Previously homeless person awarded $11,000 after moving into dirty, untidy rental

Landlords who blamed previous tenants for the messy state of the home (not the one pictured) have been ordered to pay the new tenant more than $11,000 in damages and compensation. Photo / 123RF

Landlords who tried to blame the dirty state of their rental property on previous tenants, and continued to use the property to store their possessions, now have to pay their new tenant more than $11,000 in compensation and damages.

The tenant, whose name is suppressed, moved into the South Auckland rental in November last year, having previously been homeless, and found rubbish left behind in the home’s carport, drawers and cupboards.

She also found the shower drain outlet was blocked and the fireplace was in disrepair; the stone base of the wood burner was “substantially cracked”, and the carpets had burn marks.

The Tenancy Tribunal also found the landlords, Manoj Kumar and Rajni Kumari, had breached the tenant’s right to quiet enjoyment when they came on to the premises unannounced and used the tenant’s carport without her permission.

She also did not have full use of the cabinetry, drawers and cupboards on the premises because they were filled with the landlords’ belongings.

The carport was still full of items that had been left behind by the landlords.

The tribunal said the premises were very poorly presented and despite the tenant being effectively homeless before taking up the tenancy, the landlord was still obligated to provide a rental home that was comfortable and in good order.

The tribunal also noted that no working smoke alarm was installed from November 2022 until May 2023.

Kumar and Kumari have now been ordered to pay the tenant $11,200, which includes $6000 in exemplary damages in recognition of laws they broke around providing a rental home, including compliance with building health and safety rules.

The pair are listed as joint owners of the Manurewa property.

The tribunal could award damages up to a maximum of $7200 if it considered a party had committed an unlawful act intentionally.

In this case, it found damages on the higher end of the scale were warranted, in addition to the individual compensation for the various loss of amenities and loss of the tenant’s enjoyment of the premises because chattels and items had not been repaired, maintained or kept in good order by the landlords.

The tribunal refused to accept their excuse that the damage to the premises and state of uncleanliness was due to their previous “bad” tenants failing to leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy and having damaged the premises.

It said a landlord was obliged to prepare and present premises in a good tenantable condition at the start of each tenancy.

The tenant was also awarded $300 in compensation for cleaning, $930 for the blocked shower drain, $1550 for the broken fireplace, $930 in compensation for the rubbish left behind and general untidiness, and $50 for weeding.

Tracy Neal is a Nelson-based Open Justice reporter at NZME. She was previously RNZ’s regional reporter in Nelson-Marlborough and has covered general news, including court and local government for the Nelson Mail.