Tenant's Rent Arrears Claim Dismissed Due to Landlord's Failure
📌 In brief
The Tenancy Tribunal dismissed a landlord's claim for rent arrears because the landlord failed to provide necessary evidence and attend the hearing. The tenant's names were kept confidential.
⚖️ Legal holding
A tenant is entitled to have their case heard if the landlord fails to provide necessary evidence and attend the hearing.
📖 What the law says
This section outlines the types of orders the Tenancy Tribunal can make, such as declaring rights or obligations, ordering possession of premises, or ordering payment of money. In this case, the Tribunal could have made an order regarding rent arrears if the landlord had presented their case properly.
This rule states that if a party is properly notified of a hearing but does not attend, the Tribunal can still proceed to hear and decide the matter, or it can dismiss or postpone the case. In this situation, because the landlord did not attend, the Tribunal was able to dismiss their application for rent arrears.
Plain-English explanation — does not replace advice from a lawyer.
📖 Technical summary
The application for rent arrears was dismissed due to the landlord's failure to provide required evidence and attend the hearing.
📜 Headnote Official document
In a Tenancy Tribunal case, the application for rent arrears was dismissed due to the landlord's failure to provide required evidence and attend the hearing. The tenant's names were suppressed from publication.
📚 Full judgment Official document
__________________________________________________________________________________ 5018268 1
[2025] NZTT 5018268
TENANCY TRIBUNAL - [Event location suppressed]
APPLICANT: [redacted]
Landlord
RESPONDENT: [redacted]
Tenant
TENANCY ADDRESS: [ADDRESS], [POSTCODE]
ORDER
1. An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of the tenant’s names and identifying details.
2. The application is dismissed.
Reasons:
1. The tenants attended the hearing. The landlord did not join the video conference and could not be contacted by telephone (all calls going to voice mail).
2. The claims had been adjourned on 27 November 2024 to enable the applicant to file a rent summary. This was required evidence; even more particularly as the tenants disputed that they owed either the rent or water arrears sought.
3. The landlord has failed to provide this required evidence and failed to attend the hearing.
4. The landlord did not request an adjournment, or notify the Tribunal the matter has settled, which is a disappointing lack of courtesy and waste of both the tenants’ and the Tribunal’s valuable time. See sections 78(1)(i) and 92(1) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
__________________________________________________________________________________ 5018268 2
5. The tenants’ names are not to be published. No orders are made against them and there is no public interest in publishing their names.
6. As the application is not successful the applicant’s name is to be published.
[NAME] 18 February 2025
__________________________________________________________________________________ 5018268 3
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.
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].
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/
Reasons:
⚖️ What tends to weigh in cases like this
✅ Tends to be accepted
- The tenants attended the hearing as required.
- The landlord failed to provide the required rent summary despite the hearing being adjourned specifically for this purpose.
- The landlord did not attend the hearing and could not be reached by any means of communication.
❌ Tends to be rejected
- The landlord failed to request an adjournment or notify the Tribunal that the matter had settled.
- The landlord did not provide necessary evidence to support their claim of rent arrears.
Patterns observed in similar cases in this collection — every case is unique.
❓ Frequently asked questions
What did this decision decide?
The Tenancy Tribunal dismissed the landlord's claim for rent arrears due to the landlord's failure to provide required evidence and attend the hearing.
What was the dispute about?
The dispute was about whether the landlord could collect rent arrears from the tenant.
How did the court decide, and why?
The court decided to dismiss the landlord's claim because the landlord failed to provide the required evidence and attend the hearing.
Which laws or rules were applied?
The Residential Tenancies Act 1986, sections 78(1)(i) and 92(1) were applied.
What was the argument that mattered most?
The most important argument was that the landlord failed to provide the required evidence and attend the hearing.
Was the decision for or against the person who brought the case?
The decision was against the landlord who brought the case.
What does this mean for someone in a similar situation?
For someone in a similar situation, the landlord must ensure they provide all necessary evidence and attend the hearing to have their claim considered.
What evidence or documents mattered?
The required evidence, such as a rent summary, was crucial. The landlord's failure to provide this evidence led to the dismissal of the claim.