Tenant says poison put in his drinks

Tribunal: Claims weren’t handled readily

Asocial housing resident who claimed he was being poisoned with drain cleaner by his neighbour has been compensated by the Wellington City Council after they took too long to address the allegation.

The man, who was granted name suppression by the Tenancy Tribunal in June, made multiple complaints to the council during a decade-long feud with his neighbour.

He alleged his neighbour, referred to as “X” by adjudicator Kate Lash in the tribunal’s decision, used a key to enter his apartment, steal things and put drain cleaner in his coffee.

The tenant had been living in social housing owned by the council for more than a decade and knew “X” prior to the tenancy which began in 2012.

The allegations, most of which Lash said were not substantiated, date back to 2017 when complaint letters were sent to the council.

More than 10 letters were sent by the tenant about the alleged abuse, including a physical attack, but the council failed to “take all reasonable steps” when dealing with the claims.

“They appear to have dismissed the claims for lack of credibility at early stages,” Lash said.

For this, compensation was justified and the council, as landlord, was ordered to pay the tenant $500.

“I would have expected WCC to have at least met with the tenant and X to address the complaints,” Lash said in the decision.

The council told Open Justice it took the welfare of its tenants “exceptionally seriously” and would continue to review its responses in challenging situations.

“Particularly when there is conflict between tenants,” a spokesperson said.

During the hearing, the council said it was satisfied it had dealt with all of the complaints from the tenant, and didn’t have enough evidence to take them further. It recommended on multiple occasions the tenant go to the police, however, reports were never presented.

The tribunal said at times council had taken a disproportionate amount of time to respond to the tenant’s letters, and for that it had apologised.