Tenants stuck when property managers fail
Kate lives in a 1940s former state house in Christchurch. When she moved in, there were no blinds or curtains on any of the kitchen’s four windows. It took half a year to get it sorted.
She spends $100 a week on power, blasting her heat pump to try to get some of the heat to reach the bedrooms, but still wears a sweatshirt and jersey to bed some nights.
‘‘At least this house is drier than my last house – there is less mould,’’ she said.
‘‘So even though I would like to shift when my lease is up next year, because I’m on a benefit and my health isn’t great, my daughter is chronically ill, and my son has asthma, I feel like I couldn’t guarantee I’d find anywhere better.
‘‘My rent is $460 per week, which seems ridiculous as the house has been allowed to get rundown, but as I said, it’s better the devil you know.’’
The house is managed by a professional property manager, whom Kate describes as friendly.
‘‘But she has admitted to me that she is intimidated by the landlady so if I want anything sorted I have to be very assertive.’’
Kevin Edmunds, of property management firm Quinovic, in Thorndon, Wellington, said he routinely encountered both private landlords and professional property managers who did not fulfil the requirements of their positions.
There was no barrier to entry for the industry, he said, and no requirement to have any experience. ‘‘It’s not unusual to see people come into the industry and undercut the established players.’’
Licensing property managers should be a priority for the Government, he said, with sanctions for those who did not meet their obligations. He called for a similar model to that of real estate agents, who are governed by an independent body.
Research from Consumer NZ earlier this year found tenants who rented through a property management company were more likely to experience problems than those who dealt direct with the owner.
Consumer NZ head of research Jessica Wilson said they were much more likely to report their home lacked adequate heating and had persistent mould.
‘‘Compared with private landlords, property managers were also more likely to delay getting repairs done. Forty-two per cent of those who dealt with a property manager said they’d made requests for repairs but were kept waiting for a response,’’ Wilson said.
Just 35 per cent rated their property manager’s service highly. By comparison, 54 per cent of those with a private landlord were happy with the service they received.
Robert Whitaker of advocacy group Renters United said people should be entitled to expect a professional service from property managers.
Many tenants struggled to get action on problems from property managers because they did not have the authority to fix problems without the owner’s approval and there was often not a clear budget available for them, he said.
Tenants also faced a challenge because the manager’s client – and first concern – was the owner.
Edmunds said tenants should be willing to issue property owners and managers a 14-day notice to fix problems. If that did not work they could apply to the Tenancy Tribunal, which could order the landlord to carry out work as needed.
They can also get free advice from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
But Whitaker said that suggestion did not reflect the power imbalance between tenants and landlords. Such an attempt would stay on their records with that property manager – and if it went to the tribunal, the information would become publicly available and might put landlords off accepting the tenant into other properties in future.
‘‘Tenants generally just stick it out and hope it’ll get fixed eventually,’’ he said.
Property managers can opt to be part of the Independent Property Managers Association, which is to be brought into the Property Institute of New Zealand.