Kiwi landlords say their Auckland property manager stopped paying them rental income

Hong Kong-based Kiwis Matt McDonnell and Alia Fong said their former property manager Haven Living Management stopped paying them rental income from their Auckland house for five months last year. Photo / Supplied

• Auckland property manager Haven Living Management failed to pay rental income to landlords, including Alia Fong, for five months.
• The company blamed a new management system for the issue but has since repaid Fong and is settling with other landlords.
• Inland Revenue sought liquidation over $2.3 million in unpaid taxes from a series of related companies, which Haven Living says it has settled.

A couple say they missed out on around $12,000 last year when their Auckland property manager stopped paying them the rental income from their house.

Pukekohe homeowner Alia Fong told the Herald that Haven Living Management didn’t pay her any income for five months from July to November, even though it was taking payment from the tenants.

The couple did, however, receive receipts showing money being transferred into their bank account, expat Fong, who lives in Hong Kong with her partner, said.

Haven Living also failed to pay rent to some of its other landlord clients.

The company told the Herald this happened after it adopted a new “management system” six months ago that caused “administration issues”.

It had, however, repaid all rent to Fong and was now repaying other landlords, it said.

Inland Revenue had also been seeking to put the company into liquidation over unpaid taxes, but Haven Living said that matter had now also been settled.

Fong confirmed that Haven Living had this week paid her what was owed after she contacted the Herald about it, but said the saga had been stressful.

“It was a shock to think that a company you had known for years could do this,” she said.

She hoped speaking out would alert other landlords to what she went through and said it underscored how overseas homeowners needed to pay close attention.

Matt McDonnell and Alia Fong said it was 'a shock' to discover they hadn't been paid any of their rental income for five months. Photo / Supplied

She and husband Matt McDonnell had previously been very happy with how their home had been managed for several years when the company had been called Walker Weir.

When new owners Haven Living took over, the couple thought at first the transition was smooth.

The same property management staff they had known and liked were still checking their home and communicating with them and they were still being sent payment receipts.

So, when they first noticed that something was off it was a shock, they said.

Fong knows people will criticise them for not noticing the missing money sooner, she said.

“I know it sounds really weird to not notice money not going in, but we ... don’t touch that money,” she said.

“We were keeping those funds aside as a kind of retirement fund.”

Once they did notice, they repeatedly tried to contact company director Alex Hitchcock but claimed he ignored them and didn’t respond, leading them to warn they would start legal action.

People posting Google reviews about the company have made similar claims they were not paid rent and their calls and emails were not returned.

Haven Living told the Herald that in addition to repaying the couple all money it owed, it was “in the process of settling all outstanding monies with landlords”.

It said it manages less than a hundred units and has the funds to repay them.

“At this point only a handful remain to be paid,” it said.

Alex Hitchcock and his father Kerry Hitchcock are the majority owners of Haven Living with a collection of four other interests - Fidelta Group, Proventus Group, Realm Property Group, and Realm Victoria.

The Inland Revenue Department went to the High Court last year seeking to put them all into liquidation in a bid to recover unpaid taxes that Business Desk reported at $2.3 million.

Haven Management Living has said it recently repaid all the money owed to landlords Matt McDonnell and Alia Fong. Photo / Supplied

But the company said it had settled the case.

“The IRD has been paid in full, the discussion with the IRD is closed, and no liquidation action has proceeded,” it said.

It said it apologised “unreservedly” to all affected landlords and said it was confident it had resolved the issues with its new systems.

“Haven Living continues to trade well,” it said.

Kerry Hitchcock, who is a shareholder in the company and a former director, is also listed as director of a separate company called Lakefront Investments that was put into receivership on October 3 by the IRD.

The department has claimed it is owed $1m by the company, while a secured creditor is owed about $76m, a first report by the receivers Calibre Partners said.

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