Agent fails to tell family of house’s meth status
A young family is suing a real estate agent and his firm after a property marketed as a “great family home with ample potential” was found to be contaminated with P.
Pahiatua-based Bayleys agent Andrew Rankin has been suspended for three months and found guilty of two charges of misconduct after failing to tell the family who were moving into the house that it had tested positive for methamphetamine.
The mother and her two preschool-aged children only learned their home was a potential health risk through an anonymous letter.
The new owners’ lawyers are now preparing to seek damages after Rankin and Bayleys refused to pay compensation they sought.
Bayleys said it accepted the ruling, but pointed the Herald to the tribunal decision where it was not ordered to give the owners compensation.
Compliance manager Tony Bayley said agents needed more guidance.
“Methamphetamine is a very serious and growing issue.
“The real estate industry require clear guidance in order for our licensees to actively safeguard the interests of both the vendors and purchasers.”
A legal expert told the Herald the family have a strong case because they would have been left out of pocket and the agent’s non-disclosure would have affected the price they paid for the property.
Rankin was found to have breached his professional responsibilities when he sold a property to Glenn Brogden and his wife for their daughter Zoe and her two young children to live in in March 2015.
The Real Estate Agents Disciplinary Tribunal ruled in October he let them down by not telling them about a report by another prospective buyer showing it had failed a methamphetamine drug test.
Rankin, who worked for Coast to Coast Ltd trading as Bayleys Pahiatua, also failed to inform prospective buyers viewing the house that appropriate personal protective equipment should be worn by people entering the property due to the P contamination.
The Brogdens viewed the house with Rankin twice before buying it for their daughter and grandchildren to live in.
Their daughter and her children had lived in their new Pahiatua house for eight months when she received an anonymous letter informing them the house had tested positive for methamphetamine.
The young family moved out immediately and commissioned another detailed report which confirmed it had a moderate level of methamphetamine contamination.
The owners had the property decontaminated and retested before the daughter and grandchildren moved back in.
They then lodged a complaint about Rankin’s actions to the tribunal.
During the hearing Rankin claimed he had verbally informed Brogden that the house had failed a drug test and had been acid washed, and provided a photocopied diary note showing this.
But Glenn Brogden said in his evidence he would have remembered being told as it “would have shocked me”.
In the tribunal’s penalty decision, Rankin was censured and had his licence suspended for three months for the seriously incompetent or seriously negligent misconduct. He was also fined $3000.