Tenants spark most rental disputes

More than 230 applications were made to the Tenancy Tribunal in Wairarapa last year, 219 of which were lodged by landlords.

Unpaid rent and damaged property have triggered the most formal tenancy disputes between Wairarapa landlords and wayward tenants, new figures reveal.

But a special court designed to resolve such disputes is "no help at all" to landlords left out of pocket, a Wairarapa property manager says.

More than 230 applications were made to the Tenancy Tribunal in Wairarapa last year, 219 of which were lodged by landlords.

The number of formal disputes was up on the previous two years.

Most complaints were over failed rent payments, followed by property damage and breaching tenancy agreements.

Landlords also filed seven complaints over tenants abandoning the premises and two for assault.

Most of the applications resulted in tribunal orders, about a quarter went to mediation, while the rest were withdrawn or unresolved.

Wairarapa property manager Kathleen Clendon said the Tenancy Tribunal was "not helpful at all".

Getting a tenant evicted took a "long time," even when they were paying no rent.

"We might want to get rid of a tenant because they have trashed a property or they are so far behind in rent arrears and they've used every excuse," she said.

"So we've taken them to the tribunal and the tribunal will make us wait six weeks to evict the tenant. In the interim, they stop paying their rent, so more money gets added to the landlord's bill."

Ms Clendon had just taken over a property where the tenants had "done a runner", leaving behind a $20,000 fix-up job.

"They left a fridge full of food, didn't clean up before they left ... the place was a pigsty with drug utensils everywhere." Disposing of the rubbish alone cost $1200, she said. APNZ