Evicted Christchurch tenant fined for leaving loaded firearm opposite school

A Christchurch tenant has been hit with a big bill after meth use and keeping a loaded weapon in his rental. Photo / 123rf

A Christchurch tenant who lived opposite a primary school faces a hefty bill after leaving a loaded firearm behind and contaminating his rental with methamphetamine.

Tenant Nicholas Hill was ordered to pay his landlord $11,500 in a recent Tenancy Tribunal hearing.

That included more than $2000 to cover the cost of hiring the security teams used to evict him and conduct a "post-eviction security check".

It also included more than $3000 to cover costs associated with the meth clean-up at his rental as well as money for a missing lawn mower.

Tests on the New Brighton rental showed contamination levels were well above "the 15μg/100cm level that demonstrates damage from contamination", the adjudicator said.

The tribunal heard the property managers acting as landlords elected to hire private security to deal with Hill's eviction because he was threatening and police had also being involved.

The landlord then chose to change the house's locks after "a loaded firearm was found in the garage, which is directly opposite a school", the adjudicator said.

In a separate Tenancy Tribunal hearing, tenants Anna Murray and Mark Miller were ordered to pay $19,400 to landlord Xiaohua (David) Dai.

That included $3500 to replace a hot water cylinder and oven that were both removed from the Avondale rental in Auckland.

Murray and Miller were also ordered to pay $7500 to repair damaged walls in the home and almost $2000 for damaged carpet and windows.

In a third Tenancy Tribunal decision, Auckland Central tenants Shaidyn Nonoa-Kopu and Siraphat Thakruea were ordered to pay landlords Marcus and Raewyn Kavermann $13,500.

This included more than $6000 to repair walls, carpet and bathroom tiles and $2000 for cleaning and rubbish removal.

Nonoa-Kopu and Thakruea were also ordered to pay for a new insinkerator after the existing one was damaged by a screw found to have been put down it, the Tenancy Tribunal adjudicator said.

The adjudicator said Nonoa-Kopu and Thakruea were liable for the damage bill because they showed a "reckless disregard for the consequences" of their actions.

"For example, the photographs show that the tenants, while spray painting on the balcony, caused a significant amount of damage to the surrounding area," the adjudicator said.

"The tenants also took a wardrobe door off its hinges and spray painted it."

"Further, the evidence shows that the tenants elected to use the entire bathroom as the showering area, rather than using the designated shower area."

This led the bathroom tiles to become so waterlogged as to come loose and the carpet outside the bathroom door to be damaged, the adjudicator said.