I am wondering about how legal this is?

[StuartNZ]

I have a customer who rented a house and was told by the landlord that they would be putting another house behind them in their five-year plan.
The back section was fenced off when they moved in.
They have been there for five months and the landlord sent them an email last night saying there was a house being transported there in a couple of weeks and the only driveway is no longer available.
The front of the property is fenced so now they have to park on the road.
He has offered them two weeks rent free and he says he will know a hole in the fence and place a concrete pad there to park one car on.
Although they were told about a house going out the back as a long-term plan it is not mentioned in the tenancy agreement.
The lady that lives there is really upset.
Is this legal?
Does anyone have an idea of what they should do?

[Simmo]

I had a very similar situation, and acted in a similar manner to the landlord you mention.

Is the issue that there will be limited parking whilst the house is transported, longer term parking issues, or something else around loss of amenity?

In my case I made sure the existing tenants had access and parking (2+ cars) well before the relocation happened. Whilst this was not a legal requirement, there was space available and it felt like the right thing to do. If its a question of whether 2 weeks free is considered fair compensation for the inconvenience while the landlord sorts this out - I'd suggest the tenant get a clear timeline on this and work out what is suitable for both parties.

As far as loss of amenity is concerned, the tenant was made aware that the property was to be developed. Whether this was in writing or not surely this doesn't come as a surprise? With relocateables it can take a while to find the right house dimensions to suit the site, so it is possible that the "five year plan" was acted upon swiftly when the right place came up. Often the vendors want these homes shifted yesterday and there are significant costs involved putting one in storage.

I would think that there is limited scope within the RTA for the tenants to seek a claim, loss of quiet enjoyment perhaps? There's better people on here to comment, but as so often in these type of situations a little bit of communication between those concerned will probably sort things out.

Have they voiced their concerns to the landlord?

[mrsaneperson]

I had a situation very much like this a few years ago. In my case i did not tell the tenant that i was going to build a minor unit in his back section which wasn't being used by him. Anyway to compensate him i offered big reductions in the rent while the building work was going on, initially he was accepting my proposal but then changed his mind a few days later. He was able to prevent me from building the unit legally through the RTA. And so the building work was put on hold for 6 months until i hiked the rent up and he left.

In your case the building work that was planned should have been stated in writing and the tenant acknowledging they have agreed to it. Perhaps renegotiate with the landlord for a better outcome for the tenant.

[FJW]

Hi Stuart,

If this was to go to tribunal the tribunal would be highly likely to rule in the favour of the tenant so it essentially isn't legal because you are taking away a feature / facility of the property so it essentially isn't worth the rental value as it was. My advise would be to figure out what the house would be worth now without a driveway and compensate the tenant for it.....if it was provisioned in the agreement that, that was going to happen and the tenant signed it and was satisfied with the conditions then no compensation would be required......

[Keys]

In your case the building work that was planned should have been stated in writing and the tenant acknowledging they have agreed to it. Perhaps renegotiate with the landlord for a better outcome for the tenant.

The devil is in the detail. Always in the detail.

IMHO StuartNZ is on a tightrope and will need to do this carefully.