Hawke's Bay landlord told he can't split power bills between tenants

The Tenancy Tribunal says that separate metres are required to charge electricity costs to boarding house tenants. Photo / NZME

The tribunal said that boarding house tenants are responsible for electricity or gas supplied to a particular room only if the room has a dedicated meter to measure its supply.

The tribunal ordered John Francis Newrick to pay the his tenant $577.06 in compensation and $20.44 to cover the tribunal filing fee.

The name and any information which would identify the tenant was suppressed.

The adjudication said that the tenant moved into the boarding house in April 2021, and the tenancy agreement said that power would be paid for "as per monthly account".

The tribunal heard that Newrick prepared monthly electricity invoices to his tenants after he received the account for the property and split the cost evenly between all the people living there.

A meeting of the tenants, at which the complaining tenant did not vote, confirmed they were happy with the landlord's arrangements.

The adjudication said that during September 2021, the tenant requested a detailed breakdown of the electricity charges and copies of the original electricity invoices.

The landlord refused to provide this on the basis that he destroyed the original electricity invoices once he has prepared his invoice for the tenants.

"The landlord and tenant met in person to discuss the issue, but the tenant remained confused," the tribunal said.

On September 25, 2021, the landlord sent the tenant a notice telling her to quit the property by October 29.

The tenant provided in evidence an extract from her bank statement showing all the electricity charges paid by her to the landlord since the start of the tenancy.

The tribunal said that under the Residential Tenancies Act 1986, boarding house tenants are responsible for electricity or gas supplied to their room, "if the supply is separately metered for that room".

Under the act, a tenant cannot sign away their rights and agree to something which is inconsistent with the law.

"Accordingly, the landlord is in breach of the boarding house tenancy provisions with regard to electricity charges," adjudicator Tracey Lee-Lewis said.

"I have made an order that the tenant be refunded the electricity charges that the tenant paid during the tenancy."

Lee-Lewis said that during the hearing the landlord suggested that this was the first time he had been made aware that separate meters were required in order to charge boarding house tenants electricity costs.

"I find the landlord lacks credibility on the basis that this exact issue is discussed in a previous tribunal decision involving the landlord and the same tenancy address three and a half years ago," Lee-Lewis said.