A Southland landlord has been ordered to pay more than $20,000 after renting out "badly neglected" flats, described by investigators as being "among the worst they had ever seen".
An investigation into the Mataura property — owned by Hillis Shearing Limited and its directors, William and Sharon Hillis — was launched after a complaint about the flats was lodged in March, 2022.
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) investigators found "multiple" issues with the flats.
The issues included a leak in one ceiling; a missing bathroom ceiling; rotten or missing wallboards; damaged or boarded-up windows; walls with large gaps and holes; a lack of ceiling and underfloor insulation; and missing smoke alarms.
"Investigators were also told the landlord either failed to respond to requests for maintenance or advised the tenants to do it themselves," MBIE said.
An April 16 Tenancy Tribunal order found Hillis Searing Limited and its directors had failed to maintain the properties; did not meet the insulation requirements under the Healthy Homes standards; did not have working smoke alarms in three of the four units; and failed to provide written tenancy agreements for each tenant.
Adjudicator Rex Woodhouse also found the landlord had failed to comply with building health and safety requirements, as the building’s warrant of fitness had expired in 2017.
"He also noted that photographs provided by TCIT showed premises that were dilapidated," MBIE said.
In their response to the claims, the landlords said the property was initially purchased as a place for out-of-town shearers to live.
However, in 2015, there was less demand for those shearers, and the property was no longer needed.
"It became known in the community that the premises were vacant and, out of goodwill, the Hillis’s allowed locals in the community to rent the premises to give them somewhere to live," the Tribunal decision read.
The landlords said that, over time "things did not go well" with rent going unpaid and the building being damaged.
At one point, they say the property was taken over by the Mongrel Mob, which made it difficult to manage.
As a result of the tribunal's findings, the company and its directors were ordered to pay $16,275 in exemplary damages for committing unlawful acts and $5024 in compensation for failing to maintain the premises.
"The effect of these intentional acts meant the tenants were not provided with the information they should have about the tenancies and lived in premises that were unsafe and poorly maintained," Brett Wilson, national manager for MBIE’s tenancy compliance and investigations, said.
"Ceiling and underfloor insulation have been compulsory in all rentals since July 2019.
"The properties should have had insulation installed by this date, but this was not the case, which led to tenants living in cold and draughty homes."
He also slammed the landlord’s failure to install smoke alarms in three of the four properties.
"Smoke alarms save lives. Working smoke alarms are compulsory in all rental properties. Landlords need to ensure they have installed them," Wilson said.
MBIE has also lodged a district court appeal to have the landlords fined for each individual breach, rather than one fine for multiple instances of the same breach, which the Tenancy Tribunal had decided on.
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