.justice.govt.nz/fines/about-civil-debt/ https://www.tenancy.govt.nz/disputes/enforcing-decisions https://www.tenancy.govt.nz/disputes/enforcing-decisions http://www.tenancy.govt.nz/disputes/enforcing-decisions/

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A manaomia nisi faamatalaga poo se fesoasoani, e uiga i lau mataupu, asiasi ifo le matou aupega tafailagi: tenancy.govt.nz/disputes/enforcing-decisions, pe fesootai mai le Tenancy Services i le numera [PHONE].

Reasons: