Tenant Ordered to Pay Landlord $4,022.43 for Damages and Rent Arrears

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[2025] NZTT 4983452, 4902134

TENANCY TRIBUNAL AT AUCKLAND | TE TARAIPIUNARA RETIHANGA KI TĀMAKI MAKAURAU

APPLICANT: [redacted]

Landlord

RESPONDENT: [redacted]

Tenant

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

ORDER

1. [NAME] must pay [NAME] $4,022.43 immediately, calculated as shown in table below.

Description Landlord Tenant Rent arrears to 17 April 2024 $260.71 Replace fridge shelves $50.00 Replace broken toilet seat $58.01 Replace two light fittings $99.90 Repairs to walls and ceiling $2,200.00 Paint purchase for wall and ceiling repair $235.15 Paint roller and brush $11.30 Replace blinds $132.00 Purchase curtain rail $33.06 Labour to repair lights, wardrobe, curtain rail, toilet seat $180.00 Light bulbs/batteries $5.30 Lost rent from 18 April 2024 to 29 May 2024 (6 weeks) $2,190.00 Filing fee reimbursement $27.00 Bond refunded to landlord (7/11/24) $1,460.00 Total award $5,482.43 $1,460.00 Net award $4,022.43 Total payable by Tenant to Landlord $4,022.43

2. [NAME]’s application is dismissed.

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Reasons:

Attendance

3. The landlord attended the hearing with a support person. The tenant did not appear. We waited for half an hour for the tenant to appear and/or to communicate with the registry about her reasons for her nonappearance.

4. It is of note that:

a. The tenant did not attend the last hearing, on 7 November 2024, citing she was “in a depressed state that day” and unable to attend. In addition, she stated she had not had sufficient sleep to be able to present her case due to the terrible commotion by her neighbours late the prior evening. The adjudicator granted the tenant a rehearing;

b. Tribunal records indicate that [NAME] has failed to attend at least one previous hearing, involving a different tenancy.

5. I am satisfied that the tenant had received proper notice of the hearing time, date and place and chose not to attend. Registry confirmed to me that she had emailed it last night about today’s hearing and it had confirmed the date, time and place of the hearing with her, and attached another copy of the notice of hearing for her information.

Parties Claims

6. The landlord has applied for rent arrears, compensation, and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy.

7. The tenant has applied for compensation and exemplary damages and reimbursement of the filing fee.

8. The application for an adjournment was refused and the hearing proceeded in the tenant’s absence.

9. [NAME] has applied for rent arrears, compensation, refund of the bond, and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy.

10. The tenant claims the landlord failed to maintain the premises in a reasonable state of repair, and interfered with her reasonable peace, comfort, or privacy. She seeks return of the bond, compensation, and exemplary damages.

Civil Burden of Proof

11. With any claim before the Tenancy Tribunal, the Tribunal applies the usual civil law standards and expectations. That means that it is for the party bringing the application to establish their claims “on the balance of probabilities”. That

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means that they must establish that what they are claiming is more likely than not. This is referred to as the “burden of proof”. Independent witnesses, corroborating documents and photographs are an important part of discharging this burden.

12. As noted by the District Court in Kaipo v Clarke & McCarthy (DC) TT233/02, in practical terms this means that:

… [L]ike anyone who brings an application before a Tribunal or Court, it is incumbent upon the applicant to provide the evidence necessary to prove the case. If the applicant fails to do that, then their application will be dismissed whether it has merit or not because it is up to the applicant to provide the necessary evidence. It is not up to the other parties, and it is certainly not up to the Tribunal to extract evidence.

13. I do not need to be completely certain, but I need to be more certain than uncertain. In deciding any particular claim, I must consider all the evidence presented (including oral evidence during the hearing). I must weigh this evidence to decide what is more likely.

LANDLORD CLAIMS

How much rent does the tenant owe?

14. The landlord has proven the tenancy ended on 17 April 2024, as that is when she got vacant possession of the premise.

15. [NAME] provided rent records which proved the amount [NAME] owed for rent at the end of the tenancy.

Is the tenant liable for to the landlord for damage to the premises?

16. [NAME] has provided evidence that proves during the tenancy, the walls and ceiling were extensively damaged by the tenant, a blind was pulled down and was not able to be refitted, the toilet seat was irreparably broken, two wall light covers were missing as was the kitchen rangehood’s bulb, and a wardrobe clothes rail was broken from its fitting.

17. Damage is intentional where a person intends to cause damage and takes the necessary steps to achieve that purpose. Damage is also intentional where a

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person does something, or allows a situation to continue, knowing that damage is a certainty.1

18. In this case the evidence proves it is more likely than not that the tenant damaged the walls in ceilings when upset by the actions of her neighbours or when she was in a funk. The photographic evidence shows there were many dents in the walls and the ceiling for example, that may have been due to the tenant violently banging on walls shared with neighbours and the ceiling below the above neighbour’s floor. There were two big holes in the wall gib also.

19. The tenant attempted to repair the damage to the walls and ceiling herself, but the repairs were not to a reasonable professional standard and required further remedial work.

20. [NAME] gave oral evidence and provided photographs to support her claims.

21. I am satisfied that the damage complained of occurred during the tenancy and is more than fair wear and tear and that on the balance of probabilities that the damage was caused carelessly or intentionally by the tenant.

22. [NAME] provided invoices for the labour, replacement parts, and materials required to restore the premises.

23. The amounts ordered are proved.

Loss rent

24. The landlord lost rent for 42 days because of the type and amount of careless damage caused by the tenant and the cleaning the landlord and her friend had to undertake to get the premise back to a reasonably clean and tidy state.

25. The landlord has been awarded the 42 days lost rent incurred, for the period 18 April to 29 May 2024.

TENANT CLAIMS

Did the landlord fail to maintain the premises?

26. Landlords have a duty to maintain the premises in a reasonable state of repair under s 45(1)(b) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA). They must repair defects within a reasonable time once they acquire such knowledge. As the author of Residential Tenancy Law in New Zealand explains:2

The landlord’s obligation of repair is not absolute. A landlord does not have to foresee a latent and unobservable defect before it causes damage… A landlord

1 See Guo v Korck [2019] NZHC 1541. 2 [NAME] Tenancy Law in New Zealand (2018) Thomson Reuters at 6.18.

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therefore must repair within a reasonable time after knowledge of the need for repair:

“…the obligation of the landlord, under s 45, is to investigate and repair a defect brought to its attention within a timeframe which is reasonable in the circumstances and as to what that time is, I think, 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 might be…”

27. Landlords also have an obligation to repair things that are apparent from observation:3

However, notice from the tenant is not needed if the landlords knew of the need for repair or the need for repair is apparent from observation…

28. I have read the tenant’s submission and the evidence she supplied.

29. The statement and evidence did not raise a persuasive narrative that the landlord had failed to maintain the premises. [NAME] has gone through the tenant’s account and denies failing in her duty to maintain the premises.

30. The tenant bears the onus of proving her claim on the balance of probabilities. She has not discharged the onus. This claim is dismissed.

Did the landlord interfere with the tenant’s reasonable peace?

31. Landlords must not interfere with the reasonable peace, comfort, or privacy of the tenant in their use of the premises: s 38(2) of the RTA.

32. Breaching this obligation in circumstances that amount to harassment is an unlawful act for which exemplary damages may be awarded up to a maximum of $3,000.00: s 38(3) and Schedule 1A of the RTA.

33. Harassment means "to trouble, worry or distress" or "to wear out, tire, or exhaust" and "indicates a particular pattern of behaviour directed towards another person": [NAME] v [NAME], CIV-2009-[PHONE], DC Hamilton, 26 February 2010.

34. Black’s Law Dictionary4 defines “harassment” as:

Words, conduct, or action (usu. repeated or persistent) that, being directed at a specific person annoys, alarms, or causes substantial emotional distress in that person and serves no legitimate purpose.

35. The New Oxford Dictionary of English“5 defines “harass” as:

subject to aggressive pressure or intimidation”.

3 Ibid. 4 [NAME] (ed) Black’s Law Dictionary (8th ed, West Group, 2004). 5 [NAME] (ed) (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1998).

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36. The tenant had problems with her neighbours during the tenancy, one of which has raised an email complaint about the tenant’s aggressive and disruptive conduct and the sounds of plates and other items being thrown at the walls and ceilings late at night and in the early hours of the morning. This neighbour also complains about confrontational events outside the apartment, stating the tenant accosted and verbally abused the complainant for no apparent reason .

37. None of the other neighbours were [NAME]’s tenants, so she had no ability to control their conduct. The tenant was free to raise a complaint with the body corporate if she wanted to have another tenant’s alleged disruptive conduct investigated.

38. The material the tenant submitted does not raise a credible narrative that [NAME] interfered with the tenant’s reasonable peace, comfort, or privacy.

39. This claim is dismissed.

OTHER ORDERS

Filing fee

40. [NAME] has wholly succeeded in her claim. [NAME] must reimburse her for the cost of the filing fee.

Bond

41. [COMPANY] has already paid the bond over to [NAME] in payment towards the monetary order made in this decision.

[NAME]

15 April 2025

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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 for the payment of less than $1000 • a final order to undertake work worth 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: