Tribunal awards tenant $3300 after trouble with apartment

A tenant of St James Apartments in Auckland's CBD won $3300 in compensation after a large number of problems with his unit including leaks.

Hendrick Hermans complained about water coming into the lounge which meant he could not use it. He also had problems with a clothes drier and was unable to use the main shower.

The case went to the Tenancy Tribunal which issued a reserved decision.

For $625 a week, Mr Hermans rented the apartment at 32 Wellesley St West.

But after a series of problems, Bayleys Property Services and Terry Scandrett applied to the tribunal to terminate his tenancy, recover rent arrears and the bond.

But Mr Hermans also lodged an application and won. He sought compensation for lack of timely maintenance, loss of quiet enjoyment, damage to goods, unlawful entry and late lodgement of the bond.

Bayleys had declined mediation so the matter went to the tribunal.

Mr Hermans was particularly upset about tradespeople who had entered his place without authorisation. The tribunal found this had happened on at least four of the six occasions he complained about.

He had withheld rent because of delays and problems with work on his place but the tribunal noted that he undertook at the hearing to pay the rent in full.

A leak in the shower meant it was not able to be used for a time. The drier had ventilation and extractor problems and kept going for hours because it absorbed moisture from the ventilation system.

Condensation built up in the kitchen but the only way to dry clothes was with a drier. He bought another drier to try to resolve the issue and sought compensation for that purchase and removal to storage of the old drier.

Last August, he returned to his place after more than a week away to find a roof leak. Water had run through the wall and on to the floor. Carpets were wet and some of his belongings were damaged. Temporary roof repairs arranged by the body corporate had been partially successful and a more permanent repair is awaiting comparative quotes, the tribunal said.

"The effect of the leak was dramatic for two weeks in that the lounge could not be used," the tribunal said, referring to a section of the Residential Tenancies Act which states that where part of the premises is so badly damaged as to be uninhabitable, the rent should abate accordingly.

Mr Hermans was unable to work because of the noise of fans. It was the landlord, not the tenant, who had a contractual arrangement with the body corporate, the tribunal said. Compensation of $50 a week was appropriate until permanent remedial work on the roof was finished.

Tradespeople had moved goods and damaged them. Books had gone mouldy and were water-damaged.

The tribunal ordered Bayleys and Scandrett pay $540 in compensation for the loss of the shower, $560 for the new drier, $50 for putting the old drier into storage, $300 in rent abatement for the unusable lounge, $800 for the leak in the lounge, $650 for unlawful entries of tradespeople, $250 for damage to a sofa and $150 for damage to a bookcase.

Claims from Bayleys and Mr Scandrett were dismissed.