Tenancy Tribunal orders group to pay $30k to landlord after abandoning rental, causing damage

The Tenancy Tribunal has awarded a landlord more than $30,000 in rent arrears, damage and cleaning costs after the tenants left the property, claiming they couldn't afford the rent. Photo / 123rf

Five tenants who moved into a house with a 12-month fixed-term tenancy abandoned the four-bedroom home months later, claiming the rent was too high.

They took the keys to the house and parts of a garage door, but left behind rubbish, including tyres, a bike, furniture and clothes, as well as extensive damage to the house.

Tenancy Tribunal adjudicator Mike Edison has now ordered the group to pay the landlord more than $30,000 for unpaid rent and damage, but has delayed deciding whether they are liable for further rent.

Toni Jamie Whakaara, Hoana Violet Whakaara, Xavier Tausili, Violet Whakaara and James Francis Whakaara were paying $980 a week rent for the house, the address of which is suppressed, when they walked out, leaving damage to 11 internal walls, three internal doors, and broken glass in the back door.

An inside light was smashed, the kitchen vinyl was cracked and a bathroom vanity had to be replaced. There was also damage to the exterior cladding.

The landlord, whose name is suppressed, further complained the house was “very smelly”.

The landlord applied to the Tenancy Tribunal for rent arrears, compensation and a bond refund.

At July’s hearing, Edison was asked to decide how much should be awarded in rent arrears after the group broke the fixed-term tenancy some of them signed in August last year.

According to the recently released decision, they emailed the landlord in early March asking to end the tenancy early because the rent was too expensive.

The decision stated that four days later they purported to give a 90-day notice of termination, saying they couldn’t afford the property.

The landlord said the property was vacated on May 16 and a final inspection was conducted the next day, which the tenants didn’t attend.

Through the tribunal, the landlord sought 12 weeks’ rent.

The landlord completed repairs to the property by June 21, readvertising it for the same weekly rent, but has been unable to re-rent the property, telling the tribunal the rental market is “very slow”.

The adjudicator agreed to award the landlord rent arrears of $22,333 from the last rent payment in early March to the date of the hearing.

He also awarded $10,083 in repairs for the damage and a further $2036 for cleaning and rubbish removal, less the $3920 bond.

But Edison declined to award the landlord’s claim for rent to the end of the fixed term, adjourning that decision until another hearing after the term ends this month.

“At that stage, it will be possible to finally quantify the land’s loss of rent,” he said.

Catherine Hutton is an Open Justice reporter, based in Wellington. She has worked as a journalist for 20 years, including at the Waikato Times and RNZ. Most recently she was working as a media adviser at the Ministry of Justice.