Tenancy Tribunal rejects bid to evict Christchurch tenant Gregory Deighton over contractor clash

A Christchurch social housing tenant thought a contractor was at the complex where he lived to remove a self-sown plum tree without permission. Photo / File

A social housing tenant who swore and brandished a metal pole at a contractor while wearing only his underwear has avoided eviction after the Tenancy Tribunal ruled he had misunderstood the situation and was inquisitive.

The Ōtautahi Community Housing Trust applied to terminate Gregory Robert Deighton’s tenancy at his flat in December, claiming he threatened to assault a contractor.

Deighton, whom the trust said has a history of abusing contractors, denied behaving badly.

According to the tribunal’s recently released decision, the confrontation arose after contractors arrived one morning in November at the Christchurch property to begin work on the grass and community gardens.

There was also agreement they could tend to a tenant’s garden if it encroached on a community area or was a health and safety hazard.

The gardener told the tribunal he was working outside Deighton’s unit when he became aware a man was shouting at him through the window. At the time, the contractor was using a petrol-driven hedge trimmer, which is similar in appearance, but is not a chainsaw.

As the contractor stopped working, Deighton appeared wearing only his underwear and clutching a metal pole, which the gardener said Deighton held up to the worker’s chest.

The gardener says he asked Deighton, “Are you threatening me?” to which the tenant replied, “Yes”.

Fearing he would be assaulted, the gardener retreated to his truck. Shortly after, Deighton appeared, dressed and without the metal pole.

The contractor says Deighton asked him in a threatening tone: “What the f*** do you think you are doing?”

Deighton told the gardener he thought he was there to remove a self-sown plum tree without permission.

When the gardener explained he was there to clear the paths and wouldn’t touch the tree, he said Deighton appeared to calm down and gave him permission to clear the paths.

But keen to leave, the contractor didn’t finish the job and left.

A second contractor who was standing at the truck confirmed Deighton appeared to be aggressive and angry.

The trust said it wasn’t the first time Deighton had clashed with contractors, having previously taken exception to a spouting repairer, two electricians servicing a heat pump and a carpet layer.

For this, Deighton had received two anti-social behaviour notices and was given a third for the current claim.

After the last incident in June, Deighton had given an undertaking that he wouldn’t talk to contractors directly.

Deighton, meanwhile, claimed to have overheard an earlier conversation between contractors about plans to remove trees on a boundary opposite his property. He’d covertly recorded part of the encounter in which the contractors denied this.

He told the tribunal he’d been woken that morning by the sound of a chainsaw and walked out of his bedroom to find the gardener using what appeared to be a chainsaw on his garden.

Fearing the contractor was going to remove a plum tree he liked, Deighton yelled out, and, fearing for his safety, he grabbed a short metal bar that he used as a door stop before venturing outside.

He said the contractor ignored him when he asked what he was doing.

Deighton denied using foul language or threatening the contractor and said he never told the contractor he was threatening them. He admitted to holding the metal bar, but denied doing so in the manner that had been described.

He said he’d followed the contractors to their truck seeking an explanation and denied being threatening or abusive, covertly recording that exchange on his phone.

In response, the trust said none of the recordings had a timestamp and none were complete records of the incidents.

Follow the rules or jeopardise the tenancy

In his decision, adjudicator Glenn Barnett said this was a case of the contractor’s word against a tenant’s.

With no independent witnesses, that left the tenant’s recordings, which the adjudicator found didn’t show the tenant was acting in an abusive or threatening manner.

He also found the statements produced in support of the anti-social notices were unsigned and undated. And the covert recordings made by the tenant cast doubt on claims that, on other occasions, the tenant had been threatening and abusive.

In dismissing the trust’s claim, the adjudicator said it had failed to show that Deighton had threatened to assault the contractor and the incident arose from a misunderstanding by the tenant.

The adjudicator offered Deighton some advice after acknowledging the tenant was inquisitive about activities in the complex, even if they didn’t directly concern him, which could lead to misunderstandings and potential conflict.

“Going forward, it would be prudent for the tenant to adhere to their undertaking not to approach contractors directly, and raise any concerns with the landlord, if unresolved, with the tribunal,” the decision said.

“A failure to do so may jeopardise the tenancy.”

Catherine Hutton is an Open Justice reporter, based in Wellington. She has worked as a journalist at the Waikato Times and RNZ. Most recently she was working as a media adviser at the Ministry of Justice.