Smith said the agency took limited steps to resolve the matter and instead of issuing breach notices the tenancy managers opted for an informal approach. They should have issued breach notices and formally cautioned her, she said.
It was accepted the tenant, who has name suppression, had contributed to the breakdown in the relationship, but Smith still found she should be compensated.
The tenant had moved into the Totara Vale unit in July 2021. It did not take long for problems to arise between her and a resident at the unit next door, which she shared a driveway with.
Parking for both was located behind the second flat and for tenants only, but according to the woman, her neighbour or visitors of the back unit would park their vehicles in the driveway, blocking her in.
Sometimes her park would be occupied.
The first few times she asked for the vehicles to be moved, her neighbour obliged, but when the issue persisted, she called the tenancy manager to let them know it was a problem.
An abandoned vehicle was obstructing her view on one occasion and when the neighbour didn’t move it, the tenant contacted Auckland Council which issued a removal notice.
She told the tribunal this triggered a “tirade of insults”.
After that, the tenant said her neighbour would become “aggressive and abusive” at the drop of a hat and issues with parking were consistent.
It escalated to the point where she alleged her neighbour accelerated her car at her, making her jump out of the way to avoid being hit.
She reported the incident to police, who told her it was a tenancy issue.
Other issues were noted by the tenant, but she admitted not all were taken to the housing manager.
Kāinga Ora told the tribunal only four “main incidents” were on record and the lack of notes, which are compulsory, showed the tenant did not complain as much as she claimed.
Breach notices are not issued lightly, according to the agency, and the housing manager’s efforts were to repair the relationship between the two neighbours, but the tenant was unwilling to do so.
During the hearing, Kāinga Ora said the woman had adopted an “antagonistic and retaliatory approach to the neighour”, which made the problem worse.
But the tribunal awarded the tenant $750 for the breach of her quiet enjoyment.
The full compensation award, $830.44, included $60 for when scaffolding obstructed the tenant’s use of the garage last year and the $20.44 filing fee.
Taina Jones, Kāinga Ora’s regional director for Auckland North and West, told NZME the agency had accepted the tribunal’s decision and had paid the tenant in full.
Jones said disputes between “customers” can be complicated and come from both sides and despite efforts to resolve issues, a long-term resolution was not reached.
Most of the problems between the tenants happened while Auckland was in lockdown for Covid-19, which meant they were unable to visit and review issues as they normally would, she said.
Hazel Osborne is an Open Justice reporter for NZME and is based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington. She joined the Open Justice team at the beginning of 2022, previously working in Whakatāne as a court and crime reporter in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.
