Wellington landlord’s case against Chinese Embassy dismissed by Tenancy Tribunal

The townhouse in Thorndon, Wellington, was rented by the Embassy of the People's Republic of China. Photo / Googlemaps

The Chinese Embassy left behind rubbish and bills for cleaning and new keys at a Wellington rental property but the landlord cannot take a case against a sovereign state.

The applicant, Chandler Investments Ltd, made a claim in the Tenancy Tribunal in May against the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China over rubbish the tenant left behind, keys, and cleaning.

The tribunal had to decide whether it had jurisdiction to consider the application filed by the company against a sovereign state.

The short answer, released in a recent decision by tribunal adjudicator Rex Woodhouse, was no.

In Woodhouse’s decision, it was determined the embassy had “sovereign immunity” because there was no evidence the rental had been used for commercial profit.

“In the context of the current claim, if a sovereign immunity applies, then the tribunal would not have jurisdiction to adjudicate the claim, and that would be the end of the matter,” Woodhouse said.

“...sovereign immunity is not an absolute rule, and one of the relevant exceptions in this case is where the subject of the dispute is commercial in nature,” he wrote.

“However, I am not persuaded that the rental of a residential dwelling to an embassy would be commercial in nature, as the common law around diplomatic or sovereign immunity would consider it.”

Woodhouse said Chandler Investments filed “limited evidence” with their claim over the Thorndon townhouse.

The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Mfat) was granted a “right of appearance” by the tribunal “given the nature of the claim against the state”.

Mfat said the embassy had sovereign immunity, and the matter could not be heard in New Zealand courts without the exception.

The tribunal initially struggled with contacting parties from the Chinese Embassy, but when contact was eventually made, they said they knew nothing about the application against them.

Hazel Osborne is an Open Justice reporter for NZME and is based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington. She joined the Open Justice team at the beginning of 2022, previously working in Whakatāne as a court and crime reporter in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.