The Tribunal held that a room rental in a five-bedroom house, where the occupant was subject to extensive restrictions on cooking, eating, guests, and personal conduct, constituted a boarder/lodger arrangement governed by the Boarding Houses Act 2012 rather than a residential tenancy agreement under the Residential Tenancies Act 2010. The Tribunal further held that the landlord's removal of advertised air-conditioning constituted a breach entitling the respondent to terminate the fixed-term agreement without liability for a break fee. Only one week's unpaid occupation fee ($400) was awarded from the bond, with the balance returned to the occupant.
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