The Tenancy Tribunal has ordered landlord Angela Cai to pay damages and compensation after she failed to complete repairs on a rental property, and also "screamed" at her tenant.
Photo / Supplied
The Tenancy Tribunal has ordered landlord Angela Cai to pay damages and compensation after she failed to complete repairs on a rental property, and also "screamed" at her tenant.
Photo / Supplied
A landlord who turned up unannounced to inspect damage she’d previously failed to have repaired, stood “screaming at the tenant” in front of his 2-year-old daughter.
“The landlord’s behaviour is shocking and well below the standard expected of a landlord, let alone one who has a professional job as a real estate agent,” the Tenancy Tribunal has found.
Adjudicator Toni Prowse said footage of Angela Cai was “distressing”, particularly as the 2-year-old became increasingly upset before Cai finally left the house.
“In over five years in the tribunal, it is one of the most shocking and disturbing pieces of evidence that I have seen or heard.”
Cai is a Ray White real estate agent but was acting as a private landlord when she rented out the three-bedroom house in Auckland, which she purchased in November 2021.
Ray White Pakuranga branch manager Ken Ralph said he wouldn’t comment on the matter, as Cai had been acting in a private capacity and not as an employee of Ray White.
She has been ordered to pay $15,722.20 in damages and compensation for breaches in her role as landlord.
Tenancy Tribunal adjudicator Toni Prowse said landlord Angela Cai's behaviour, when she screamed at the tenant, was "one of the most shocking and disturbing pieces of evidence" she'd seen.
‘Failure to maintain’
The largest sums relate to her “failure to maintain”. She failed to get several leaks fixed but claimed insurance for repairs.
The first leak was caused by an apprentice electrician who’d attempted to install a bathroom fan, but accidentally hit a water main. The roof cavity was saturated due to a delay in turning off the water, and both bathrooms, the master bedroom wardrobe, and the hallway were damaged.
A further leak was discovered a month later in the hot water cupboard after the carpet was found to be wet and the walls bulging.
The tenant’s belongings, which had been stored in the cupboard, were damaged by mould, and the shelves, walls and carpets were wet.
The insurers signed off on repair work to begin in early May 2022.
However, the day before the work was due to start the landlord agreed to a lump sum payout from the insurance company to complete the repairs herself.
She said she could get the repair work done quicker than the insurance company could.
However, the tenant told the tribunal the only work the landlord did was replacing the light fittings in the bathrooms and a damaged power point.
The decision said the scope of works should have included replacing Gib board, insulation, electrical fittings, vanities and fittings, painting, and plumbing work.
“The tenant says that the landlord has had the benefit of the claimed amount without fixing the damage,” Prowse said.
The tenant had to clean up the mess caused by leaks, replace damaged items, pay for rug doctors and drying equipment, and take time off work to deal with tradesmen.
The wet insulation hadn’t been replaced, but a tradesperson who went into the roofspace told the tenant it was wet and smelled of mould.
A further leak was discovered more than a year later after the tenant found water coming in through the light fittings in the bathroom, and another one in the garage ceiling.
There were also further intermittent leaks in the child’s room when there was heavy rain.
The gutters outside the bedroom would overflow and water would go through the joinery, soaking carpet, Gib, and curtains.
The tenant said despite telling the landlord more than 20 times, the problem was not fixed. The landlord installed an additional downpipe which, while alleviating the problem, did not fix it.
When it rained the tenant would have his daughter sleep in his room, as he didn’t want her sleeping in a damp room.
‘Extensive and pervasive leaking’
The tenant said a plumber found the pipes were old and subject to sudden failure, and this had caused the leaks in the ceiling.
Correspondence between the tenant and landlord was assessed by Prowse who said the landlord often “dismisses, deflects, or delays the tenant’s concerns and the need for repairs”.
Prowse was critical of Cai’s receiving an insurance pay-out, but failing to do repairs.
“She has in essence pocketed the money, whilst the tenant continues to live with the damage. She has not fixed the guttering and roofing and she takes a considerable period of time to fix even the most basic of items.”
Cai made obstacles, including wanting to personally view the damage, and engaged in “unnecessary arguments and correspondence with the tenant over even the smallest requests”.
Other items Cai failed to repair included broken heat pumps and window latches.
Prowse said Cai had a “number of residential tenancies” and had been warned by her property manager in August 2022 that she needed to comply with obligations to get things repaired, not just at the Botany Downs house but at another property she owned.
Cai was ordered to pay $5000 for this breach.
Compensation of $7401.76 rent abatement was also ordered owing to the loss of amenity when the home was leaking.
The tribunal also ordered damages for the landlord’s “disruption of quiet enjoyment” - owing to times she had turned up without giving notice, blocked the driveway with her car so the tenant’s partner couldn’t leave, threatening him with eviction or a bad reference, and yelling at the tenant in front of his young daughter.
When Cai stood on the doorstep screaming at the tenant, her message had been that it was her house, and she could tell him to do what she wanted.
Prowse said Cai’s tone and message were “belittling and derogatory” and showed a complete disregard for the tenant’s rights, and a lack of insight into her behaviour.
The tenant was “stressed and worn out” and his young daughter was “clearly distressed and frightened in the May 2023 incident”.
Prowse ordered Cai to pay the tenant $2200 for the breach.
Falsified Healthy Homes report
Cai was also ordered to pay $900 for producing a false Healthy Homes report. The tribunal found she had edited a report to make it look like the tenant’s house had been inspected in November 2019, but details in the photos indicated they couldn’t have been taken on the date on the cover, and the PDF had clearly been edited.
“The PDF version shows edits made in May 2022, if you examine the properties of those edits they show material scribbled out relating to another property,” Prowse said.
Cai was ordered to pay a further $200 for failing to provide a copy of a legitimate Healthy Homes report within 21 days of being requested.
Some claims were dismissed, including for pest control and a lack of smoke alarms, as the tribunal found they hadn’t been proved.
Cai’s counter claims, which weren’t detailed, had not been proved, and Cai applied to have the matter reheard.
This was because she had been unable to attend due to her health, she said she had evidence proving she had given the property manager a copy of the Healthy Homes report in August 2022, and she claimed several of the tribunal’s findings were factually incorrect or could not be supported by evidence.
Prowse said in a further decision, dismissing the application for a rehearing, that Cai had been well aware of the hearing date and had not sought an adjournment.
There had been an earlier adjournment owing to Cai’s health and she had been told to appoint a representative if her health prevented her from attending the next rescheduled hearing.
Angela Cai says she disagrees with the findings and will appeal the decision to the district court.
Cai to appeal the decision
NZME contacted Cai who said she was appealing the tribunal’s findings, through her lawyer, to the District Court.
She said dealing with her tenant had been stressful and had exacerbated her ongoing health issues.
She disputed both the evidence given to the tribunal, and the tribunal’s findings.
Hannah Bartlett is a Tauranga-based Open Justice reporter at NZME. She previously covered court and local government for the Nelson Mail, and before that was a radio reporter at Newstalk ZB.
