Pregnant woman evicted: landlord feared sleep loss

AUCKLAND: A heavily pregnant woman has won compensation after her landlord evicted her because he did not want to be woken by a crying baby.

Jelena Pavic was 33 weeks’ pregnant when she was ordered out of her rental home at short notice by landlord Christopher Norton Bradfield.

The Tenancy Tribunal ordered Mr Bradfield to pay $2500 to Ms Pavic for unfairly discriminating on the basis of pregnancy — as part of a total compensation payout of $6061.43.

The full payout also included refunded rent and bond payments after Mr Bradfield increased Ms Pavic’s rent with one day’s notice, failed to lodge a bond and issued an unlawful termination notice.

His termination notice to Pavic came in January after she had been living in the property in Browns Bay, Auckland with her husband Milos for 18 months.

Bradfield gave them only 30 days notice to vacate, instead of the 90 days required by law.

In his termination notice he claimed the apartment was not ‘‘designed’’ for three people, and ‘‘. . . as you are aware our bedroom is right next to your lounge, and that we do not see our way fit to maybe have interrupted sleep due to the new baby.’’

Pavic also told the Tenancy Tribunal the stress of Bradfield’s short notice put her into a ‘‘desperate and hopeless situation’’.

After having to accept a property with a fourmonth fixed term lease, Pavic wrote to Bradfield to say she would need to move out within four days to accept it so she could be ready to give birth within four weeks. But Bradfield claimed the couple needed to give him three weeks’ notice to vacate and asked them to pay the remaining weeks’ rent.

Tenancy Tribunal adjudicator John Hogan ruled that Bradfield’s invalid termination notice had caused Pavic ‘‘undue stress and inconvenience’’.

He reduced the award amount ‘‘in recognition of Mr Bradfield’s honesty in declaring his reason for terminating the tenancy, and because at the hearing, he apologised.’’ — NZME