A landlord has been ordered to pay a group of tenants $5000 after one fell through a hole in the dining room floor.
A recently released Tenancy Tribunal decision detailed the state of the dining room area. It found the landlord had failed to maintain the home properly.
The four tenants moved into the five-bedroom, three-bath property in Auckland’s Kohimarama in September 2021. They paid $900 per week.
The tribunal decision said the house was situated so that when it rained heavily, water pooled in the outside area connected to the ground-floor dining area.
In November 2022, the tenants notified the property manager that the rain affected the dining area’s French doors.
“The tenants had photos of the water pooling with the door frame rotting and a tile that had given way. One side of the French doors also did not open smoothly or fully,” the decision read.
The property manager told the tenants their email had been forwarded to the owner, who would discuss the damages and the work needed.
“It seems that no solution was ever provided by the landlord, and there was no evidence of any remedial work taking place at that stage.”
On May 1, 2023, the tenants contacted the property manager to tell them that tiles had dropped in the dining room area and that the laundry door had become difficult to unlock and open from the other side of the handle.
Nearly two weeks later, the tenants sent a follow-up email to the property manager asking if anyone would come and look at the doors to the outside patio area and a washing machine.
Three days later, on May 15, the tenants told the property manager that one of them had fallen through the floor tiles because the tiles had dropped and the floor had rotted.
“The tenant attached photos showing the area where the tiles had fallen straight down to the ground in the dining room area.”
The property manager replied and arranged for a contractor to come and look at the damage on May 20.
On May 24, the tenants sent another email to the property manager, saying that despite their best efforts to cover it, the house had become “even more damp” and “cold” because of the hole in the floor.
They also asked if they could have any rent relief because of the house’s condition.
“The owner did not offer any rent reduction or reimbursement but did say that an insurance claim had been lodged and that repair work would commence once the work was approved by the insurer.”
A week later, on June 2, the tenants sent the landlord a 14-day notice requesting the hole be fixed.
On June 18, the owner apoligised via the property manager for the situation, informing the tenants a contractor would perform temporary repairs.
This wasn’t enough for the tenants, who informed the landlord they would end their tenancy in 28 days.
A few days later a contractor came and glued a piece of wood over the hole in the floor.
On July 4, 2023, the tenancy was terminated.
The tenants took the landlord to the tribunal, seeking compensation for the landlord’s failure to maintain the property.
“I find that the landlord did not maintain the premises in a reasonable state of repair. I find that the landlord has committed an unlawful act,” tribunal adjudicator Joon Yi said.
“The landlord failed to adequately respond to the issues raised by the tenants from November 2022. The landlord had not attended to the issue until someone fell through the floor tiles in the dining area.
“The landlord only sent a contractor when the issue had become more serious with a tenant falling through a hole. Even then, the hole was left uncovered for 40 days until it was covered with a piece of wood.”
As a result, the landlord must pay the tenants $5000, which includes $2000 in compensation for the collapsed dining room floor and $3000 as exemplary damages.
“The landlord should have attended to the issue soon after being notified in November 2022 especially given that the premises was of plaster cladding,” Yi said.
Yi denied compensation for inconvenience and emotional distress, moving costs, loss of use due to the corner of the door frame rotting, and a tile that had given way.
