Pair at loggerheads over felling of native trees

Eight native trees up to 80 years old, including a pohutakawa, are said to have been felled at a property in Harris St, Huntly, without the landlord's permission. Photo / Christine Cornege.

A landlord and his former tenant are at odds over native trees in a prize-winning garden the tenant had cut down without permission.

Auckland truck driver Russell Montaperto rented the Huntly railway cottage to Ken Eastwood this month, but before Mr Eastwood moved in, he asked a neighbour to cut down the trees.

When Mr Montaperto found out, he ended the rental agreement, reported the incident to police and withheld the $750 bond.

He said eight native trees up to 80 years old, including a pohutukawa, had been cut out of the once award-winning garden.

But police told Mr Montaperto in a letter the incident was a civil dispute which needed to be taken to the Tenancy Tribunal.

"It is the responsibility of the homeowner to ensure all expectations are met regarding the maintenance and general considerations of the property," the letter stated.

"This should be outlined in a tenancy agreement which identifies what is expected of the tenant and what is not condoned."

But Mr Montaperto, who said he owns 11 rental properties in the Waikato and Hawkes Bay, maintained it was not possible to stipulate in a tenancy agreement everything that was not condoned.

"There's a million things I could put on there. Don't rark up your neighbours, don't walk outside with no clothes on, don't burn the place down, don't cut down the trees. It's just common sense."

The 55-year-old said it was a "bloody disgrace" that a tenant could get away with what he considered wilful damage.

He claimed to have a tenancy agreement with Mr Eastwood but said he would not pursue the case through the Tenancy Tribunal because it would be a waste of time.

The neighbour, who did not want to be identified, said he cut down five trees after Mr Eastwood, an acquaintance, told him his father had bought the property.

Mr Eastwood, in his late 40s, said only one tree was removed as a security measure because the house had been broken into and targeted by burglars.

He said it was he who had ended the rental agreement and he would pursue Mr Montaperto for the return of the bond.

LANDLORD RIGHTS
* Landlords can make tenants clean the property or fix something they have damaged. Landlords must write and tell tenants they have 14 consecutive days to fix the issue. If tenants do not fix the problem, landlords can ask the Tenancy Tribunal for an order to make tenants do the work. If the problem is very serious, the tribunal can end the tenancy.

*Tenants must fix any damage they or their visitors cause on purpose or by being careless, or pay for someone to fix it.Eight native trees up to 80 years old, including a pohutukawa, are said to have been felled at a property in Harris St, Huntly, without the landlord's permission.