Tenant gets refund for house unfit to live in

A tenant has been awarded 25 per cent of her rent back after the house she was renting was deemed unfit to live in.

Charity Thompson rented a house on Alfriston Rd, in Manurewa, Auckland, that was managed by City Space Realty, for which she paid $420 a week.

But the two parties were in the Tenancy Tribunal this month after the house was deemed uninhabitable. Thompson moved in in October 2018. In January, she told her property manager the kitchen roof was leaking when it rained.

A council inspector visited in April and emailed the property manager, telling her that he had issued a dangerous building notice and the tenants needed to move out.

The floor in the master bedroom had deteriorated to a state that it was dangerously at risk of collapse, the piles holding the house up were not attached to the main structure and the ceiling in the lounge was bowing and posed a risk of collapse, he said.

The tenants described the whole house as being ‘‘on a lean’’.

The landlord issued a seven-day notice to terminate the tenancy on the basis the property was so damaged it was uninhabitable.

Thompson said she was made homeless for two weeks and had to live in her car.

She took her case to the Tenancy Tribunal, seeking a refund of her bond and compensation of $10,000.

She also sought general damages of $23,570 for the emotional damage she suffered.

Thompson said she had been living in a dangerous house for six months and should have been made aware of the hazards.

‘‘It was the first time renting a house on my own ... being a young adult.’’

The property managers argued the house had been in a normal condition when the tenancy started and they did not know the property was dangerous.

The tenant had not informed the property manager about the issues identified by the council and did not suffer any loss, the managers said.

In a written statement, the owner said he did not notice anything abnormal when he bought the house and had not obtained a building report.

Tenancy Tribunal adjudicator M Edison said the landlord had breached the obligation to provide and maintain premises in a reasonable state of repair.

‘‘While the property was old, it must still be maintained to a reasonable standard and one that is not likely to cause injury.

‘‘In this case, the property was classified as dangerous by the Council because of the maintenance issues.

‘‘The fact that the landlord did not know about the issues does not alter the position,’’ Edison said.

‘‘The problems with the lounge ceiling and master bedroom floor would have been readily observable at a routine inspection.’’

But Edison was not convinced the breach was intentional.

Routine maintenance work had been done on the house and issues raised by the tenant had been addressed.

The manager had not ignored any written request to inspect the floor, lounge ceiling or foundations and was not aware of the structural issues, Edison said.

Edison said $11,580 had been paid in rent during the tenancy and it was appropriate to award compensation of 25 per cent of that amount, or $2895.

Thompson was also awarded $500 in damages.

‘‘The property was classified as dangerous by the Council because of the maintenance issues. The fact that the landlord did not know about the issues does not alter the position.’’ Tenancy Tribunal adjudicator M Edison