Tenant sought compo but got a bill instead
A woman who sought compensation for what she said were two bedrooms without windows in the house she rented has ended up with a bill for $4000 to pay her former landlords.
Johnwyn Bradley rented a property on Nursery Rd in Christchurch.
She said she applied for the property because it was adver- tised as having four bedrooms. She was looking for a home for herself, her two sons and her elder son’s girlfriend.
The skylights had been taken out of two bedrooms because they were leaking and the rooms were left without windows.
Bradley said she was unaware of many of her rights as a tenant and it was only towards the end of the tenancy that she realised the lack of windows might mean she was entitled to compensation.
The owners of the property, Leonie Burrows and Geoff Aitken, argued it was rented to Bradley as a two-bedroom house, with two storage rooms. They said it was only meant to be for her, one son and a dog. The Tenancy Tribunal sided with the owners, and said there was not enough evidence to establish that it had been represented as a four-bedroom home.
The owners said there was also significant damage to the property during her 51⁄2-year tenancy and Bradley was behind on rent. She did not refute the fact she was more than $2300 in rental arrears.
She was also ordered to pay $1500 in compensation for rubbish having to be removed form the house and the gardens being tidied, and asked to pay $850 for wall repairs and $320 for cleaning.
Aitken said he and Burrows had not yet received the money they were owed.