Tenancy Tribunal

[brend]

I need help!!

my tenant has left the property but they couldn't organize a truck to move items so a lot of furniture and bedding was left in the garage. We have since had rain and some amount of rain has gone through the floor of the garage and therefore a side of a bed is wet.

As the landlord do I have any responsibility because it got wet?

[Glenn]

I need help!!

my tenant has left the property but they couldn't organize a truck to move items so a lot of furniture and bedding was left in the garage. We have since had rain and some amount of rain has gone through the floor of the garage and therefore a side of a bed is wet.

As the landlord do I have any responsibility because it got wet?

Generally not your problem. What your responsibility is if the tenants leave stuff and you put it outside and it gets wet they can make a claim against you. Stuff left is called abandoned goods. The test if it is worthless you can dump it.
If they are moving stuff then best you let them do it. They do not have the right to store it for free in your place.
Re the claim for the money. My suggestion is after you have cleaned up make another claim to the tribunal and ask for the first case's judgement to be added to the second one. You are permitted to claim lost rent whilst you repair the house.
Then once you get that final order apply for an attachment order. For an attachment order you need date of birth and winz number. The law has changed and you can go straight to attachment order now. If however they are working and you do not know where then yes you have to go through the Order for examination process which then leads to the attachment order.
If a beneficiary normally $20 is the magic dollar amount that commonly applies. If you go for too much it will likely as not fail.

[brend]

Generally not your problem. What your responsibility is if the tenants leave stuff and you put it outside and it gets wet they can make a claim against you. Stuff left is called abandoned goods. The test if it is worthless you can dump it.
If they are moving stuff then best you let them do it. They do not have the right to store it for free in your place.
Re the claim for the money. My suggestion is after you have cleaned up make another claim to the tribunal and ask for the first case's judgement to be added to the second one. You are permitted to claim lost rent whilst you repair the house.
Then once you get that final order apply for an attachment order. For an attachment order you need date of birth and winz number. The law has changed and you can go straight to attachment order now. If however they are working and you do not know where then yes you have to go through the Order for examination process which then leads to the attachment order.
If a beneficiary normally $20 is the magic dollar amount that commonly applies. If you go for too much it will likely as not fail.

Ok ok thanks just to add to the facts. The tenant said they were moving but didn't haven't a moving truck available so they stored what they could in the garage. I haven't touched it...the garage isn't exactly water tight..it's an old garage as you would expect. They are planning to pick up their gear this weekend and I know for a fact when they see water/muddy water in their furniture they'll have a crack at me.


in addition to this they accursed me of using a 42 day notice for a family member illegally. At the End of the day the tenancy tribunal terminated the tenancy for rent arrears and the family member tried living in the property for a few days but couldn't handle being on their own and had limited English making life hard. So Ofcourse I made the property available to the public again

[Glenn]

in addition to this they accursed me of using a 42 day notice for a family member illegally. At the End of the day the tenancy tribunal terminated the tenancy for rent arrears and the the

Not a smart idea using the 42 clause. As you can see the tribunal system works for rent over 21 days.
If you get caught on the 42 day thing the notice can be struck out and you can get fined. Normally the fine is mysteriously the same as the rent arrears so you get hit hard.
Also if you issue a 42 day notice when things are going bad it is obvious to everyone so you shoot yourself in the foot.
If tenants do not move out for a correct notice be it 42 or 90 then the court process is very quick. like those cases are given priority. If however the notice period is invalid and the tenants call your bluff you are in deep trouble.
The other aspect to remember is if your tenants get really angry at you because you have broken the law and appear to have got away with it they often take it out on the house.
Watch those windows after they are gone.
You have been warned. If a window gets smashed after the tenancy has ended the tenants are not liable.
The police will not want to know about it because they will call it a civil issue even if it is not so you are on your own.

[brend]

Thanks

time will tell. I can put my hand on my heart and say a family member was moving in. No 14 day notices were given before a 42 notice was given..and rent was paid up to date. They stopped paying rent when the 42 day notice was given...hence applying for immediate termination

[aay]

Re the claim for the money. My suggestion is after you have cleaned up make another claim to the tribunal and ask for the first case's judgement to be added to the second one. You are permitted to claim lost rent whilst you repair the house.

I never knew you can claim the lost rent due to repairs, good to know. Thanks!