Tenants awarded over $9,000 for cockroach-infested New Zealand house with faulty facilities
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The landlord had said the house would undergo pest control treatment before the tenants moved in, but later could not provide evidence for it.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: PEXELS
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A group of tenants in New Zealand were awarded more than NZ$12,000 (S$9,700) in compensation and damages after living in a house with such a massive cockroach infestation that the sound of the vermin kept them awake at night.
The infestation also caused two dishwashers in the property to break down, according to a recently released Tenancy Tribunal decision report.
The six tenants reported the cockroach issue to the landlord after they viewed the house and decided to rent it at NZ$1,300 a week, according to evidence furnished to the tribunal.
At that time, the landlord assured the tenants the property would undergo pest control treatment before they moved in on Jan 9, 2023, but later could not provide evidence for that.
As the infestation continued, the tenants, whose identities were not disclosed in the report, bought pest bombs – pesticide products with aerosol propellant – to deal with the problem.
“They say this reduced the cockroach numbers for a time but they soon returned in full force,” tribunal adjudicator Michelle Pollak said in the report.
The infestation was so severe that the tenants’ sleep was interrupted “from the sounds of (the cockroaches) scuttling across the ceilings”, noted Ms Pollak.
Cockroaches were not the only problems the tenants encountered.
According to the report, they were also threatened with eviction if they refused to pay NZ$700 to replace a toilet that the landlord blamed them for breaking.
They also had to deal with a broken-down stove for months before being asked to pay for a replacement.
The landlord also increased their rent to NZ$1,400 a week, less than a year after they moved in, contravening a law that prohibits any rental increases within 12 months of the start of a tenancy.
“The tenants lived in a cockroach-infested premise that was both undesirable and unhealthy for the duration of their tenancy, and the landlord failed to ensure they had adequate stove-top cooking and dishwasher facilities for a significant period,” said Ms Pollak.
The landlord knew of these issues and failed to investigate them fully or to remediate them in a reasonable timeframe, she added.
The tribunal awarded the tenants NZ$12,640 in compensation and damages.
This includes NZ$4,607 and NZ$3,642 for the landlord’s failure to maintain both the dishwasher and the stove; NZ$1,128 for failing to control the cockroach infestation; and NZ$542 for unlawful rent increase.
When the tenants moved out from the property in February 2024, they had to decontaminate all their belongings.
