Naisoa Tie had lived at the Mangere East property just months before he was evicted for rent arrears. Photo / Google Maps
Naisoa Tie had lived at the Mangere East property just months before he was evicted for rent arrears. Photo / Google Maps
After a man was evicted from his home, the landlord changed the locks and threw away the former tenant’s most valuable items including family photos and his partner’s jewellery.
Ashik Homes Limiited gave Naisoa Tie one week to collect his things before locking him out of the house in Mangere East, Auckland.
But he took longer than one week to return and when he did, all of his property was gone.
The actions of Ashik Homes have now been denounced by Tenancy Tribunal adjudicator Mike Edison, who considered a complaint made to the authority by Tie.
They have been ordered to pay Tie $3500 in compensation for the disruption of his quiet enjoyment and for the unlawful seizing and disposing of his property.
“The tenant lost valuable items and items with emotional significance when he was locked out of the property,” Edison said in his recently released decision.
“There seems to have been little time between the locks being changed and the goods being thrown away, perhaps only a day or so.”
The decision said Tie’s periodic tenancy began in January this year, but when guarantor Ravindr Ready emailed the landlord asking for a rent summary a month later they were advised no payments had been received.
Ashik Homes informed Ready an application to termination of Tie’s tenancy had been lodged with the Tenancy Tribunal in March, and later emailed a rent statement showing outstanding arrears of $3695.
The tribunal granted the application with an order stating Ashik Homes could take possession of the property on April 3.
But that didn’t eventuate and between April 5 and April 14, a number of texts and emails were sent by Ashik Homes to Tie and Ready.
The business was requesting access to the house, for rent arrears to be paid and for a dog and belongings to be removed from the property.
They warned Tie his belongings would be sold to recover costs if he didn’t take them.
When Tie returned to the property on April 14, the locks had been changed and his belongings were gone.
Adjudicator Edison believed at that point the landlord had already disposed of his things.
Ashik Homes Limited breached sections 38(3) and 33(2) of the Residential Tenancies Act - they'll now pay their tenant $3500 in compensation. Photo / 123RF
He said that despite Ashik Homes having an order for possession, they “did not go about enforcing it in the right way”.
“There was no attempt to obtain a warrant for recovery of land,” Edison said. “The problem again is that the landlord did not enforce their rights using the appropriate process.”
Edison found Ashik Homes’ actions to enter into possession of the house, including changing the locks, breached the tenant’s quiet enjoyment.
“Tenants should be protected from the use of improper or illegal processes to enforce their eviction,” he said.
At the May hearing where Tie’s complaint was heard, Ashik Homes “sought to justify their actions” on the basis they gave him one week to vacate the property.
They considered that enough time to collect his belongings and, in the end, they “had to” change the locks.
This was rejected by Edison, who found Tie did not have time to gather his property, as once he was evicted he was homeless for a week.
He went on to live with friends and family after his clothes, family photos, jewellery and his TV were dumped by Ashik Homes.
Edison said emails suggested payment of the arrears was linked “at least at one point” to access to his belongings, and the conduct of the landlord was intentional and “deserving of punishment”.
Ashik Homes confirmed at the hearing they had removed Tie’s belongings and put them in the dump.
But the decision said Ashik Homes had an obligation to securely store personal documents, such as his family photos, and store items of value such as the jewellery and a TV for 35 days before selling them at market value.
“The landlord’s decision showed a conscious disregard for the tenant’s rights under the Act, which are not made nugatory simply because the tribunal has terminated the tenancy,” Edison said.
When approached for comment by NZME, Ashik Homes said they would not like to talk about it.
Attempts to contact Tie were unsuccessful.
Hazel Osborne is an Open Justice reporter for NZME and is based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington. She joined the Open Justice team at the beginning of 2022, previously working in Whakatāne as a court and crime reporter in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.
