Landlord who called their tenant a 'moaner' ordered to pay compensation

Two Auckland tenants took their landlord to the tribunal last month. Photo / 123rf

A landlord has found out the hard way that calling your tenant a moaner in front of them isn't a smart move.

The two tenants took their landlord to court last month claiming "a breach of enjoyment" after they overheard him complaining about them.

The complaint followed a conversation in March when the landlord was at their South Auckland rental and talking to Southern Suburbs Realty Limited on the phone.

During the call landlord, Shaun Carruthers referred to one of the tenants, saying: "He is on ACC and he is a moaner."

At a Tenancy Tribunal hearing in June, the tenants said the landlord had poor communication had failed to deal with maintenance issues and had failed to give notice before entering the home.

Carruthers acknowledged the phone call and apologised during the hearing.

The tenant, who was on ACC due to an injury in 2018, claimed the ongoing stress and lack of communication, interrupted his appointments and therefore hindered his enjoyment of the house.

"This caused me stress and made me very hurt," the tenant said.

The call was just one of several issues.

Last November, the tenants notified their landlord about an air conditioning leak. The landlord agreed to get someone in to fix it. It was four months later when the air conditioning was finally fixed.

The pair had also contacted the landlord for maintenance on the wardrobe. But after several attempts of contacting the landlord, the job that was meant to be done by contractors was instead completed with the tenant's help.

The tenants had also claimed the landlord had entered the property without their consent.

Tenancy Adjudicator G Guptill said the tenants had proven how the combination of the landlord's actions had caused stress and inconvenience for them.

"There has been a breach of their reasonable peace and comfort in the use of the premises," Guptill said.

The landlord was ordered to pay the pair $600 in compensation.