State takes wayward tenants to tribunal
Big cleanup and repair bills, including tackling a rat problem, have pushed the state’s landlord to take action against some of its wayward tenants and winning thousands of dollars as a result.
A series of rulings from the Tenancy Tribunal, made since the beginning of 2020, show Ka¯ inga Ora, formerly known as Housing New Zealand, sought compensation for work it had to do to get vacated properties back up to scratch.
However, the Crown agency said the number of its tenants who ended up before the tribunal represented less than 1 per cent of its total client base, as it often resolved matters before it got to that point.
Most of the claims involved clawing back money owed to it in rent arrears or for reimbursement for money spent on rubbish removal, cleaning and pest control.
One case, the subject of a January 10 tribunal ruling, involved a Whangarei property that had a rat problem, with obvious signs of damage done to the property by the rodents, along with the house being left flea infested.
Ka¯inga Ora was awarded a total of $1778 in costs to fix up the property as a result.
Along with repairs, costs were sought by the agency to dismantle things built by previous tenants, including a fort in a bedroom of an Epuni house in Lower Hutt, along with a shed built in the backyard of a nearby property in Naenae.
After a Dargaville state house was vacated, a ruling made in favour of Ka¯ inga Ora for $3166, outlined how the tenant left it in an ‘‘extremely unclean and untidy condition’’ with large piles of rubbish left behind.
The lawns were also extremely overgrown and the carpet throughout the house was ‘‘very badly stained’’, along with holes left in the bedroom walls.
In another case, this time involving a state house in Riccarton, Christchurch, an award of about $6000 was issued in Ka¯ inga Ora’s favour after a woman left the property
Photographs taken of the interior and exterior showed the property was not cleaned, the grounds were not maintained, food was left in the kitchen and belongings – including chairs, clothes and a portable swimming pool – left abandoned.
One of the bigger amounts awarded to Ka¯ inga Ora was $8840 in relation to a Aranui house in Christchurch. The claim for rubbish removal alone topped $3000. in complete disarray.
The ruling outlined the extensive nature of the damage done by the departed tenant, which included numerous holes left in the walls and doors, a smashed vanity top, and the cooker drawer being broken and rusted out, despite being only 12 months old.
Paul Commons, Ka¯inga Ora deputy chief executive of people and homes, said it managed 65,000 tenancies across the country and spent about $500 million a year on maintenance.
Often this work was done at the end of tenancies, as it was much easier to do what was needed when the houses were empty, he said.
Commons said when there were issues with tenants, Ka¯ inga Ora aimed to resolve these matters directly or sometimes through mediation, before deciding to go to the Tenancy Tribunal.
He said between October 1 last year and January 31, 2020, 636 cases, or 0.9 per cent of its tenancies were referred to the tribunal.
The agency was asked how much money its tenants owed after orders were made in its favour but this query was processed under the Official Information Act for a response.
The Tenancy Tribunal website shows in the 2019 calendar year, 1224 rulings related to the agency, the bulk of which where it was the applicant.
There were just a handful of cases where it was the respondent.
In 2018, 1727 rulings referenced the name of the agency.