By Jeremy Wilkinson, Open Justice reporter of
Tenancy Tribunal adjudicator Jane Northwood said the breaches by landlord Scott Lovell were the "most serious I have seen". (File photo) Photo:
Bugs crawling on the walls, sockets that would catch fire, no smoke alarms and mould on the walls, ceiling and carpets are just some of the conditions a woman and her young child put up with for several years because they couldn't afford anywhere else to live.
The final straw came when severe rain in Auckland flooded the un-consented converted garage they were renting with flood waters spilling in through the gaps in the walls.
It was in such poor condition that Tenancy Tribunal adjudicator Jane Northwood said the breaches by landlord Scott Lovell were the "most serious I have seen" and awarded the woman $22,000 which was half the rent she had paid in two years as well as $7200 in compensation.
The tenant, who has name suppression, had attempted to take Lovell to the tribunal on three occasions but each time he sought an adjournment claiming health issues.
Northwood ruled that given the seriousness of the allegations she needed to progress the case without waiting for Lovell who did not attend the fourth hearing in June.
When contacted by NZME on Thursday, Lovell said he was not aware of the tribunal's ruling and said he had been unwell when the hearing took place.
He then hung up the phone.
According to the case's decision, released this week, the tenant provided the tribunal with extensive photos of the property which showed bugs climbing on the walls, mouldy carpets and gaps in the walls, floor and ceilings.
The place she had called home was a garage built in 1987 that was then converted into a two-bedroom unit in 2012 without the consent of Auckland City Council.
Northwood said that Lovell should have made his own inquiries into the legal status of the garage but because he did not engage with the tribunal it was unclear whether he knew it was not legal to use as a residential dwelling.
The tenant submitted emails between her and Lovell showing she had sought repairs for gaps in the walls, part of the roof that was about to collapse, a gas leak and mould growing in the shower.
She also told the tribunal how the switchboard in the flat would catch fire and that the guttering downpipes simply drained into the garden.
There were also no working smoke alarms and the walls and carpets were constantly damp and mouldy.
"The nature of the premises was well below an acceptable standard," Northwood said in her ruling.
She noted Lovell responded to some of the tenant's complaints by email but said the faults were due to the "structural limitations" of the property and so were never fixed.
"The problems with the premises made them damp, prone to mould, and therefore unhealthy," Northwood said.
"The tenant had a young child who should not have been exposed to the health risks the premises created."
Northwood ruled that the tenant should be repaid half of what she had paid to live in the garage for two years which amounted to $22,000.
She also found Lovell had breached his obligations under the Healthy Homes Standards by failing to provide a safe, dry and clean home and had committed an unlawful act.
Other breaches included the failure to provide working smoke alarms, internal walls exposed to the outside, mouldy carpets and walls, a lack of any heating, holes and gaps in the walls and ceiling, broken windows and unsafe plumbing and wiring.
"Considering those factors, I have determined that the breaches were of the most serious I have seen and warrant the award of the maximum in exemplary damages allowable," Northwood said in awarding the tenant $7200 in compensation.
The tenant also applied for compensation after January flooding in Auckland left the flat uninhabitable and yellow-stickered by the council and her belongings were left water-damaged.
She claimed Lovell had placed solid grates over the drains and guttering to stop leaves clogging them, but this exacerbated the effects of the weather event and floodwaters rose up to half-a-metre around the flat.
The gaps around the unit and holes in the walls allowed the water to flood inside.
Northwood declined to compensate her for the damaged property as the tenant had not quantified exactly what it was she had lost.
* This story was first published by the New Zealand Herald.