What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 5068296?

The tribunal order states: The application is dismissed.

How much money was awarded in case 5068296?

Verified claim lines are listed on this page.

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5068296?

The primary dispute was Mould & damp. Related themes: State of repair, Smoke alarms, Healthy homes.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5068296?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11187554-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 5068296?

The tribunal order states: The application is dismissed.

How much money was awarded in case 5068296?

Verified claim lines are listed on this page.

What type of tenancy dispute was case 5068296?

The primary dispute was Mould & damp. Related themes: State of repair, Smoke alarms, Healthy homes.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 5068296?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/11187554-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

14 Dufek Crescent, Wigram, Christchurch 8042 Tenancy Tribunal Case 5068296 — Mould & damp

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Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.

Ms Roger-Vendt attended with authority to speak on behalf of all tenants.

Ms Holdem and Ms Gonzales attended on behalf of the landlord.

The application to end the fixed term tenancy early was withdrawn at the hearing.

The tenants’ application for compensation and damages related to the application to end the fixed term early and was also withdrawn at the hearing.

The tenants had sent a 14-day notice to the landlord in relation to a number of maintenance items.

The tenants thought that the notice had been emailed to the landlord on 19 September 2024. The landlord did not respond within the 14-day period and the tenants applied to the Tribunal for a work order.

On receipt of the notice of hearing, the landlord contacted the tenants as they had never received the 14-day notice.

It transpired that the tenants had sent the notice to incorrect email addresses and the notice had never been received.

The landlord received the notice on 19 November 2024.

The landlord provided invoices to confirm that some of the work had been completed during the 14-day period.

The tenant accepted that the landlord had completed some of the required repairs prior to the hearing date but said that some matters had not been attended to or had not been repaired to the satisfaction of the tenant.

As the tenant representative is no longer living at the property, she acknowledged that she was unsure whether some items had been addressed.

The tenant claims that the landlord did not: a. Repair the laundry door handle; b. Repair a damaged wooden batten in the hallway; c. Make required repairs to the garage walls damaged due to wind and wet weather; d. Make adequate repairs to ensure the property was free of draughts; e. Repair the bathroom, toilet or laundry windows to ensure that they close completely and easily; f. Ensure that the property was free of mould; g. Repair water damage to the bathroom walls around shower; and h. Remove an item of clothing left in the garden by a previous tenant or some other unknown person.

The tenant wants these problems fixed.

Under section 45(1)(a) - (ca) Residential Tenancies Act 1986, the landlord has an obligation to provide and maintain certain standards and to comply with applicable requirements.

The landlord is expected to provide and maintain the property in a reasonable state of repair having regard to the age and character of the premises and the period during which the premises are likely to remain habitable and available for residential purposes.

Where the Tribunal finds the landlord has failed to comply with any of these obligations, it may make an order for the landlord to carry out the work. See section 78(1)(e) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

If the work order is not being made by consent of both parties, the Tribunal must also make a monetary order as an alternative to compliance with the work order. This provision does not apply to any work order, or part of a work order, in relation to smoke alarms, insulation, a failure to comply with a standard of fitness under section 120C Health Act 1956, or a failure to comply with any health or safety legislative requirement. See sections 78(2) and 78(2AA) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

A work order may also authorise the tenant to undertake the work and charge the landlord the costs of doing the work, if the landlord should fail to comply with the work order and alternative monetary order. A monetary limit must be imposed by the Tribunal on the amount of costs that can be charged. These costs can be set off by the tenant against rent payable. See sections 78(2AAB) and 78(2AAC)(b) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

Has the landlord failed to comply with their obligations?

The landlord provided an invoice to show that the first two items above had been fixed prior to the hearing.

This evidence was not disputed by the tenant.

The tenant gave evidence that the garage was in poor repair at the beginning of the tenancy. On their inspection of the property, they asked if they could park in the garage and were told they could if they wanted to. They have never done so as they considered the garage unsuitable for parking and the vehicle door was difficult to open due to its age and state of repair.

The tenants had stored some items in the garage and these items were suffering weather damage due to the holes in the walls of the garage.

These holes were present at the beginning of the tenancy but had got worse during the tenancy.

The landlord gave evidence that the garage had been inspected on receipt of the 14-day notice and had been deemed uneconomic to repair. The owner intends to remove the garage when this tenancy ends in February 2025.

Given the landlord’s evidence, it is inappropriate to order a work order in relation to the garage.

The tenant asked that some form of weather proofing be installed, if possible, to prevent further damage to the stored items.

The landlord should consider whether this is possible. It may be that a tarpaulin could be sufficient to protect the stored items in the meantime.

The tenant gave evidence that they had complained about draughts and cold bedrooms during the tenancy.

The tenant accepted that there was a compliant heat pump in the living room but said this was not sufficient to heat the entire house.

The heating in the living area is compliant and the landlord gave evidence that it is routinely serviced.

The requirement that fixed heating be provided in the living area of a tenancy property is not intended to relieve tenants of all responsibility to heat a property themselves. It will often be the case that additional heating is required, especially in older houses, to make other areas comfortable and free of damp.

The tenancy agreement shows that the draught stopping was completed to standard by at least 30 January 2023.

The landlord provided the initial Healthy Homes assessment which showed that the draught stopping was non-compliant. They also provided an invoice dated 3 August 2022 showing that the required work had been completed to make this compliant.

Following tenant complaints, the landlord had this checked again in April 2024 when additional draught stopping was completed in the living rooms and bedrooms. The landlord acknowledged that draught stopping of this kind is not permanent and does need to be checked for ongoing compliance.

In July 2024 further work was done to ease windows to help with closing securely, replace hinges on bathroom, toilet and laundry windows, add brackets to a window where they had fallen of due to the age and condition of the windows.

Invoices were provided to confirm that this work was completed.

On receiving the 14-day notice, the landlord sent a repair person to check that the windows were still compliant and to check the complaints about the bathroom, toilet and laundry windows being difficult to close. These were the room where the hinges had previously been replaced, and the repairer confirmed that they were compliant. He said the windows “don’t close perfectly but they do close and are secure. All gaps are draught stopped... As far as we are concerned there are no gaps of significance and where there is these have been draught stopped previously.” No further work was completed as regards these windows.

Ongoing issues with these windows seem to be related to the particular style of window. Repairs have been completed to the extent possible.

Given the evidence provided, I do not consider that a work order is required in relation to alleged draughts at the property or in relation to the three windows where work has already been completed.

In relation to mould, there was discussion at the hearing about possible causes of mould and/or mould stains. It is often difficult to determine, without costly evidence, if mould is live or if stains relate to older and/or treated mould.

It is also difficult to determine what is causing mould. It can be tenants’ use of a property (such as lack of ventilation; insufficient heating to remove damp; long hot, unventilated, showers; drying clothes inside and so on) or something inherent in the property itself or a combination of both.

Given that the bedrooms were described as “very cold” by the tenants, and the obvious age and condition of the property, it is unsurprising that mould may form.

The landlord also pointed out that beds and other furniture had been pushed against exterior walls which the landlord considered encouraged conditions for mould.

The tenancy agreement encourages tenants to keep the property well ventilated at all practical times to help prevent mould formation.

No evidence was provided to support the suggestion that the landlord was responsible for the build-up of mould.

Further, there was no suggestion as to what kind of work order, if any, might be appropriate to address this issue.

No work order can be made in relation to the issue of mould at the property.

In relation to the water damage in the bathroom, the tenant acknowledged that this was a cosmetic issue only. Other repairs had already been made in relation to the shower area.

The landlord said this damage had been present at the beginning of the tenancy and confirmed that it was a cosmetic matter. They said that the owner was willing to redecorate the bathroom but that this would have to be done at the end of the current tenancy as the bathroom would be unavailable while the work was being carried out.

It is neither necessary nor desirable to make a work order in these circumstances.

The final item referred to above was the removal of previous tenant’s (or other unknown person’s) belongings from the outside of the property.

The landlord had sent a tradesperson to the property to attend to this, but that tradesperson had not been able to locate the property referred to.

The tenant confirmed that this was one item of underwear in the garden left by a person unknown. This had been brought to the attention of the landlord at the beginning of the tenancy but had never been removed.

I do not consider this significant enough to warrant a work order but, now that the landlord is aware of exactly what the tenant is referring to, the item should be removed by the landlord at its earliest convenience.

In relation to all of the items referred to above, no work orders are necessary or appropriate and none are ordered.

Although the applicant’s claim to end the tenancy early was withdrawn, the tenant representative does wish to be released from her obligations under the tenancy agreement.

The agreement allows for assignment under certain circumstances and on payment of certain costs.

This is a matter as between the parties and the Tribunal cannot make any orders in relation to this issue.

The applicant requested name suppression and refund of the filing fee in the application but, as the application has not been successful, no such orders can be made.