A pair of landlords in Murihiku/Southland have been ordered to pay $21,000 after their rental properties were found to be "dilapidated" and in breach of the law.
It comes after a tenant complained to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) more than two years ago about a block of flats on Kana St, Mataura.
Landlords William and Sharon Hillis own the four adjoining flats through their company Hillis Shearing Ltd. William and Sharon are its directors.
MBIE's tenancy compliance team has been investigating the flats since March 2022, describing one of them as among the worst they'd seen.
There was a leak in the ceiling, a missing bathroom ceiling, rotten wallboards, damaged windows, gaps in the walls, a lack of insulation and missing smoke alarms, according to MBIE.
Brett Wilson, MBIE's national manager of tenancy compliance, said all landlords are obliged to follow the law.
"The effect of these intentional acts meant the tenants were not provided with the information they should have about the tenancies and lived in premises that were unsafe and poorly maintained."
MBIE said the tenants told investigators the landlord didn't respond to maintenance requests or told tenants to fix it themselves.
In April, the Tenancy Tribunal found William and Sharon Hillis, along with their company Hillis Shearing Ltd, failed to maintain the flats. It also found they didn't comply with Healthy Homes standards, including insulation, and three flats didn't have working smoke alarms.
They also had no written tenancy agreement for each tenant, in breach of the Residential Tenancies Act.
The property's Building Warrant of Fitness also expired in 2017.
In his decision, the Tenancy Tribunal adjudicator found all the landlords' breaches were "intentional in failing to comply with the Act", according to Wilson.
He also noted photos of the flats showed "premises that were dilapidated", he added.
William and Sharon Hillis gave various explanations for why they'd breached the law, including the insulation for the flats being stolen - which is why they weren't insulated.
In rental properties, ceiling and underfloor insulation have been compulsory since 2019.
The $21,000 the landlords must pay includes about $16,000 in punitive damages for breaking the law and about $5000 in compensation for poor property maintenance.
Wilson said the adjudicator noted "the reasons presented by the landlord for failing to maintain the premises were not convincing".
But MBIE has also appealed the Tenancy Tribunal's decision over the way damages were calculated.
Meanwhile, Hillis Shearing Ltd has since sold the block of flats.
