Jail time no excuse for not paying rent, Kāinga Ora tenant told
Wednesday, 1 July 2026
A Kāinga Ora tenant who said he shouldn’t have to pay his rent arrears because he had been in prison, has been told to pay up.
But Kāinga Ora also failed to recover the full amount it sought, after the Tenancy Tribunal found the social housing landlord should have moved sooner to regain possession of the Hamilton East property.
The order, issued by adjudicator J Tam on June 2, concerned the tenancy on Cameron Road, Hamilton East.
Kāinga Ora was the landlord and Hone Rankin Daniels was the tenant.
Daniels was ordered to pay Kāinga Ora $2303 immediately, which was his rent arrears up to May 26, 2025.
The case followed a rehearing held in May this year where Daniels appeared by teleconference from an un-named correctional facility.
Kāinga Ora sought rent arrears through to December 2025, when formal possession of the property had been granted to it after an earlier hearing.
Kāinga Ora argued Daniels had been obstructive in returning possession of the property despite him being incarcerated at the time - to which he could not produce any evidence.
The tribunal did not accept Daniels’ claim that he had been in prison since April 2024 and therefore should not have to pay any rent.
Tam said the exact period of Daniels’ incarceration was unclear, but evidence from a prison guard reading Daniels’ incarceration record indicated he had been in prison, and not living at the tenancy, since April 2025.
The order said April 2025 was significant because the last rent payment to Kāinga Ora by WINZ redirection was made on April 24, 2025.
Tam said there was no evidence Daniels had given Kāinga Ora notice ending the tenancy in April 2025, or earlier, and no evidence he had returned possession of the premises in April 2024.
Rent had continued to be paid to Kāinga Ora through redirection of Daniels’ benefit by WINZ.
Tam said it seemed likely Daniels was mistaken about the year of his incarceration, which was April 2025, not April 2024.
No rent was paid after April 14, 2025, and by May 6, rent was 21 days in arrears.
Kāinga Ora inspected the property on May 23 last year when its housing support managers used locksmiths to gain access and found no one was living there.
The property was described as “95% empty with a few small belongings of no value”.
The landlord began a “non-occupation process”, requiring Daniels to return within 14 days, but the tribunal said he was clearly unable to return because he was in jail.
Kāinga Ora did not apply for rent arrears and repossession on abandonment grounds until October 23, 2025.
Tam found Kāinga Ora should have acted sooner, particularly after its own inspectors concluded in May 2025 that the property had been abandoned since April.
The tribunal limited the arrears claim to May 26, 2025 and declined any further rent arrears beyond that date.