Thursday, March 11, 2021
Tribunal case study
Wednesday, February 10, 2021
Maximum occupancy - don’t sit on your rights
Knowledge or acquiescence of a tenant exceeding maximum occupancy could invalidate a subsequent claim for exemplary damage. RE: Driskel v Zoetebier [2021] NZTT Hutt Valley 4271298, 4277832 This is a claim and counterclaim hearing that covers a number of issues in connection to the tenancy. For the purpose of this discussion, we will be addressing the breach of maximum occupancy lim... read more
Tuesday, January 19, 2021
Personal properties vs chattels
In an $11,476.87 order made against the tenant, Kieran Jie-Wei Cheng, that in part, penalised him for damaging the premises, the Tribunal clearly articulates the limits of its jurisdiction. In short, personal properties belonging to the landlord do not enjoy the same s49B protection against tenant damages as rental chattels otherwise would. RE: Newman v Lalor and other parties [20... read more
Monday, January 11, 2021
Landlord held not liable for co-tenants' pets
Re: Whether a landlord is liable for breaching the quiet enjoyment of one tenant for failing to enforce the terms of the tenancy agreement against a co-tenant Zama v Feng [2020] NZTT Wellington 4276448 This is a strange one. Bear with us. Alessandro Zama took his landlord to the Tribunal alleging a number of breaches. On the face of it, many if not most certainly look vexatious to us (in... read more
Wednesday, December 16, 2020
Hard for you but su*ks for me
An example of how the Tenancy Tribunal weighs up a landlord’s and a tenant’s respective hardship in determining the merits of an application for early termination (of a fixed-term tenancy) RE: Ayaz v Rentex Ltd [2020] NZTT North Shore 4278514 Facts The tenant and his family moved to New Zealand in May 2020 and took out a one-year fixed-term tenancy fro... read more
Monday, December 14, 2020
Cause and consequence are two different things
Landlords seeking compensation for damages caused by tenants should take care to prove the cause, not just the consequences, of the damage as VNG RENTALS LIMITED vs Xu [2020] NZTT Auckland 4269426 demonstrates. Facts On or about 2 May 2020, the bathroom of the apartment flooded. Water leaked into the adjoining apartment resulting in an approx $4.5K damage. In an email to... read more
Wednesday, April 10, 2019
Reasonable compensation for early termination
Concerning Hood, Angela Julie vs First National Marlborough Limited [2019] NZTT Blenheim 4180394 The issue What can a landlord reasonably recover from a tenant for terminating a fixed-term tenancy early? The facts - The fixed-term tenancy between the two parties was reduced and terminated early at an earlier hearing by an interim order (presumably under s66(... read more
Tuesday, April 02, 2019
Osaki protection not afforded to Airbnb tenants
Concerning Tobin, Jackie vs CHEN, JIANQING [2019] NZTT Auckland 4172141 The issue Whether tenants are afforded the Osaki protection for damages caused by Airbnb sub-tenants? The facts - Mr Chen rented two apartments from Ms Tobin for a period of time until 21 October 2018. - Mr Chen had never occupied either property and instead, on-leased both as Airbnb rentals with the... read more
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