Relations between the mother who was the landlord and the son, who was her tenant escalated, resulted in a dog bite, the police being called, and broken ribs. Photo / NZME
Relations between the mother who was the landlord and the son, who was her tenant escalated, resulted in a dog bite, the police being called, and broken ribs. Photo / NZME
Part two of unusual tenancy Tenancy Tribunal decisions
A dog bite escalated into a full-blown physical altercation between a mother who was the landlord and her son who was the tenant, resulting in police, surgery, and broken ribs.
In the case before the Tenancy Tribunal, the son had expressed displeasureabout grandchildren’s behaviour and family rivalry.
Matters deteriorated and it was is alleged that the son’s dog bit the landlord when she was outside in the garden.
“Things got out of hand, and the police were called. The landlord required surgery and suffered broken ribs.”
Names and locations were suppressed in the case heard last year.
“Where a property is principally occupied by a member of an owner’s family, the Tenancy Tribunal does not have jurisdiction to hear or determine any claim,” the adjudicator said.
Tenant kills neighbour’s cat
This case involved an act of animal cruelty within a community housing setting.
A tenant’s anti-social behaviour at an Auckland social housing estate consisted of leaving disturbing and unwanted items at the door of the flat occupied by one of the tenants, killing her cat and fighting with another of the tenants in public view, evidence from the landlord said.
“The tenant’s actions have traumatised the other tenants directly affected by them,” the adjudicator said.
The tenancy was terminated and the tenant ordered to pay the landlord $158.
The tenant was in custody so did not attend the hearing.
Landlord’s turkeys invade home
This was a bizarre rural Nelson conflict where the landlord’s own livestock repeatedly invaded the tenant’s house and left faeces.
The story took a dramatic turn when the tenant’s dog killed one of the turkeys, ironically solving the problem.
The property owner kept, among other things, turkeys and chickens, the decision said.
The tenant said the turkeys and chickens would not only come onto her property, but would come into the house. This resulted in bird faeces being left inside the house.
Turkeys came into a tenant's home at a rural Nelson property. Photo / NZME
Eventually, the tenants’ dog killed one of the turkeys which seemed to have at least put a halt to the turkey problem, the adjudicator noted.
The owner’s goat also came through the fence on two occasions. On each occasion, the tenant returned the goat. The tenant told the owner about the goat being there.
The owner said the tenant should leave it there for a few days as it was good for the garden.
The landlord had to pay the tenant $1500.
Dogs cause $30,000+ damage
Damage of more than $30,000 was caused by four dogs to a Kāinga Ora property.
The tenant moved the dogs into the property without the landlord’s consent. The property was not suitable for dogs, and it became in poor condition.
The landlord moved the tenant to a stand-alone house with a large, fenced garden suitable for dogs.
She got two more dogs, doubling the canine count.
The landlord produced photographs showing the property in poor condition, substantially damaged, unclean and untidy, which the tenant accepted. Dog urine and faeces were evident.
The carpet and other floor coverings needed replacement and the floorboards were also possibly contaminated.
An overpowering odour of ammonia inside came from dog urine. It would take $30,000, if not more in repairs.
The tenancy was terminated and all identifying aspects of names and location were suppressed.
Robbed tenants get guard dog
Tenants breached a no pets rule for a compelling reason: personal safety after a traumatic aggravated robbery.
The landlord said a dog was kept at the property and had ordered that it be removed, but the tenants refused because they were victims of a serious aggravated robbery.
That was random and the tenants and one of their children were threatened with a firearm.
They felt very unsafe, sent their children to live elsewhere, and after two months of having no success finding an alternative property, they got a guard dog.
That made them feel safer.
The dog was an outside dog, registered and chained. The tenants were good and responsible dog owners.
The tribunal dismissed the landlord’s termination application.
Dog urinated on landlord from deck
The core incident is so unusual and visceral — a dog urinating through a deck onto the landlord below.
“I was mixing paint under the deck when the dog urinated and covered me in urine. It made me think about dog going to the toilet on deck not being great,” the landlord said.
The landlord applied to terminate the tenancy for breaches of obligations.
“While keeping pets in the premises may be a breach of a provision in the tenancy agreement - although as I have found above the landlord seems to have acquiesced to their presence by not raising the issue when he first became aware - there is no provision in the Residential Tenancies Act or general law that would prohibit a tenant keeping pets,” the adjudicator said.
The tribunal suppressed both parties’ names and identifying details.
Anne Gibson has been the Herald‘s property editor for 25 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.
