Take cover plea for tenants
Renters may now face penalties for silent smoke alarms.
The Tenancy Tribunal has fired a warning shot over any tenant who interferes with rental property smoke alarms.
Sixteen days after new rules were passed, the tribunal has ordered one Hamilton tenant to pay over $3600 for rent arrears and various damage or cleaning costs.
Of the sum, $1850 was for ‘‘exemplary damages for tampering with a smoke alarm’’.
Under the new rules introduced on July 1, landlords must install adequate insulation and smoke alarms, and tenants are obliged to keep the alarms running, and replace the batteries.
M Ward, the adjudicator in the case, said the tenant had regularly removed batteries from the smoke alarm, despite repeated reminders and 14-day notices from the property manager.
Then, after leaving, the alarm was gone.
Ward said that under the Building Act, it was an offence to interfere or render inoperable any means of escape from a fire.
Fire safety was a major issue in the renting industry and tenants could be charged up to $3000 in exemplary damages if they breached the act.
‘‘Based on the evidence provided, I can only conclude that the breach was deliberate, intentional, continuous and showed total disregard for the tenant’s obligations,’’ the adjudicator said.
The tenant did not appear at the hearing.
John Verstegen, a technician with Smoke Alarm Testing NZ, said he was ’’flat out at the moment’’ thanks to the new rules.
‘‘I think it’s time the tenant starts taking responsibility of not only their own safety and the other people in the house but also the property that they’re in.’’
He said all new alarms these days had to have a non-removable, battery which lasted for 10 years. The whole alarm was disposable.
‘‘With some brands, with a bit of work, you can remove the battery. But a lot of alarms now you can’t even remove the battery, which is great because it’s going to mean less tampering and less moving of the alarms.’’
Jeremy Baker of Glasshouse Property Management, the firm involved in the case, said the tenant repeatedly reassured his company that the smoke alarm had been reinstalled, even sending a photo.
But come the final inspection, the alarm and the mounting bracket was gone.
Baker said it seemed clear the Tenancy Tribunal was taking the new act more seriously.
Scotney Williams, director of tenancy services firm Tenancy.co.nz, said feedback he’d received was that most property managers and renters had been quick to comply with the new insulation and smoke alarm rules.
‘‘The Tenancy Tribunal has demonstrated that’s it’s going to come down hard on tenants who prejudice the safety of themselves and others by tampering with smoke alarms. Take notice tenants.’’