The eviction drama began around May 9, 2021, when the landlord gave the woman a notice to terminate the tenancy, stating he was selling the property.
She claimed he had given her 60 days' notice despite the legal expectation being a minimum 90-day period, which would have expired on August 7, 2021.
But discounting either period, the woman claimed that on June 29, 2021, "a number of men" arrived at the house on instruction from the landlord.
She was out of town at the time but her son, who was home, phoned her and said the men were "throwing" the family out of the home and had removed their belongings.
The family was able to organise storage with the assistance of Work and Income, and the woman was forced into emergency accommodation while her children stayed elsewhere.
Following the eviction, she filed a claim with the Tenancy Tribunal against the landlord.
A hearing was held in New Plymouth in November last year, which the landlord failed to attend, and the woman's case was considered.
She claimed the $880 bond she had paid at the beginning of the tenancy had not been lodged with the Bond Centre.
She also outlined a raft of issues with the property, including that there were large holes in the floor, no heating, exposed wiring, rotten floorboards, no smoke alarms installed, and the home was not insulated.
Because of the date the tenancy commenced, the recently introduced Healthy Homes Standards (HHS) did not apply.
But there were pre-HHS obligations the landlord still needed to meet which included legal responsibilities around smoke alarms, insulation, heating, and maintaining the premises, the Tribunal's decision, released in February this year, stated.
The Tribunal said it had no reservation in concluding the landlord had breached his obligations in relation to the health and safety claims, and that the breaches were intentional.
"There has been a considerable impact for the tenant and her family, in that they have lived in a cold and unhealthy dwelling, and that has increased her costs to heat the property," it said.
"The tenant has described the significant mental health impacts she has faced, and concerns at how she could have better protected and supported her family."
The Tribunal was also "very concerned" over the circumstances of the eviction.
"The circumstances of the unlawful entry are at the extreme end of seriousness," it said.
"The actions of the landlord, and the men acting on his behalf, were threatening to the people in the tenancy, and resulted in the landlord unlawfully seizing the premises when the landlord has no legal basis for doing so."
The Tribunal upheld all of the woman's claims and awarded her $6800 for reimbursement of the bond and exemplary damages for failing to lodge the bond, breach of the landlord's obligations, and unlawful entry.
The landlord was ordered to pay her immediately.
The woman has further claimed compensation around costs incurred during the tenancy, damage and lost items arising from the eviction, and costs around storage and the emergency accommodation.
Those claims will be considered at a further Tenancy Tribunal hearing at a later date.
