Unpaid Levies Ruling: Tenancy Tribunal Orders Payment
📌 In brief
The Tenancy Tribunal ruled that a unit owner must pay all levies and outgoings determined by the owners corporation. The decision includes interest on unpaid levies and recovery costs.
⚖️ Legal holding
A unit owner must pay all levies and outgoings payable for the unit as determined by the owners corporation.
📖 What the law says
This rule allows a body corporate to decide how much money is needed for its funds and to charge unit owners levies to create and maintain these funds. These levies are calculated based on each unit owner's share of the property or their utility interest.
This rule states that a body corporate must set a due date for levy payments. If a levy is not paid, the unpaid amount, along with any reasonable costs to collect it, can be recovered as a debt from the unit owner who owed it at the time or the current unit owner.
This rule explains that if a unit owner owes money to the body corporate for certain reasons, interest will be charged on the unpaid amount. The interest rate charged by the body corporate cannot be more than 10% per year.
This rule says that certain parts of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 apply to how the Tenancy Tribunal handles and decides unit title disputes. This means the Tribunal uses similar procedures for these cases, with some specific sections of the Residential Tenancies Act not applying.
This rule generally prevents the Tribunal from ordering one party to pay the other's costs in proceedings. However, the Tribunal can award costs in specific situations, such as when a case is considered trivial or brought improperly, or if a party was represented by a lawyer.
Plain-English explanation — does not replace advice from a lawyer.
📖 Technical summary
The Tenancy Tribunal ordered the unit owner to pay levies, interest, and costs to the claimant.
📜 Headnote Official document
In a case before the Tenancy Tribunal, the claimant sought recovery of unpaid levies, interest, and costs from the unit owner. The Tribunal ordered the unit owner to pay the levies, interest, and costs as determined by the owners corporation, citing relevant sections of the Unit Titles Act 2010 and the Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
📚 Full judgment Official document
__________________________________________________________________________________ 9059684 1
[2025] NZTT 9059684
TENANCY TRIBUNAL AT REMOTE LOCATION | TE TARAIPIUNARA RETIHANGA
APPLICANT: [redacted]
RESPONDENT: [redacted] Owners
UNIT ADDRESS: Unit/[ADDRESS], [POSTCODE], Unitec Residential Village
ORDER
1. [NAME] must pay [NAME] $38,681.56 immediately, calculated as follows:
Descriptions Applicant Respondent
Outstanding levies to and including levy due 10 March 2025
$25,850.87
Interest on outstanding levies to 3 June 2025 Recovery costs
$8,864.44
$3,466.25
Filing Fee $500.00 Total award $38,681.56 Total payable by Respondent to Applicant
$38,681.56
Reasons:
2. [NAME]’s agent attended the hearing which was held by teleconference. The Unit Owners were unable to be contacted on the numbers recorded in the Owners’ Register.
3. [NAME] has applied for recovery of unpaid levies, interest, costs and the filing fee from the unit owner.
__________________________________________________________________________________ 9059684 2
Does the Unit Owner owe the levies claimed?
4. A unit owner must pay all [NAME] levies and outgoings payable for the unit. See sections 80(1)(f) and 121(1) Unit Titles Act 2010.
5. [NAME] has determined the levies payable and Unit Owners’ share has been calculated according to their utility interest.
6. [NAME] has fixed the due date for the levies to be paid, and the unit owners have not paid the levies by that date. See section 124(1) Unit Titles Act 2010. [NAME] has provided records to prove the amount claimed.
Is the Unit owner liable for interest?
7. If a unit owner fails to pay levies by the due date, interest accrues on the unpaid balance. A [NAME] may charge interest up to 10% per annum. See section 128 Unit Titles Act 2010.
8. [NAME] has resolved to charge interest at 10% per annum on unpaid levies. [NAME] has proved the amount of interest owing from the due date to the hearing date.
Is the Unit owner liable for costs?
9. Pursuant to section 124 UTA, and as resolved at meetings of [NAME] is entitled to recover any reasonable costs incurred by it in collecting unpaid levies as a debt due by the owner to [NAME]. In accordance with the judgments (of the District Court and Court of Appeal respectively) in [NAME] 162791 v [NAME] DC Auckland, CIV2014-004- 0120, 24 June 2014 and [NAME] 162791 v Gilbert [2015] NZCA 185, the Tribunal must order that the reasonable costs incurred by [NAME] in recovering the levies, objectively assessed, be paid by a defaulting unit owner.
10.The costs claim is for $5,141,83 being the GST exclusive sum of four invoices for legal work, each with supporting time records, as follows:
a. $362.25 - dated 31 October 2024, for Tribunal correspondence and filing the claim.;
b. $1,155.58 – dated 31 March 2025 for reviewing the file and updating the Tribunal;
c. $520.00 – dated 12 April 2025 for preparation and attendance at the 17 March hearing
d. $3,104.00 - dated 16 June 2025 for pursuing recovery, reviewing the account history, updating the Tribunal and attending this hearing.
__________________________________________________________________________________ 9059684 3
11. This matter was scheduled for hearing on 17 March 2025. The hearing was adjourned on that date as [NAME] needed to confirm service requirements and because included in the claim was an invoice for $33,075.24 which [NAME] confirms was erroneously characterised in the initial claim as a debt due.
12. In my view, the costs recorded in the 31 October 2024 and 16 June 2025 invoice are reasonable and should be awarded. The costs recorded in the 16 June invoice are however essentially a repetition of the file review, hearing preparation and hearing attendance undertaken for the 17 March hearing. The need for further attendances and hearing time was not as a result of the Unit Owners’ breach but due to other factors under the control of [NAME] that prevented the claim from being heard on 17 March. I accept that due to the complex history of the account, further time after that date was required to ready the claim but that is included in the costs awarded for the 16 June invoice.
13.The costs award therefore excludes the 31 March and 12 April invoices, which reduces the award to $3,466.25 plus the filing fee.
14.[NAME] has succeeded with the claim I have reimbursed the filing fee. Section 176(1) Unit Titles Act 2010 and section 102(4) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
[NAME] 04 June 2025
__________________________________________________________________________________ 9059684 4
Please read carefully:
SHOULD YOU REQUIRE ANY HELP OR INFORMATION REGARDING THIS MATTER PLEASE CONTACT UNIT TITLE SERVICES [PHONE].
MEHEMA HE PĀTAI TĀU E PĀ ANA KI TENEI TAKE, PĀTAI ATU KI TE TARI UNIT TITLE SERVICES [PHONE].
AFAI E TE MANA’OMIA SE FESOASOANI E UIGA I LENEI MATAUPU FA’AMOLEMOLE IA FA’AFESO’OTAI’I LOA LE OFISA O LE UNIT TITLE SERVICES [PHONE].
Rehearings:
You may make an application to the Tenancy Tribunal for a rehearing. Such an application must be made within five working days of the order and must be lodged at the Court where the dispute was heard.
The only ground for a rehearing of an application is that a substantial wrong or miscarriage of justice has or may have occurred or is likely to occur. Being unhappy or dissatisfied with the decision is not a ground for a rehearing. (See ‘Right of Appeal’ below).
Right of Appeal:
If you are dissatisfied with the decision of the Tenancy Tribunal, you may appeal to the District Court. You only have 10 working days after the date of the decision to lodge a notice of appeal.
However, you may not appeal to the District Court:
1. Against an interim order made by the Tribunal. 2. Against an order, or the failure to make an order, for the payment of money where the
amount that would be in dispute on appeal is less than $1,000. 3. Against a work order, or the failure to make a work order, where the value of the work
that would be in dispute on appeal is less than $1,000.
There is a $200.00 filing fee payable at the time of filing the appeal.
Enforcement:
Where the Tribunal made an order that needs to be enforced then the party seeking enforcement should contact the Collections Office of the District Court on [PHONE] or go to www.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.
http://www.justice.govt.nz/fines/civil-debt
⚖️ What tends to weigh in cases like this
✅ Tends to be accepted
- The unit owner must pay all levies and outgoings as determined by the owners corporation.
- Interest can be charged up to 10% per annum on unpaid levies.
- Reasonable costs incurred in collecting unpaid levies can be recovered from the unit owner.
❌ Tends to be rejected
- Costs for actions taken due to the applicant's own issues, such as rescheduling the hearing, were not considered reasonable.
- Costs for repetitive tasks already covered in previous invoices were excluded from the final award.
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 unit owner to pay levies, interest, and costs to the claimant.
What was the dispute about?
The dispute was about unpaid levies and associated costs owed by the unit owner to the owners corporation.
How did the court decide, and why?
The court decided that the unit owner must pay the levies, interest, and costs because they failed to pay the levies by the due date, as required by the Unit Titles Act 2010.
Which laws or rules were applied?
The Unit Titles Act 2010, sections 80(1)(f), 121(1), 124(1), 128, and 176(1), and the Residential Tenancies Act 1986, section 102(4) were applied.
What was the argument that mattered most?
The argument that mattered most was that the unit owner had failed to pay the levies by the due date, leading to interest and recovery costs.
Was the decision for or against the person who brought the case?
The decision was for the person who brought the case, the claimant.
What does this mean for someone in a similar situation?
Someone in a similar situation should ensure they pay their levies on time to avoid interest and recovery costs.
What evidence or documents mattered?
The evidence that mattered included records proving the amount of levies claimed and the calculation of interest and costs.