The case related to a rental property in Rotorua owned by Blain Justin Allen. Photo: 123rf.com
A Rotorua landlord who used a Tenancy Tribunal hearing to label his tenant a "crackhead" and a "prostitute" has been found to have harassed her by threatening her with his gang connections.
Blain Justin Allen, who owns a rental property in Rotorua, was taken to the tribunal by his tenant in September, who claimed he had failed to keep the property in a reasonable state. The shower was too damaged to use, while the garage contained Allen's own rubbish.
The tribunal issued a 'work order' at that hearing, which included a requirement for the landlord to remove all rubbish and property of his, install a bathroom extractor fan, fix the shower wall and repair a hole.
Some of the work was completed, but some wasn't. The tenant filed another complaint with the tribunal in late October.
In that complaint, she claimed the landlord continued to keep property in the garage and had not repaired the bathroom.
According to the tribunal's decision, the landlord responded to the claims by saying he was on probation and was limited in movement, and had since hired a property manager to manage the property.
The tribunal found the claims proven, with the landlord deemed to have "committed an unlawful act" by not acting sooner, albeit not intentionally. He was ordered to either complete the work, or pay the tenant $1500 so she could do the work herself.
Further, the tenant said she felt unsafe in the knowledge her landlord possessed a key to the property.
"[The tenant] has made allegations against the landlord of a serious nature. Suffice to say, the landlord has sent threatening texts to the tenant as he believes her allegations are false and have caused him harm," adjudicator M Steens said in their decision.
The text messages included one from Allen which said "you know my blood" - a reference to his gang connections, the decision said. Allen claimed the tenant had interfered in his personal relationships and he wanted her gone. The text was deemed 'an illegal act' by the tribunal.
The tribunal ordered the landlord must change the locks, with all keys to be passed onto the tenant.
"Whatever the tenant has or has not done, this landlord's behaviour is unacceptable. During the hearing, he made clear he loathed the tenant and held her responsible for ruining his life. He called her names in the hearing like 'prostitute' and 'crackhead'."
Allen was ordered to pay the tenant $420 in compensation for the harassment, while a further $100 was ordered to partially cover the tenant's medical fees as a result of stress.
"I strongly encourage the landlord to only use his property manager to communicate with the tenant for the remainder of the tenancy, which ends in 2024."
The Herald has chosen not to name the tenant, due to her vulnerability.
This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald.