Tenant Ordered to Pay Rent Arrears and Water Rates but Pool Inspection Claim Dismissed
📌 In brief
The Tenancy Tribunal ordered the tenant to pay rent arrears and water rates but dismissed the landlord's claim for pool inspection fees because the landlord did not provide the required 24-hour written notice.
⚖️ Legal holding
A tenant is not required to provide immediate access for compliance inspections without at least 24 hours' written notice under section 48(2) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
📖 What the law says
This rule says that a landlord generally cannot enter a rented property while someone is living there, unless the tenant agrees right before or at the time of entry, or if certain specific situations apply. One of these situations allows the landlord to enter for inspections between 8 AM and 7 PM, but only if they give the tenant a written notice at least 48 hours (but no more than 14 days) beforehand, and they can't do this more often than once every four weeks.
Plain-English explanation — does not replace advice from a lawyer.
📖 Technical summary
The Tribunal ordered the tenant to pay rent arrears and water rates but dismissed the claim for pool inspection fees due to lack of proper notice.
📜 Headnote Official document
The Tenancy Tribunal ordered the tenant to pay rent arrears and water rates but dismissed the landlord's claim for pool inspection fees due to the lack of proper notice under the Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
📚 Full judgment Official document
__________________________________________________________________________________ 5111149 1
[2025] NZTT 5111149
TENANCY TRIBUNAL AT REMOTE LOCATION | TE TARAIPIUNARA RETIHANGA
APPLICANT: [redacted]
Landlord
RESPONDENT: [redacted]
Tenant
TENANCY ADDRESS: [ADDRESS], [ADDRESS], [POSTCODE]
ORDER
1. [NAME] and [NAME] must pay [COMPANY] As Agent For [NAME] $364.60 immediately, calculated as shown in the table below.
Description Landlord Tenant Rent arrears to 09/12/2024 $4,557.14 Water rates $180.46 Filing fee reimbursement $27.00 Total award $4,764.60 Bond $4,400.00 Total payable by Tenant to Landlord $364.60
2. The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $4,400.00 (5854841-008) to [COMPANY] As Agent For [NAME] immediately.
3. The landlord’s claim for the pool inspection fee is dismissed.
Reasons:
1. The landlord attended the hearing which was held by teleconference. The Tribunal was unable to contact the tenants on the contact number provided. I was satisfied that adequate service of the hearing notice had been completed and deemed it reasonable to proceed with the hearing in the tenant’s absence.
__________________________________________________________________________________ 5111149 2
2. The landlord has applied for rent arrears ($4,557.14), unpaid water rates ($180.46), recovery of pool inspection fees x 2 ($380.00), refund of the bond, and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy.
How much is owed for rent and water rates?
3. The tenancy ended on 9 December 2024. The landlord provided rent records and water rates invoices which prove the amounts owing.
Can the landlord claim pool inspection fees?
4. The landlord seeks to recover the cost of a pool fencing inspection fee on the basis that the tenants failed to provide access to the pool area. However, under section 48(2) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986, a landlord must provide the tenant with at least 24 hours’ written notice before entering the premises for compliance inspections.
5. In this case, no formal written notice was provided. Instead, arrangements were attempted via same-day telephone calls. This is not sufficient notice under section 48 RTA, which requires at least 24 hours’ written notice for access unless the tenant otherwise consents. In the absence of proper notice, the tenants were not legally obliged to arrange access for the pool inspection.
6. It is normal and reasonable for tenants to be unavailable during working hours. Tenants are under no obligation to adjust their work schedules or provide immediate access unless proper lawful notice has been given in accordance with the RTA.
7. It is also clear from the evidence that the padlock on the gate was placed there by the tenants for security reasons, not to deliberately obstruct access. Forgetting to remove the padlock on short notice, particularly when no formal written notice had been issued, constitutes an oversight rather than a deliberate or intentional breach. Tribunal decisions have consistently found that inadvertent oversights of this nature, especially where proper notice was not given, do not justify an award of costs against tenants.
8. The responsibility to ensure lawful access arrangements lies with the landlord. Where inspections proceed without the landlord first providing proper notice under the RTA, they assume the risk of access difficulties and any associated inspection costs.
9. In this case, although the landlord submits that access was obstructed due to the gate being locked, I find that there was no formal written notice and no deliberate or unreasonable denial of access by the tenants. Accordingly, the preconditions for recovering the pool inspection fees are not satisfied.
__________________________________________________________________________________ 5111149 3
10. The landlord’s claim for reimbursement of the inspection fees is therefore dismissed.
Filing fee
11. As the landlord has substantially succeeded with the claim, I consider it reasonable to order the tenants to reimburse the filing fee.
J Setefano
29 April 2025
__________________________________________________________________________________ 5111149 4
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/
__________________________________________________________________________________ 5111149 5
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:
⚖️ What tends to weigh in cases like this
✅ Tends to be accepted
- The landlord proved the amounts owed for rent arrears and water rates with records and invoices.
- The Tribunal was satisfied that the hearing notice was adequately served, allowing the hearing to proceed without the tenant.
- The landlord substantially succeeded with the claim, making it reasonable to order the tenants to reimburse the filing fee.
Patterns observed in similar cases in this collection — every case is unique.
❓ Frequently asked questions
What did this decision decide?
The Tenancy Tribunal ordered the tenant to pay rent arrears and water rates but dismissed the claim for pool inspection fees.
What was the dispute about?
The dispute was about whether the tenant owed rent arrears and water rates and whether the landlord could claim pool inspection fees.
How did the court decide, and why?
The court decided that the tenant must pay rent arrears and water rates but dismissed the claim for pool inspection fees because the landlord did not provide the required 24-hour written notice.
Which laws or rules were applied?
Section 48(2) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 was applied.
What was the argument that mattered most?
The argument that mattered most was that the landlord did not provide the required 24-hour written notice for the pool inspection.
Was the decision for or against the person who brought the case?
The decision was partly for and partly against the landlord. The tenant was ordered to pay rent arrears and water rates but the claim for pool inspection fees was dismissed.
What does this mean for someone in a similar situation?
Someone in a similar situation should ensure that they provide proper notice before entering the premises for compliance inspections.
What evidence or documents mattered?
The judgment mentions rent records and water rates invoices as evidence that the amounts owing were proven.