Loose and exposed wiring, ceiling damage at the Takapuna property. Photo: Supplied / Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
A woman who operated an illegal boarding house has been ordered to pay more than $20,000 in damages for multiple breaches of the Residential Tenancies Act at a property in the Auckland suburb of Takapuna.
The Tenancy Tribunal found that Angela Sun, who is a licensed real estate agent and the director of Sunny Rental Limited, must pay $21,750 in exemplary damages for multiple breaches at the Takapuna property, while Sunny Rental Limited must pay $1200 in exemplary damages for breaches at a property the company rented out in Pinehill.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) opened an investigation into the Takapuna property in June 2021 after receiving a complaint from one of its tenants, while an investigation into the Pinehill property began after an anonymous complaint in April 2022.
Loose wiring around the ceiling lights in the kitchen area. Photo: Supplied / Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
MBIE's Tenancy Compliance and Investigations Team (TCIT) identified multiple issues including loose and exposed wiring, a lack of working smoke alarms and the absence of written tenancy agreements.
Auckland Council also issued a Dangerous Building Notice after the Takapuna property, due to exposed wires and a lack of safety precautions.
Exposed hardwiring along the lower level of the property. Photo: Supplied / Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
During the Auckland hearing Sun claimed claimed that all rental activities at the two properties were conducted by Sunny Rental Limited and not her personally.
She also claimed to live at both properties and said there were multiple exceptions, which meant she was not required to comply with the Residential Tenancies Act.
The adjudicator found that none of the exceptions applied and did not accept that Sun was living at either property.
"I did not find Ms Sun at all convincing when she gave her recollections as to where she lived. There is a big difference between "having a room" at a property, being a room you might store some old furniture, junk and unwanted belongings, and then actually living there," the adjudicator said.
The adjudicator also found that three of the tenants had their tenancies wrongfully terminated.
Two of the ten bedrooms in the Takapuna property also had showers, while there was also two communal bathrooms. Photo: Supplied / Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
TCIT national manager Brett Wilson agreed saying the investigation team had long focused on boarding houses which housed some of the most vulnerable people who may not be in a position to handle tenancy issues themselves.
"The most troubling aspect of this case is that there were multiple people living in these properties without proper fire safety precautions in place and potentially hazardous maintenance issues. The tragic fire at Loafers Lodge is a reminder to all landlords, but particularly boarding house landlords, of the importance of maintaining fire safety systems. TCIT will press for the highest sanctions in cases where fire safety or maintenance standards are not being complied with," he said in a statement.
All landlords had an obligation to comply with their responsibilities under the act and given Sun was a licensed real estate agent he would have expected "she had more opportunity than most to ensure awareness and compliance with tenancy rules".
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