Ray White real estate agent quits after tenants’ poor living conditions revealed
Wednesday, 26 February 2025
Landlords Leiyand Shen and Lingzhi Yuan were ordered by the Tenancy Tribunal to pay their tenants more than $30k.
Last week, Stuff revealed Shen - also known as Leo Shen - was a real estate agent at Ray White.
He and his boss have since made the mutual decision for him to step down from his job.
A private landlord whose tenants lived with sewage contaminated carpets for eight months has stepped down from his position as a real estate agent at Ray White.
Landlords Leiyang Shen and Lingzhi Yuan (also known as Leo Shen and Candy Yuan) were ordered by the Tenancy Tribunal to pay $30,615 in compensation and damages for allowing their tenants to live in poor living conditions at their property in Auckland’s Dairy Flat.
The pair have appealed the ruling. The matter will be heard in April.
On Saturday, Stuff revealed Shen was a real estate agent at Ray White Te Atatū and that branch owner Crystal McKeown had had a “strong conversation” with him after learning about the poor conditions his tenants lived in.
“In my business we uphold higher standards,” she said.
But on Wednesday McKeown confirmed Shen had “stepped down” from his role at Ray White.
“Once we had been made aware of the situation and after consulting our views with Leo, it was a mutually agreed decision.
“We were shocked to learn about the condition of his personal investment property last week and remain committed to upholding our own professional standards and values.”
While Ray White Te Atatū didn’t manage rental properties, McKeown had spoken to staff about their obligations as landlords for any personal investment properties.
“We do not condone any behaviour that negatively impacts tenants or breaches their right to a minimum standard of property quality and tenancy management.”
Shen has been approached for comment on his resignation.
Stuff earlier asked Shen on whether he should be aware of landlord obligations due to his professional background.
Speaking outside his $2.47 million home in Greenhithe, Shen said his job at Ray White had “nothing to do with” the tenancy matter.
“I’m not in property management.
“I didn’t do anything wrong. My property manager, he managed it.”
Asked if his property manager had let him down, Shen replied: “He didn’t do anything wrong either.”
Property manager Mark Ashton, of Ashton NZ Property, did not wish to comment ahead of Shen’s appeal, other than to say: “There’s definitely two sides to a story.”
Tenant describes ‘damp and smelly’ carpets
The tribunal ruling found the tenants, a family with two children, lived with sewage contaminated carpet for about eight months and were unable to use their toilet for nine weeks after a sewage pipe became blocked and overflowed into the house.
Shen, via his lawyer, denied the carpets were contaminated with sewage as they had been professionally steam cleaned about a month after the toilet overflowed.
The tenants - whose names are suppressed - said they were told professionals would be brought in to lift the carpet, but a steam cleaner was organised instead.
They had originally agreed to remove the small patch of carpet themselves, but decided against it after considering the health risks.
“It remained damp and smelly for the rest of the time we lived at the property.”
The Tenancy Tribunal ruling also found there were three units on the property, one which was an old farmhouse split in two by a wall that was not up to code.
Shen denied the units were unlawful.
“Old buildings do not need to be consistently upgraded to meet today’s building code, his lawyer said.
“The landlords have not undertaken any structural alterations or building work and therefore are not required to upgrade the premises to comply with the present Building Act.”
The tribunal also heard the units ran out of water frequently due to them sharing a water tank much smaller than Auckland Council recommended for the number of people using it.
Shen said he paid for the water tank to be filled up.
“We paid for the water, they never paid for the water.”
Tenancy Tribunal adjudicator Michelle Pollak ordered Shen and Yuan refund the tenants 40% of the rent paid between December 2023 and January 2025.
“I am satisfied that the tenants have proven that more likely than not the premise they rent is an unlawful residential premise and that on the balance of probabilities the landlord knew this, but decided to rent all three units out to earn money off its investment until it could afford to develop the property it had land banked.”