Hastings social housing tenant labelled ‘ungrateful’ by contractor compensated by Tenancy Tribunal

Hastings District Council has been ordered to pay $2270 to a social housing tenant for failure to maintain the premises, unlawful entry and breach of quiet enjoyment by contractors they hired. Photo / Paul Taylor

A social housing tenant was allegedly called “ungrateful” by a Hastings District Council contractor after complaining about living in a mouldy, leaking home for months.

The council has been ordered by the Tenancy Tribunal to pay a total of $2270 to Raewyn Duff as compensation for failure to maintain the premises, breach of quiet enjoyment, and exemplary damages for unlawful entry.

As a result of the decision, the council said it had changed its procedures for lodging jobs at housing with contractors.

Duff first raised her concerns about the property in question, a unit in the Swansea Village housing complex for the elderly in Flaxmere, Hastings, during her second winter living there in July 2022.

Some of the issues she reported to the council included mould throughout, wood in the house swelling or rotting away, damp walls, water dripping inside the walls and it being too cold to sleep in her bedroom.

“The tenant claims that the landlord ignored her emails and that nothing was done to remedy the issues that she raised. She claims that her quality of life suffered, that she was constantly tired from the chronic sleep deprivation due to the cold, damp and mouldy conditions,” adjudicator Tracey Lee-Lewis wrote in her decision on September 3.

After Duff issued a 14-day notice in October to fix the rotting windows and the wet walls, an independent building inspector recommended in a report in November 2022 that the roof of the bathroom should be fixed as it could be letting in rain and damaging the walls, but this work was not completed.

Duff lived in the unit for another seven months and the premises remained vacant for a further three months after she was moved, partly due to the need for substantial work to the roof.

“It is concerning that the independent building inspector’s recommendations appear to have been ignored or overlooked,” Lee-Lewis wrote.

“It is even further concerning that in March 2023, the landlord stated in an email to the tenant regarding her concerns that the landlord was waiting for the outcome of the tribunal hearing to get clarity. If a building inspector recommends remedying a potential leak in a home, it is not acceptable for a landlord to wait until a tenancy tribunal hearing to investigate the issue further.”

A council spokesperson said in a statement to Hawke’s Bay Today the unit now has a new tenant.

“It has been tenanted since September 1, 2023. A heat pump has been installed and the gutter has been fixed.”

The decision says Duff also raised concerns with the council about its third-party contractors regularly entering the premises without giving proper notice, giving no notice at all in at least one instance and less than an hour’s notice in other cases.

“The evidence provided by the landlord shows that the tenant’s email was simply forwarded on to the contractor but that no apology was made to the tenant,” Lee-Lewis wrote.

“Generally, I find examples of the landlord’s contractor’s behaviour towards the tenant to be casual and unprofessional.”

One unpleasant interaction with a contractor allegedly ended with Duff in tears.

“The tenant claims that on 8 February 2023, one of the landlord’s contractors attended the premises to check the extractor fan and then proceeded to yell at her, called her ungrateful and told her to move out. The tenant states that he had really upset her and made her cry.”

The council told the Tenancy Tribunal there was an internal investigation into the matter.

“They say that they spoke with the contractor at length and that it was apparent that both parties were at fault.

“The landlord claims that they received an apology from the contractor, though this was not extended to the tenant.”

The adjudicator said the interaction was “disrespectful and inappropriate” and caused distress to the tenant.

Lee-Lewis said despite the tenant filing an application because of various breaches of the Residential Tenancies Act, the relationship between the parties had ultimately remained positive.

The council spokesperson said procedures had now been altered.

“Council contacts the tenant to check to see what needs to be fixed or looked at before lodging a job with the contractors. If a site visit is necessary, council does this and lets the tenant know the job has been lodged and that the contractors will give them a call making a time and day that works for both sides,” the spokesperson said.

No other units at the complex have been the subject of a Tenancy Tribunal dispute and every unit is getting a Healthy Homes report carried out, of which 30 have been completed so far.

“All the units are getting new heat pumps installed and this should all be completed before the end of January. Some of the flats in Swansea Village have window and door draughts, and they are getting fixed.”

James Pocock joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2021 and writes breaking news and features, with a focus on environment, local government and post-cyclone issues in the region. He has a keen interest in finding the bigger picture in research and making it more accessible to audiences. He lives in Napier. james.pocock@nzme.co.nz