A landlord and a company have been fined for breaches of the Residential Tenancies Act at 34 separate properties across Auckland and Rotorua.
Quan (Marshall) Shu and ARent1 Limited have been ordered to jointly pay $61,140.44 for the breaches, after investigators found damaged gutters, excessive rubbish, no ground moisture barrier, and either not working or not installed smoke alarms and extractor fans.
The co-landlords were also been restrained from committing the same unlawful acts, MBIE said. This included failing to provide premises in a reasonable state of cleanliness and failing to lodge bonds, for a period of three years.
An investigation was launched into Shu and ARent1 after complaints from tenants.
In addition to what investigators found, MBIE said tenants had also complained of a "cockroach infestation, sewage overflows, and holes in the walls and floorboards".
MBIE also noted the properties had “poor sanitation”, and there were unlawful clauses in tenancy agreements, which included allowing for immediate termination of a tenancy if the tenants did not pay rent on time.
The adjudicator noted Shu’s operation was sizeable, given the number of tenancies he was operating, and the landlord would have been aware of his obligations under the Act, including the requirement to comply with the Healthy Homes Standards and lodge bonds within 23 working days.
While Shu accepted that he had breached his obligations under the Act in multiple instances, he argued his actions were not intentional and partly arose from the fact he was an inexperienced landlord who had not intended to operate large numbers of tenancies, MBIE said.
TCIT National Manager, Brett Wilson said: “It is not an excuse to say that they had not intended to operate as a large-scale landlord. Operating a tenancy is a business and that comes with responsibilities for landlords to comply with all legal requirements.”
“Mr Shu and ARent1 Limited displayed a pattern of neglect and non-compliance across dozens of individual properties, including failing to lodge tenants’ bond on time and including unlawful clauses in tenancy agreements.”
The tribunal said unlawful clauses in tenancy agreements, which included allowing for immediate termination of a tenancy if the tenants did not pay rent on time or the landlord wanted to sell or repair the property, “directly attempted to defeat and evade the protections available to tenants under the Residential Tenancies Act”.
“TCIT will not hesitate to take Tribunal action if necessary to ensure a fair outcome for tenants and to hold landlords to account, said Wilson.
“The Tribunal’s decision sends a strong message that landlords must meet their legal obligations and provide safe, healthy homes for tenants.”
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