Guests who wanted to camp over Christmas 2021 couldn’t do so due to the smell and a plumber couldn’t get down the overgrown driveway to clean the tank.
Plumbers had cleaned out the tank about six times during the tenancy and it had needed an inordinate amount of emptying in the last few years, the tenants said. In between, they tried themselves to troubleshoot the problem, regularly dealing to it with drain de-clogger, kettles of hot water, and hose wire.
There were several times they couldn’t use their washing machine or get to the washing line due to seepage.
A plumber had told them the septic tank needed replacing but when they messaged their landlord about it in 2021, she said, “Don’t want to have to replace it (the tank) — now have to put in those stupid aeration things which are a nightmare. Be best just to get it emptied once a year.”
At the tribunal hearing earlier this year, the landlord claimed she had acted on issues when informed about them and didn’t realise things had got so bad. She acknowledged the septic tank was a major problem but said constant heavy rain hadn’t helped. She accused the tenants of putting fat or grease down the tank and that they’d had too many people at the property. The tenants refuted it.
They said the septic tank had caused and contributed to other drainage issues at the property.
The driveway was frequently inaccessible due to flooding and overhanging trees. There was constant flooding by the house and the landlord had not supplied enough gravel to adequately fix it and fill potholes in the drive.
Because one of them had health issues, the couple worried emergency vehicles might not be able to get near the house. Visitors had to leave their cars on the road.
There was a leak in the kitchen ceiling, faulty spouting the tenants had to regularly clean out themselves, and rotting sills in the bathroom and bedrooms.
While the landlord was responsive to their complaints initially, as time wore on, she became less interested, the couple said. The landlord disagreed.
Last year, they finally sent her a 14-day notice to remedy but in return they received a 90-day notice to vacate — apparently due to the need for “renovations and repairs”.
The tenants said it was hard for them to move as they had loved the location and had been forced to put down some of their dogs as they didn’t have facilities for them at their new rental in town.
Adjudicator Price noticed the couple hadn’t claimed retaliatory notice by their landlord although they had pointed out that others moved into the cottage shortly after they left — negating the landlord’s claim it needed to be empty for repairs.
The tenants claimed the landlord breached the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 by failing to provide and maintain the property in a reasonable state of repair.
The adjudicator agreed, saying the landlord’s failure was intentional and unlawful. It had caused the couple “much stress” and they’d lost access to amenities at the property. They constantly had to deal with sewage, drainage, and access issues and frequently had to arrange for repairs over the tenancy period.
There was a need to deter other landlords from similar failings.
The $8279 total awarded by the tribunal was for:
- Compensation for items and maintenance services $5759
- Compensation for rent rebate and loss of amenities $1000
- Exemplary damages – failure to maintain $1500
- Tribunal filing fee $20.44
- Bond refund $520
The landlord must pay $7759.44 which excludes the refunded bond.
While such breaches can result in exemplary damages of up to $7200, the award was limited to $1500, the tribunal noting the landlord had since increased her efforts to rectify the issues, including by getting Gisborne District Council consent for a new septic tank.
The tenants had also made claims to do with Healthy Homes Standards, specifically to do with insulation and heating concerns, and smoke alarm regulations. However, those were dismissed as the tenancy agreement had remained unchanged throughout the eight years and was signed ahead of those regulations coming into force.
