Indians come to town

[Glenn]

Hi forumites.
Our little town is changing real fast and I have found I need to learn new skills every day.
Now what do you think I should do with this interesting tenant. Here is a copy of the exchange of emails. The strange spelling matches the strange accent.

HI UNDERIA FIRST OF ALL I AM SORRY TO HEAR ABOUT THE BAD NEWS AS I WAS TOLD U THAT MOST OF OUR TANENTS ARE IN HOLIDAY MAKE IT FOR NEXT WEEK AND U DIDN'T AGREE
THE SECAND I PROMISE U IT WON'T HAPPEND AGAIN NEVER ALL OF THEM ARE MOVINAND G OUT BY END OF THIS MONTH . I HAVE GOT SOME NEW STUDENTS ARE COMING BY END OF THIS MONTH AND I WILL MANGE EVERYTHING VERY NICE LIKE BEFORE . U CAN COME AND CHICK AGAIN THE HOUSE BY NEXT WEEK . AND AGAIN I PROMISE U IT WON'T HAPPENED AGAIN

AND THE THIRD QUESTION IF ANY DAMAGED HAPPEND SO FAR I HAVE ALREADY PAIED AND WILL PAY THE REMAINDER .
BUT RAMEMBER I WON'T BE ABLE TO INCREASE ANY AMOUTH THIS IS SMALL HOUSE I PAY FOR WATER POWER INTERNET PHONE RABISH EXTRA
AND FAR A WAY FORM TOWN NO ONE WANT TO LEAVE THERE IF U R NOT HAPPPY . PLEASE LET ME KNOW
I WILL MOVE OUT FROM ATAWHIE HOUSE IN COUPLE WEEKS NO PROBLEM .

---

Hi Agah,
As you are aware by text I found today's inspection was not up to standard. Under New Zealand residential law tenant's are required to keep a rented property reasonably clean and tidy.
If your students are unable to remember or know what is reasonable you as head tenant need to assist them in their education. Your only alternative is to hire a regular cleaner.
I suggest you type a cleaning roster with instructions for the flat mates to follow in language that they will understand.

Please also note you have argued with me about your water usage. Today I found the tenant's had gone away and left lights on and taps running. It is no surprise to me that your bills are high if your tenants have no respect.

Attached is a copy of the inspection report and your current debt balance for this property.
I am also booking the carpet cleaners to shampoo the lounge carpet as you have not yet done this. This will be done Wed 21st, I have asked for morning so the carpet will be dry by the afternoon.
I will also point you you have not successfully completed the required cleaning or payments from the warning notice issued in January. Glenn will be lodging a tribunal application to enforce the required payments and money order for cleaning.
In the current condition I estimate the property requires 20+ hours of cleaning. This equates to some ware around $800- $1000 if contracted by a commercial cleaner.

As your ongoing damage and debt account continues to increase we require more regular payments. At the current level we will require and additional $50pw to reduce your debt account.
Please increase your weekly payment to $440.

Regards
A

[Bulldog]

Bad news Glenn old chap, we've been here for years, though no strange spelling or accent for me. I have had a few Indian tenants (strange - all working, usually 2 incomes?), I treat them no differently to any of my other tenants. If they are new to NZ, I do spend some additional time explaining the RTA to them & what my expectations are & initially undertake inspections every 6-8 weeks. I don't text them but handle it more formally by email or letter, making sure I give them the Tenancy Services number to verify what I have said first then follow up with the 14 day notice.

So far, I have had 4 sets of Indian tenants, I still have 1 family renting, apart from 1 ex-tenant losing his bond which he accepted with good grace, happily no problems.

[TheLiberalLeft]

Rabish extra? You charge for rabish? Shame on you.

[Glenn]

Bad news Glenn old chap, we've been here for years, though no strange spelling or accent for me. I have had a few Indian tenants (strange - all working, usually 2 incomes?), I treat them no differently to any of my other tenants. If they are new to NZ, I do spend some additional time explaining the RTA to them & what my expectations are & initially undertake inspections every 6-8 weeks. I don't text them but handle it more formally by email or letter, making sure I give them the Tenancy Services number to verify what I have said first then follow up with the 14 day notice.

So far, I have had 4 sets of Indian tenants, I still have 1 family renting, apart from 1 ex-tenant losing his bond which he accepted with good grace, happily no problems.

Oh sorry no anti Indian offence intended. I actually have twice as many Indian tenants as you. Some work in food industry and a few in Rest homes.
This bunch is a bit different. The head tenant is the dealer boy. He rents flats and organises everything for the engineering students who come to town for short courses at NMIT.
I only put them into student style accommodation.

[flyernzl]

He rents flats and organises everything for the engineering students

Or doesn't, as the case may be.

Rabish extra? You charge for rabish? Shame on you.

My experience has been that tenants supply their own rubbish. Sometimes they even get extra rubbish in from next door.


My sole experience with Indians is with a group of Fijian Indians who rented a flat from me.
All signed up, paid the bond, moved in, first weeks rent arrived on time.
The following week, no rent.

Rang them on their cellphone and did get a response.
"Oh, we've gone back to Fiji. The flat was haunted, we found ghosts there so we have moved out and gone back to Suva".
Golly gosh, that's a new one.
On entering the flat, there were still pans of food on the stove, unwashed plates on the table and an assortment of junk furniture still in residence.

Of course I was still holding the bond at that stage, and funnily enough it just covered the costs of unpaid rent and the cleanup.

No following tenants in that flat have ever reported any visitations from misty beings in white sheets. Sometimes I wonder what substance they were on.

[Maccachic]

Maybe it was an immigration officer, seeing as they went all the way back to Suva?

[One]

That's interesting. Can you really make them pay for professional cleaning mid-tenancy? I'd assumed you could only do that at the end of the tenancy.

[Glenn]

That's interesting. Can you really make them pay for professional cleaning mid-tenancy? I'd assumed you could only do that at the end of the tenancy.

No landlords can certainly do all sorts of things like that.
What you have to do is warn them first perhaps quoting a price.
We often force the issue on carpet cleaning / shampooing.
I had one intellectually handicapted tenant that just got too bad. I gave him a 90 day notice and at the end he still had no where to go. So I said here rent this same flat. Go and get another dose of bond from winz move your gear out and we will clean it up. And that is what happened. His gear sat outside whilst we cleaned up and then he moved back in. Sad though I did not cure his intellectual problems and the flat just returned to the same state as before.
Coming back to the Mumbai slum lording. Some of the words are part of the act we both play out.
I am now calling his bluff and will be lodgeing a tribunal order against him this weekend.

[One]

No landlords can certainly do all sorts of things like that.
What you have to do is warn them first perhaps quoting a price.

Thanks! I'll keep that in mind.

[Glenn]

Yesterday I lodged an application to the tribunal for this filthy bunch.
On it I asked for a work order and associated compensatory money order.
The RTA provides for this but not many of the DBH staff are familar with them so they often kick up a fuss when I ask for one.
It will be interesting to see how my application is treated.
I will keep the forum posted as to its progress.

Incidently I have had a count up of my tribunal applications. So far this year I have made 18 applications which is double what I normally would have done at this time of the year. 30% of them have ended up in the court (compared with the normal 90% being resolved at mediation). I normally account for around 10% of the total number of aplications in Nelson but so far I am close to 20 % of all applications. Is there any wonder why we have a back log of cases.

[Wayne]

Incidently I have had a count up of my tribunal applications. So far this year I have made 18 applications which is double what I normally would have done at this time of the year. 30% of them have ended up in the court (compared with the normal 90% being resolved at mediation). I normally account for around 10% of the total number of aplications in Nelson but so far I am close to 20 % of all applications. Is there any wonder why we have a back log of cases.

And what is your success rate?

[Glenn]

And what is your success rate?

I am not sure how one judges success in tribunal. I guess it is getting pretty well everything asked for.
Out of 18 applications. 2 Withdrawn tenants gave notice and left. 8 are yet to be heard in either mediation or tribunal. 4 had mediated orders one of which resulted in an eviction.
The other 3 MO's are paying so far. 4 Tribunal orders in front of adjudicator resulted in four excellant outcomes with pretty well perhaps 95% awarded of what was claimed. Of those four one was defending a compensation for disposing of abandoned goods claim which resulted in 100% success for me. One was a fixed term break claim. Half of the debt was immediately paid and the other half is being faithfully paid off at $50 pe week. The other two were claims for vacated properties one of which had been an eviction on 23 December. From those 2 One OE claim submitted and we are still looking for an address for the other one.
Oh yes there is one other interesting case. I eventually managed to get an Order for Examination warrant served on a debtor of about four years ago. It will be interesting to see if that produces any money. Often old debtors do pay. The emotions of the eviction have long gone and they often start settling down after spending time in jail or what ever.

[NIK]

I am not sure how one judges success in tribunal. I guess it is getting pretty well everything asked for.
Out of 18 applications. 2 Withdrawn tenants gave notice and left. 8 are yet to be heard in either mediation or tribunal. 4 had mediated orders one of which resulted in an eviction.
The other 3 MO's are paying so far. 4 Tribunal orders in front of adjudicator resulted in four excellant outcomes with pretty well perhaps 95% awarded of what was claimed. Of those four one was defending a compensation for disposing of abandoned goods claim which resulted in 100% success for me. One was a fixed term break claim. Half of the debt was immediately paid and the other half is being faithfully paid off at $50 pe week. The other two were claims for vacated properties one of which had been an eviction on 23 December. From those 2 One OE claim submitted and we are still looking for an address for the other one.
Oh yes there is one other interesting case. I eventually managed to get an Order for Examination warrant served on a debtor of about four years ago. It will be interesting to see if that produces any money. Often old debtors do pay. The emotions of the eviction have long gone and they often start settling down after spending time in jail or what ever.

Hello Glenn,
Fixed term break claim - care to share the details? Had a tenant on FTT that did a runner.....

[Glenn]

Hello Glenn,
Fixed term break claim - care to share the details? Had a tenant on FTT that did a runner.....

I started a new thread to answer that. The mods can add a link. I can not remember how to do it.

[TheLiberalLeft]

I can't read the title of this thread without singing the U2/BB King tune. It's becoming a right earworm.