Latest news with #tenancy
RNZ News
4 days ago
- RNZ News
Tenant quits lease after apartment hits almost 44C, bond refunded
By Tracy Neal, Open Justice multimedia journalist of File pic Photo: 123RF A tenant says the sweltering heat inside their apartment reached temperatures well into the 40s - ruining a laptop, killing pot plants and requiring medicines to be stored in a car where it was cooler. Now the tenant has been allowed to break a year-long lease and get their bond back, a month after moving in. It comes after NZME reported concerns this year that tens of thousands of Auckland families would suffer in overheating terraced houses and vulnerable people could risk "dying of heatstroke" unless construction designs changed. That story described how large windows, a lack of eaves or other shade, no consideration of a property's direction towards the sun and poor ventilation were causing overheating in old and new builds. In this instance, the tenant, whose name was suppressed after a Tenancy Tribunal hearing, said the excessive heat inside their one-bedroom, sixth-floor apartment was evident soon after moving in. The building, in an undisclosed location, was managed by a body corporate, but the landlord remained liable to the tenant under the rental agreement and by law. On a day in March this year, the tenant recorded the temperature inside the east-facing unit at 43.6C before midday. The next day, the mercury had risen to 38.5C before 9am, even with the living room window open and after the air conditioning had been running, according to evidence presented to the tribunal. The tenant said it was difficult to sleep in such heat, pot plants didn't last beyond a day and that it was not safe storing a co-tenant's medication inside the apartment, so they left it in a car. The tenant said the heat had caused the battery in a laptop to expand, damaging the computer beyond repair. The tenant also said the windows in the apartment did not open wide enough to allow sufficient draught, but the landlord disagreed and suggested the tenants "had not been using them properly". The landlord also took temperature readings in the living room with the curtains closed and then open. The afternoon temperatures, 26.4C and 28.3C were high, the tribunal said, but not as high as those recorded by the tenant. The landlord also produced a Healthy Homes Standards report showing that the unit complied with the applicable ventilation requirements. In a recently released decision, the tribunal ordered the $2440 bond be returned to the tenant, plus partial reimbursement of electricity charges it cost to run air conditioning, over and above standard power charges. The tenant was surprised to receive two invoices totalling $96 to cover the cost of running the heat pump/air conditioning unit while they lived there. However, the landlord said they had explained at the start of the tenancy that the power supply to the air conditioning unit, which was based on usage only, was controlled by the body corporate and invoiced separately. The tenant paid the invoices but claimed there was insufficient evidence to support the calculation of the charges or to prove the usage claimed was exclusively attributable to themselves. The landlord produced spreadsheets provided by the body corporate, which they claimed set out how the charges were calculated. The tribunal said that based on the evidence, it accepted the tenant's submission that the method of calculation was unclear, but there was no dispute that the tenant had used the air conditioning unit and was therefore liable for some of the costs claimed. The tenant's application to reduce the fixed term was dismissed. Agreement was instead reached between the tenant and landlord to end it earlier than the contracted date. A new tenancy began on 11 April, the tribunal said. The New Zealand Property Investors Federation told NZME that investors should do due diligence on any property they buy, especially in light of recent media coverage about hot townhouses. Advocacy manager Matt Ball said there was nothing in the tribunal's decision, or in general, to say that new townhouses would not make a good investment. He said there were opportunities for investors willing to do any necessary remedial work, such as installing ventilation or air conditioning. -This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald .
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Adrian just wanted some help paying his mortgage in the cost of living crisis. But while he was away saying a final farewell to his dying mum, his new housemates did the unthinkable
A homeowner's life has been ruined by a family of squatters who took over his house and then rented out out one of the rooms to a stranger. Adrian, 66, initially let a father and son move into his Ipswich home, west of Brisbane, to help ease the cost of his mortgage but he now cannot get them to leave. The pair were only supposed to be renting two rooms for six months but after Adrian returned from a recent trip to Melbourne he arrived back to a very different situation. Adrian had gone to say goodbye to his dying 96-year-old mother and when he got back he found the people he allowed to stay at his house had completely taken over. The squatters installed curtains around the house which were not there before and the father, Rob, even invited his girlfriend to move in while Adrian was away. Rob also began renting out the downstairs bedroom to a complete stranger for $200 a week. Adrian claims Rob has not paid rent in months and the rent the stranger is paying each week is going to the squatters instead of him. 'I have been through hell and it's been going on for 12 months,' he told A Current Affair. Queensland tenancy laws prohibit Adrian from kicking Rob and his family out. The retiree also said police have done next-to-nothing to help him. The only time Adrian did receive assistance from police was when Rob's son occupied his bedroom and pinned him to a wall. 'I'd locked my bedroom [but] the son had gone in there and occupied it,' Adrian said. 'He came up to me and pinned me against the wall. Luckily the police turned up a few minutes later and decided that I was allowed to have the room.' Adrian is now 'living a nightmare' since Rob has already said he is in no rush to move out. He also did not know that Rob is also a convicted criminal and had registered this new address with Queensland Police as his primary residence. Rob claims he is unable to move out without approval from police and the courts since he has charges pending and that would break the conditions of his bail. This excuse does not explain why his son and partner have moved into Adrian's home and are also refusing to leave. Camera crews and a reporter from A Current Affair visited the house in an attempt to make Rob leave but he simply laughed the issue off. Adrian said he has only ever received $800 in rent from Rob whose family now sends through fake bank receipts which they swear are real despite no money appearing in the retiree's bank account. The homeowner is now borrowing money from friends for food and has said that he is falling behind on his mortgage since Rob is not paying any rent. Antonia Mercorella, chief executive of the Real Estate Institute of Queensland, said Adrian has few options to consider because of the state's strict tenancy laws. If the agreement had been short-term Adrian would have been able to kick Rob and his family out because these agreements are unregulated. But because Rob signed an official tenancy agreement the law forbids Adrian from getting rid of the squatters.
RNZ News
03-06-2025
- General
- RNZ News
Quinton Rihari loses Dunedin flat after threatening neighbours
By Catherine Hutton, Open Justice reporter of Photo: 123rf A man who threw plastic chairs at his frightened neighbours before letting off a gas bottle in the shared hallway and shouting "Boom, boom, you can all die", has lost his Salvation Army flat. Quinton Rihari couldn't be reached for the Tenancy Tribunal's hearing, where the Salvation Army sought to terminate the tenancy on his central Dunedin flat, saying he'd threatened to assault other tenants in the complex. According to the tribunal's recently released decision, Rihari received written warnings about his behaviour at his Thomas Burns Street flat on three occasions. The first was on 27 December last year, when he broke a painting in the corridor during a fight outside his room. It began at 3.30am and lasted for an hour and a half. Then, in February, he verbally abused tenants when they asked him to turn his music down. Two months later, on 14 April, the Salvation Army says Rihari became angry and threw plastic chairs off a shared balcony, frightening other tenants. After returning to his room, Rihari let off a 9kg LPG bottle in the hallway, yelling, "Boom, boom, you can all die". Police were called and took Rihari away, only for him to return and begin yelling at the other tenants, calling them "narks". Later that day, he told another tenant he was going to "punch her head in". Again, police were called and Rihari was taken away. Under the Residential Tenancies Act, the tribunal can terminate a tenancy if it's satisfied a tenant has engaged in antisocial behaviour on three separate occasions during a 90-day period and received written notice on each occasion. Antisocial behaviour includes harassment or any act (whether intentional or not) that reasonably causes significant alarm, distress or nuisance. The decision found that while Rihari received separate notices for each incident, the three incidents spanned 108 days, outside the 90-day period. Despite this, the tribunal found Rihari had threatened to harm his neighbours over the gas cylinder incident and threatened to assault another neighbour. As a result, it agreed to terminate Rihari's tenancy. When the Salvation Army was approached for comment late Tuesday afternoon, its media officer Kai Sanders said no one was available for comment, adding this wasn't something the organisation would usually comment on because of its strict rules around privacy. * This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald .
Daily Mail
31-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE When are rents cheapest? The best months to bag a bargain in London, revealed
Renters could save themselves hundreds of pounds by moving home during certain months of the year, data shared with This is Money reveals. The autumn and winter months are generally the cheapest time to sign up to a new tenancy agreement, according to data crunched by analytics firm TwentyCi. Specifically, in November, December, January and February prices tend to be lower meaning it could be possible to bag a bargain. Meanwhile, rents reach their highest in August and September. The analysis focused on rents in London, which accounts for roughly a third of the private rental sector in England. Last year, the average new tenancy agreed in London in December last year was for £2,151 a month - hundreds of pounds cheaper than the average rent agreed in September. Those agreeing a new contract in September would pay £343 more, at £2,494 a month. The second most expensive month is August at £2,432. There were big savings to be had for those who agreed new tenancy agreements in November and January as well. The average rent agreed in November was £2,226 a month while the average rent agreed in January this year was £2,198. In 2023, average rents peaked in August and September at £2,453 a month respectively before falling back through autumn and winter. The average new rent agreed in December 2023 was £2,186 a month representing a £267 monthly saving compared to August and September. TwentyCi also checked the rents agreed in each given month in another major city, Birmingham. Here, rents averaged £1,107 a month in January 2024 before peaking in July at £1,148 a month. They then fell back, reaching a low of £1,103 a month in November. What does this mean for renters? The analysis suggests that rents are lower in the first four months of each year and start to rise, peaking in August or September before prices fall again in the final months. In December 2024 for example, newly agreed rental prices were 8 per cent lower than the yearly average of that year while in September they were 5 per cent higher. It means that savvy tenants who plan to move home this year may be wise to wait until closer to Christmas, when there is less competition and more room for negotiation. That is, if they aren't tied to the end of a contract at a specific time. Marc von Grundherr, director of Benham and Reeves estate agents, claims that renters who move during the busiest months can often find themselves offering 10 or 20 per cent above the 'asking' rent in order to compete with other potential tenants. 'Tenants can often face a premium if they choose to make their move during a busy period, but this premium is often driven by the tenant, not the landlord,' said von Grundherr. 'The summer months are often by far the busiest as students look for accommodation ahead of the academic year, whilst many families will also move to get settled before school starts. 'This rush can often run from late June right through until September and, as a result, we see an extremely high number of renters all fighting it out for a limited supply of stock of all property types. 'As a result, it's not unheard of for tenants to offer above and beyond the asking rent in order to secure a property, often without even viewing it, and this can be as much as 10 to 20 per cent more. 'Or, they will pay as much as six to 12 months rent in advance.' What if tenants can't avoid peak times? Many renters ultimately don't have much choice in deciding when to move. They might be tied into a contract until a specific date, have been asked to leave by their landlord, or they may be a student who lives with their parents in the holidays. But those that can't time the market can at least give themselves a chance of jumping to the front of the queue. 'The best advice for those looking to move during peak times is to be extremely prepared with respect to the required time to view, the budget needed for a deposit and the paperwork required for a letting agent,' adds von Grundherr. 'You can also pre-register your interest with agents so that you are at least near the front of the queue when a suitable property hits the market. 'Once you do find a property you like, be prepared to act very fast and seal the deal within the same hour of viewing.' Von Grundherr has some advice for landlords as well, advising them to try and arrange tenancy agreements to end during the busiest months of the year. He says: 'For landlords, having a tenancy agreement end during a low demand period can result in a lengthier void period. 'It's well worth planning any tenancy agreement to run over these low-demand periods, even if this means an unusual tenancy length of 18 months for example.' Best mortgage rates and how to find them Mortgage rates have risen substantially over recent years, meaning that those remortgaging or buying a home face higher costs. That makes it even more important to search out the best possible rate for you and get good mortgage advice, whether you are a first-time buyer, home owner or buy-to-let landlord. Quick mortgage finder links with This is Money's partner L&C > Mortgage rates calculator > Find the right mortgage for you To help our readers find the best mortgage, This is Money has partnered with the UK's leading fee-free broker L&C. This is Money and L&C's mortgage calculator can let you compare deals to see which ones suit your home's value and level of deposit. You can compare fixed rate lengths, from two-year fixes, to five-year fixes and ten-year fixes. If you're ready to find your next mortgage, why not use This is Money and L&C's online Mortgage Finder. It will search 1,000's of deals from more than 90 different lenders to discover the best deal for you.
ABC News
29-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Landlord fined for breaching WA tenancy laws amid Perth housing crisis
A landlord who demanded more than $32,000 from a tenant before they had even moved in, then threatened to kick them out if they didn't agree to a huge rent hike, has been fined for a string of breaches of WA's tenancy laws. The case has laid bare the desperation of renters who are often willing to hand over large sums of money to secure a property in Perth's tight rental market. The woman was handed a spent conviction and fined $8,500 in the Perth Magistrates Court on May 16 for violations relating to her handling of rent and bond payments for the property in the southern suburb of Ardross. In February 2024, the NSW-based landlord entered into a tenancy agreement and demanded the tenant pay $16,200 to cover the first three months of rent before they had moved in. Consumer Protection's John McMaster told ABC Radio Perth this was a significant breach of the law, which prohibited landlords for asking for more than two weeks' rent in advance. The landlord also asked for a further $16,200 from the tenant as a security bond. But she only lodged $5,400 of the money with the bond administrator — four months after receiving the money. Mr McMaster said landlords were required to lodge bonds within 14 days, and needed to be especially careful to comply with the law when holding large sums of tenants' money. "Handling security bond money is a serious matter, because it's a lot of money for the tenant and if that money is misused or not registered there are serious penalties," he said. About a month before the due date for further rent, the landlord then hiked the fortnightly rent by $2,700, threatening to evict the tenant if the extra money was not paid. Commissioner for Consumer Protection Owen Kelly said the Residential Tenancies Act was a vital safeguard for tenants, who were especially vulnerable during periods of high demand in the rental market. Perth's vacancy rate was 2.4 per cent in April, down from 2.5 per cent in March, according to the Real Estate Institute of WA. "When tenants have fewer options, they may have little to no power to negotiate with landlords before or during the tenancy," Dr Kelly said. "Therefore, it's crucial landlords respect the laws that have been put in place to protect them. "The tenant in this case was subjected to unnecessary risk by being asked to pay three months of rent up front before moving in. "She was also placed under unnecessary financial burden when further rent demands were made before that initial period had expired." The landlord told the court she was unaware of her obligations under the Residential Tenancies Act, but in handing down the sentence, Magistrate Donna Webb said ignorance of the law was no excuse. The woman pleaded guilty to four charges, but the court took into account her good character and handed her a spent conviction. She was fined $8,500 and has since engaged a property manager to avoid any further breaches. Mr McMaster said it was important landlords knew their rights and responsibilities, but tenants also needed to be aware of their rights. "If you don't know the tenancy law yourself, there are plenty of registered experts," he said.
