Flat of horrors 'terrifying' for student
A student who took on a notorious Dunedin landlord is sharing her "traumatising" ordeal over fears others could end up trapped in the same situation.
Zoe Eckhoff, 19, and two of her close friends signed a year-long fixed-term lease for a Queen St property, which was set to be their first flat.
However, the tenants soured on the property after inspecting it in late January and discovering vegetation choking gutters, black mould and grease in vents and windows, curtains covered with black mould, rubbish strewn throughout the property, borer dust throughout wooden fittings, peeling lead paint in soffits and broken gutters.
"It was horrendous, to be honest, there was just random furniture everywhere.
"There was pots and pans outside the door, and so much borer as well.
"All of the utensils in the drawers were wet, the whole bench was wet — there was mould everywhere, and wallpaper peeling, and all the stuff you don't want to see as a tenant."
She said the experience was "traumatising" and "terrifying".
In February, the tenants advised the landlord, Man-Oock Holdings, they would be withholding rent and taking her to the Tenancy Tribunal.
The tribunal's first ruling found the landlord "turned a blind eye" to many of her responsibilities under the Residential Tenancies Act, but it was also "not open for one party [the tenants] to unilaterally decide to stop paying rent".
No suppression was available to the landlord because she was only partly successful, the tribunal ruled.
It was only after mediation that Miss Eckhoff and her fellow tenants were able to end the tenancy.
A second tribunal ruling followed, saying "as a result of the agreement all costs will lie where they fall, and the previous order of the tribunal cannot be enforced".
Miss Eckhoff felt the system was stacked against her.
"I think that landlords need to be held way more accountable for the kind of stuff that they get up to.
"It just feels like I was set up for failure."
The emotional toll had been "wrenching".
Last week, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment tenancy compliance and investigations team conducted visits to 53 Dunedin properties.
The majority had some maintenance issues and three properties had "multiple breaches" of the healthy homes legislation.
Miss Eckhoff said she was pleased to hear about MBIE's initiative, calling it a start.
"I was very happy to hear that, to be honest — thank God someone is doing something about this.
"I hate to say cross-examine your landlord, because it feels like something that shouldn't be our duty, but honestly, it's not a bad idea.
"I wish that I had, because I probably would have found a lot more and it would have been very helpful."
The Otago Daily Times reported in 2019 there had been 21 Tenancy Tribunal cases involving Man-Oock Holdings since 2017.
Man-Oock Holdings did not wish to comment.
matthew.littlewood@odt.co.nz
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