Tenants awarded $4000 compensation for 'shocking' rental property

Monday, 11 February 2019

The Tenancy Tribunal said it was not unreasonable for the tenants to expect the earthquake damage to be fixed. (FILE PHOTO)

Tenants who lived for more than four years in a Christchurch house with more than $100,000 of earthquake damage have been awarded a $4000 payout by the Tenancy Tribunal.

Rhonda Whiripo and Frederick Rameka moved into the Bromley property in August 2015, with their three children, aged between eight and 19.

They paid $370 a week.

When the tenancy ended in October 2018, they applied for the return of their $1320 bond and compensation for the landlord having failed to provide and maintain premises in a reasonable state of repair.

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Rhonda Whiripo pictured in 2013, before moving into the broken Bromley home with her three children.

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This is a requirement under the Residential Tenancies Act.

The house was in a 'very poor state of repair', the Tenancy Tribunal decision noted, with broken kitchen cupboards, missing window latches, and a driveway that was unusable in winter because it was a dirt track with deep holes. The bathroom had peeling paint, rotted window frames, loose window glass and gaps in the walls.

There was earthquake damage to the brickwork, foundations, wall linings and master bedroom window panes. This damage meant the house was not watertight and created problems with cold and damp.

A quote from January 2018 estimated repairing the earthquake damage would cost $117,168. There was another $16,516 quoted for bathroom repairs and $852.50 for the kitchen.

Tenancy Tribunal adjudicator Robyn Merrett noted that the tenants had asked several times for the issues to be fixed but changes of property manager meant nothing was done.

The property manager for Quality Property Management said when she took over the house, she had been shocked at the state of it.

But the cost to complete the work was more than the landlord could afford. The property had been uninsured at the time of the earthquakes.

The rent was reduced by $30 a week from July 5 until the end of the tenancy in October last year.

The tenants paid a total of $58,000 in rent over the course of their tenancy.

Merrett said the fact the tenants knew the premises had sustained damage when they agreed to the tenancy did not release the landlord from the obligation to maintain and repair the house.

'It would be reasonable for the tenant to expect that any damage caused by the earthquakes (some three years before the tenancy commenced) would be repaired in the early stages of the tenancy. I accept that the reason for not attending to the repairs was because Mr Dixon [the owner] could not afford the considerable costs to do so but the burden of Mr Dixon's impecuniosity should not be borne by the tenants.'

The tenants were awarded $4000 in compensation but Merrett said an award of exemplary damages was not appropriate.

The landlord claimed in return for the cost to repair holes in two walls, replace three missing lightbulbs, clean the house, remove garden rubbish and reinstall a gate.

Only $175 to repair the walls and $5 for the lightbulbs was awarded, leaving $3820 to be paid to the tenants.