A Tauranga boarding house landlord has been ordered to pay $37,000 to the Government after breaching the Healthy Homes standards.
The Tenancy Tribunal ordered the owner of Edgecumbe House Limited to pay damages on behalf of 17 tenants last month, in a decision released on Tuesday.
That's because Edgecumbe House's landlord had committed "multiple breaches" of the Residential Tenancies Act (1986), the tribunal said.
Brett Wilson, national manager of MBIE's tenancy compliance team, said it was in the public interest to take the case to the Tenancy Tribunal.
"We are pleased to have achieved a positive outcome for the affected tenants," he said.
Since July 1, 2021 all boarding houses have been legally required to comply with healthy homes standards, he added.
"But all of the tenants spoken to as part of this case were concerned that raising any issues would have had a negative effect on their tenancies."
Wilson said many residents at the boarding house have a history of housing insecurity.
"Boarding houses are a significant focus for [tenancy compliance] as they often house some of the most vulnerable people who are not in a position to address any tenancy issues themselves."
The decision comes after a complaint led MBIE (Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment) to investigate the boarding house in June 2022.
MBIE staff found problems at the property were rife - there was no heating in the main living room, no extractor fans in the bathrooms or kitchen, nor were there proper cooking facilities.
They also found several tenants had been charged more than four weeks' bond - against the law.
The Tenancy Tribunal agreed with MBIE's findings in a decision on March 5, finding that the landlord acted intentionally.
"As a professional accommodation provider, Edgecumbe was required to inform itself of its legal obligations and to comply with them," the tribunal said in its decision.
Edgcumbe House's owner was slapped with a three-year "restraining order" to stop the failures from happening again but they can still operate as a landlord.
Despite acting quickly to fix the issues, the landlord then restricted how often the heater could be used.
