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I've done a bit of trawling recently, and here are a few interesting decisions I've found.
Few points though:
This might be old hat to the more experienced among you, but I certainly found some of them enlightening.
Enjoy.
Few points though:
- The summary in the first column below was for my reference only. If you don't like the way I've phrased things, tough. Read the TT decision quoted, and form your own conclusion on the content.
- No apologies for spelling / grammar - refer above bullet point.
- And finally, just because there's been a TT ruling on an issue in the past doesn't mean it's binding / definitive. A different adjudicator might rule differently.
This might be old hat to the more experienced among you, but I certainly found some of them enlightening.
Enjoy.
| Summary | Tribunal # | Notes / Details |
| LL needs to get tenant's consent for anything other than necessary repairs and maintenance. This includes external repairs. | 15/00269/WN | Reason 15 - For work that goes beyond necessary repair or maintenance, the landlord should obtain the consent of the tenant. Weatherall v Irvine, Tenancy Tribunal, Palmerston North, TT175, 265, 265/29595, 24/07/95. The Tribunal has also held that external repairs are not normally "necessary repairs": Bhaila v Wilson & Farrell, Tenancy Tribunal Auckland, TT13, 48-49/198, 17/07/98. |
| When renovating, tenants have to put up with a degree of noise or general nuisance without compensation, provided they have had prior notice, subject to the length and degree of intrusion. Note that this is outside the property. | 15/00291/WN | Reason 22 - The District Court has held in Lucas v Paterson [2005]DCR 76 that where landlords are renovating property, tenants are required to put up with a degree of noise and general nuisance without compensation, with the judge commenting “Were every landlord who embarked on renovations to be in immediate jeopardy of quiet enjoyment breach, we would have an unworkable state of affairs. Proportionality must not be forgotten.” However, there are cases in contrast to Lucas v Paterson in which construction activity on or adjacent to premises has given rise to a breach. In Marino & Ors v Wellington City Council DC, Wellington, CIV-2013-085-660,23 September 2013 , it was considered relevant in determining what was reasonable that the tenants had prior knowledge of the work that was going to take place. |
| Landlord can claim bond unilaterally | 15/00226/WN | Reason 4 - There is also no obligation on the applicant to notify the tenant of the claim: that is the responsibility of the Bond Centre. |
| Even if tenant damages something, LL has to fix it (although tenant is liable for cost) | 15/00269/WN | Reason 32 |
| If a LL replaces something rather than repairing it, they need to have a cost justification for doing so. | 15/00279/WN | Reason 3 |
| under section 109(2) of the Act, no application for exemplary damages for failing to lodge a bond may be raised more than 12 months after termination of the tenancy. | 15/01035/WN | |
| When a tenant vacates a fixed term tenancy before the end of the fixed term, they are liable for the rent until the start of a new tenancy at that property. |
15/00032/AK | |
| Even fully depreciated carpet can sometimes be claimed for. | 15/00340/AK | Reason 8 - Although the carpet had no economic value it was not yet at the point that the landlord needed to spend money to replace it. |
| Stuff installed by tenant cannot be claimed for (by tenant) if no agreement is made by the landlord that they will be paid for. | 15/00447/AK | Reason 8 - as no such term was agreed between the parties when the landlord allowed them to be installed and there is no provision of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 or the tenancy agreement to compel the landlord to contribute to the cost of the window screens. |
| Must have doorstops, otherwise holes in walls can't be claimed. | 15/00473/AK | Reason 9 |
| Tenant liable for rent up until date of eviction | 15/01127/AK | Reason 1 |
| Tenant must pay for locks changed after terminantion of tenancy | 15/01127/AK | Reason 5 |
| Tenant not entitled to a reasonable opportunity to rectify shortcomings in cleaning | 15/01195/AK | Reason 3 |
| Service of notice by email | 15/01188/AK | By virtue of the High Court's decision in Schmidt v Hair (HC Auckland, CIV-2010-404-6804, 3/5/2011, Miller J), section 136(  operates to deem this email to have been served, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, on the next working day after the date it was sent. |
| when giving notice under the RTA because family want to move in, that you can't do 42 days if the property is owned by a trust or company | For some reason I didn't record the TT number for this. | |
| You can apply for eviction on 21 days rent in arrears even if they pay on the same day. | 15/01188/AK | Reason 8 - As the learned author of Residential Tenancies: The Law and Practice (David Grinlinton, LexisNexus NZ Ltd, Wellington 2012) has noted (at page 203) the Tribunal has adopted a strict approach to the non-payment of rent holding that an application may be filed under section 55(1)(a) even if the tenant pays overdue rent on that day that has the effect of reducing the arrears below 21 days. |
| You MUST sign TA at the time when bond and first rent payment is received. | 15/01506/AK | |
| Any damages and repair claims must be individually itemised | 14/00114/WN | Reason 19 |
| If tenancy is terminated by tribunal, they won't award subsequent loss of rent, unless the place has been abandoned, or has been damaged and needs to be fixed. | 14/00137/WN | Reason 17 |
| It is common for tenants to pay a fee to cover a landlord’s costs of finding a replacement tenant but tenants are still liable for rent until a replacement is found. | 14/01272/WN | Reason 18 |
| Difficult to claim rent is too high if TA signed recently. | 14/00295/WN | Reason 6. Might have been applicable to a relatively recent Chch TT case, now suppressed? |
| As a general principle of common law, an inspection is not final, in the sense of conclusive. | 14/00436/WN | Reason 27 - It can be a trigger for release of the bond but it is not, in my opinion, a final release of the tenant from any of its obligations which are later established to have not been satisfied. In this respect, my understanding is that the principle is the same as that which applies in other areas of law such as construction law, where a certificate of practical completion or even a defects liability certificate (which certifies that all identified defects have been rectified) do not preclude a later claim against the contractor if further defects are discovered. |
| It's OK to ring your tenant regarding rent arrears, and if they don't answer to go round to their property | 14/00597/WN | Reason 7 |
| Tenants must return keys at end of tenancy, even if not specifically asked. | 14/00710/WN | Reason 13 - Once a tenancy ends the tenant has no right to access to the premises and the law recognises that the tenant must give up any right to do so, and the means to do so such as keys. It is not the landlord’s responsibility to seek out recovery of any keys or other means of access. Section 40(1)(e)(iv) of the Residential Tenancies Act encapsulates the law in that regard, and is implied in the tenancy agreement |
| Landlords need to provide keys for all external doors | 14/00710/WN | Reason 16 - A landlord has an obligation to provide and maintain such locks and other similar devices as are necessary to ensure that the premises are reasonably secure: section 46(1) Residential Tenancies Act 1986. The tenants only had 3 keys. The evidence is that there were at least 5 external doors. The landlord needed to provide incoming tenants with the means to secure all 5 doors. |
| Tenants who have not vacated the premises have to give 21 days notice | 14/00711/WN | Reason 4 - Accordingly, it follows that where the tenant has not vacated the premises they continue as a tenant under a periodic tenancy and are required to give a minimum period of 21 days notice to terminate the tenancy. |
| If you don't make rental demands in a timely manner, you may not be able to claim that rent. | 14/00740/WN | Reason - (the landlord) failed to mitigate its loss, as required by section 49, by failing to make demand of the tenants timeously and likewise seeking an order from the Tribunal if the tenant had failed or refused to make good the payment. |
| Even if a tenant has to move out quickly, the property still has to be left clean and tidy. | 14/00900/WN | Reason 34 - A tenant's obligation is to keep the premises in a reasonably clean and reasonably tidy condition. This means during the tenancy. |
| Normally only allowed around 2 weeks vacancy (which can be charged to tenant) after tenancy to fix up tenant's damage. | 14/00900/WN | Reason 42 |
| In the case of a periodic tenancy one tenant can sever joint tenancy by notice, but that is not possible for an FTT | 14/01454/WN | Reason 31 / 32 |
| If rejecting early termination of FTT it would be a good idea for the landlord to show what hardship they were to suffer as a result. Nonewithstanding, the tenant has to prove that the early termination is 'unforeseen' | 15/00457/AK | Reason 17 |
| Carpet life is from 10-25 years, depending on quality | 14/01384/WN | Reason 20 |
| And some no-brainers everybody should know | ||
| Tenant can't be charged for fixed daily charges of utilities paid for by landlord. | 15/00518/WN | Reason 14 |
| If utilities used by tenant aren't separately identifiable, a statement can be made that their use is included in the rent. However, the landlord then can't interfere with the use of these for any reasonable purpose. | 15/00448/AK | Reason 10 |
| Tenant can't be charged for shared facilities, unless those costs are identified as exclusive to the tenant | 15/00518/WN | Reason 14 |
| Commercial carpet cleaning can't be demanded by default. | 15/00153/AK | Decision 4 |
| A landlord is obligated to provide a means of heating for the living room of the property | 14/00989/WN | Reason 9 |
| rent cannot be said to have been “paid” by a tenant until it is received by a landlord. | 15/01188/AK | Reason 9 |
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