Tenants Ordered to Pay Rent Arrears and Damages

OUTCOME: Allowed

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[2026] NZTT 5435413

TENANCY TRIBUNAL AT MANUKAU | TE TARAIPIUNARA RETIHANGA KI MANUKAU

APPLICANT: [redacted]

Landlord

RESPONDENT: [redacted]

Tenant

TENANCY ADDRESS: [ADDRESS], [POSTCODE]

ORDER

1. [RESPONDENT] and [RESPONDENT] must pay Kāinga Ora– [APPELLANT[NAME] $8,948.64 immediately, being rent arrears to 27 November 2025.

Description Landlord Tenant Rent arrears $106.71 Rubbish removal: Interior $2,791.57 Rubbish removal: Exterior $3,943.50 Cleaning property $577.58 Cleaning: Kitchen cupboard $104.26 Repairs: Rehang kitchen cabinet door $64.98 Replace furnishings: Lounge carpet $479.13 Replace furnishings: Lay carpet underlay $118.68 Repairs: Patch toilet wall hole $40.16 Repairs: Holes in hallway, bedroom 1, 2 & 4 $160.64 Repairs: Door bedroom 5 priming $5.48 Repairs: Bedroom 5 holes $160.64 Replace furnishings: Oven $395.31 Total award $8,948.64 Total payable by Tenant to Landlord $8,948.64

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Reasons:

1. The Landlord attended the hearing. The Tenants did not appear.

2. The Landlord has applied for rent arrears and compensation.

3. At the hearing, the Landlord withdrew their claim for rehanging the bathroom cabinet door.

How much is owed for rent arrears?

4. The tenancy ended on 27 November 2025. The landlord provided rent records which prove the amount owing at the end of the tenancy.

Did the tenant comply with their obligations at the end of the tenancy?

5. At the end of the tenancy the tenant must leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy, remove all rubbish, return all keys and security devices, and leave all chattels provided for their benefit. See section 40(1)(e)(ii)-(v) Residential Tenancies Act 1986. The tenant is required to replace worn out smoke alarm batteries during the tenancy. See section 40(1)(ca) Residential Tenancies Act 1986. The tenant must also replace standard light bulbs.

6. The tenant did not leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy, and did not remove all rubbish. The Tenant left a substantial amount of rubbish in and outside of the property which included furniture, bags of rubbish, a large speaker wheelbarrows, mattresses, a suitcase, pallets, mats containers and industry vacuums. The outside shed was full of rubbish and the council bins required emptying. There was 17 cubic metres of rubbish inside the property and 22 cubic meters of rubbish outside the property. An exit report was provided which substantiated the claim.

7. The Tenant also did not clean the house. The walls required cleaning, window sills needed wiping down and the carpets were dirty. It appeared as if no cleaning was attempted. The bathroom was particularly dirty and the kitchen cupboards required scrubbing.

8. The amounts ordered are proved.

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

9. A landlord must prove that damage to the premises occurred during the tenancy and is more than fair wear and tear. If this is established, to avoid liability, the tenant must prove they did not carelessly or intentionally cause or permit the damage. Tenants are liable for the actions of people at the premises with their permission. See sections 40(2)(a), 41 and 49B RTA.

10. Where the damage is careless, and occurs after 27 August 2019, section 49B RTA applies. If the landlord becomes aware of the damage after 27 August, the

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damage is presumed to have occurred after that date unless the tenant proves otherwise.

11. Where the damage is caused carelessly, and is covered by the landlord's insurance, the tenant's liability is limited to the lesser of the insurance excess or four weeks' rent (or four weeks' market rent in the case of a tenant paying income-related rent). See section 49B(3)(a) RTA.

12. Where the damage is careless and is not covered by the landlord's insurance, the tenant's liability is limited to four weeks' rent (or market rent). See section 49B(3)(b) RTA. Where insurance money is irrecoverable because of the tenant's conduct, the property is treated as if it is not insured against the damage. See section 49B(3A)(a) RTA.

13. Tenants are liable for the cost of repairing damage that is intentional or which results from any activity at the premises that is an imprisonable offence. This applies to anything the tenant does and anything done by a person they are responsible for. See section 49B(1) RTA.

14. 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 person does something, or allows a situation to continue, knowing that damage is a certainty. [NAME] v Korck [2019] NZHC 1541.

15. The following damage was caused during the tenancy: removal of the lounge carpet, staining of the hallway carpet, loose kitchen cabinet door, holes to the hallway, toilet bedroom 1, 2, 4 and 5 walls, bedroom 5 door required painting and priming and the oven stove top was not working due to rust and being burnt through. Entry and exit inspection photographs were provided to substantiate the costs and a work order.

16. The damage is more than fair wear and tear, and the tenant has not disproved liability for the damage in relation to the lounge carpet, kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors, holes to the walls, bedroom 5 door and oven,

17. In relation to the carpet damage to the hallway, the Landlord claimed these were heavily stained to the extent they required replacing however upon perusal of the exit inspection photographs, I did not find the staining to be so extensive it required carpet replacement. The Landlord showed fraying carpet by one bedroom however nothing further to justify replacement of the entire hallway carpet. I also did not see any evidence of attempts to clean the stains before replacing the carpet. The Landlord suspected there was a dog that resided at the property, in breach of the tenancy agreement however they did not confirm that the carpet replacement was due to dog urine or faeces which would not have been visible in the photographs. For this reason, I have not awarded the claim for the hallway carpet replacement.

18. The claim is dismissed for the hallway carpet.

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19. I have taken into account betterment and depreciation. The landlord should be returned to the position they would have been in had the tenant not breached their obligations, and should not be better or worse off. In calculating depreciation, I have taken into account the age and condition of the items at the start of the tenancy and their likely useful lifespan.

[NAME]

03 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: