A Tauranga boarding house landlord has been ordered to pay the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) thousands of dollars after it was found the business had breached the Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
Edgecumbe House Limited has been ordered by the Tenancy Tribunal to pay MBIE exemplary damages of $37,000 on behalf of 17 tenants affected "by multiple breaches", MBIE said.
An investigation into the boarding house was opened by MBIE's Tenancy Compliance and Investigations Team (TCIT) in June 2022 after a complaint by a third party.
A site visit discovered multiple breaches, including a lack of heating in the main living room, the removal of multiple hot water taps, no extractor fans in the kitchen or bathroom, and no adequate cooking facilities.
Multiple tenants were also charged a bond of more than four weeks rent.
A decision made on March 5 found the landlord "failed to comply with the healthy homes standards for heating and ventilation".
The landlord also failed to "comply with building health and safety regulations, interfered with the supply of water to tenants, and charged excessive bond on multiple occasions".
In its decision the Tribunal said: "The healthy homes standards were well signalled long before they came into force, and the breaches came to light more than 12 months after the commencement date for boarding houses. As a professional accommodation provider, Edgecumbe was required to inform itself of its legal obligations and to comply with them."
Edgecumbe House Limited has also been issued with a three year restraining order from committing "further unlawful acts of the same kind".
Brett Wilson, TCIT national manager, said: "Due to the extent and scale of the potential harm and the vulnerability of the tenants, TCIT felt it was in the public interest to progress this case to the Tenancy Tribunal and we are pleased to have achieved a positive outcome for the affected tenants."
Wilson said that despite boarding houses being required to comply with the healthy homes standards since July 2021, all of the tenants spoken to regarding the breaches were concerned that had they raised any issues, it would have had a negative effect on their tenancies.
"The Tribunal found that the landlord acted intentionally and that while they initially acted promptly to remedy the breaches of the RTA, after they were pointed out by TCIT, the landlord initially restricted how often the heater could be used, and there was a history of the landlord removing facilities or not repairing them."
Wilson added: "Boarding houses are a significant focus for TCIT as they often house some of the most vulnerable people who are not in a position to address any tenancy issues themselves.
"A large number of the residents at this boarding house, in particular, have a history of housing insecurity."
Edgecumbe House Limited can still act as a landlord, MBIE said, but if it breaches any of the restraining orders set the consequences will be more severe.
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