Tenancy complaints at four year high

A house for rent.

Greater awareness of the Tenancy Tribunal's functions is probably behind an increase in Masterton cases, a Wairarapa property manager says.

Last year, 152 complaints were filed with the Masterton Tenancy Tribunal - a four-year high for the number of complaints.

Landlords made 129 of the complaints and tenants made 23. Most complaints related to unpaid rent, termination breaches or damage to property.

All complaints were resolved through tribunal orders.

Property Brokers Wairarapa manager Guy Mordaunt expected people were becoming more educated about their rights.

"I don't think tenants not paying rent is any more of an issue than it was five years ago," he said. "Property management companies, especially those with qualified property managers, have very robust procedures for when they use it.

"Joe Bloggs on the street are probably getting more educated about their rights as well and know there's a process they can go through if there's an issue."

Property Brokers lodged an application with the tribunal as soon as rent went into arrears, he said. "In a lot of cases tenants will make up the rent before it goes to the tribunal but we get the process running as soon as possible."

Mr Mordaunt believed the tribunal provided "fair" and "just" mediation for all sides of the party. "It's a nice and simple process to go through. Obviously, we'd love to avoid it if we can, but I think it's a very good tool for what it's required for."

Screening new tenants as thoroughly as possible was the best way to avoid issues, he said.

Nationwide, landlords and tenants made 32,097 complaints to the tenancy tribunal in the past year.

In 2010, more than 33,000 complaints were made, while more than 35,000 applications were made each year between 2011 and 2013.

Last year, landlords made 29,436 complaints and tenants made 2661.

More than 19,000 complaints were dealt with through tribunal orders and more than 12,000 were sorted through mediation.

Tenants Protection Association manager Helen Gatonyi expected the national decrease in complaints was due to more cases being fast tracked through mediation.

"If the issues are being resolved that way, it's a good thing," she said. "If a tenant does get behind on rent and ends up at the tribunal, it goes on their record and they find it very hard to get into the rental market again."

Ms Gatonyi wasn't surprised the vast majority of complaints were from landlords.

"We hear of a lot of tenants that have problems with the property they're in but they don't want to go to the tribunal about it.

"There's such high demand for rental properties that they worry they'll end up having to leave and then they won't find anywhere else."