Landlord Moved In To Sleepout Only Reduced Rent $25

[RoseTinker]

Hi,
We have lived in a residential property since 2013, with agreement from the landlord my mother was given permission to sub-let the sleep-out located just meters from the main house to my sister for her and her kids,( the sleep-out is not legally a secondary dwelling), we were charged $550 a week for the entire property, but the landlord gave us notice she would need to move in to the sleep-out as advised by her lawyer while she went through a divorce from her husband so that he could not try to force sale of the property though it was solely under her name only.
The tenancy agreement was replaced with a new one when she hired a property management agent, the agreement however made no mention of the landlord residing on the property or any part of the property being made inaccessible to us although we understood this was going to be the case.
The problem is that the rent was only reduced $25 a week and the landlord has not only taken the sleep-out for her own use but had builders install two fences that ran along the side of the property and a car park for her own use in the driveway, she also has taken the patio located of the back deck which is roughly 5 by 3.5 square meters in size.
Our Right to quiet enjoyment of the property is non existent, and for the last few weeks every garden including the ones under our bedroom windows have been taken over by her and we look out our windows when we hear a noise while in our rooms to find her right there outside the window gardening, my mother said she had a power meter installed in the sleep-out and she takes the power bill and somehow calculates her portion and gives the money to my mother as she cannot have a power bill set up in her name because it is not a separate dwelling, that means the rubbish bin, recycling bin, and mailbox are shared with the landlord, we tried mentioning our concern of the rent not being reduced more than $25 with the property agent considering the size of the area the landlord has claimed for her own exclusive use but we were rudely shutdown, sorry for all the information but I don't know where we stand with this issue

[Beano]

Hi,
We have lived in a residential property since 2013, with agreement from the landlord my mother was given permission to sub-let the sleep-out located just meters from the main house to my sister for her and her kids,( the sleep-out is not legally a secondary dwelling), we were charged $550 a week for the entire property, but the landlord gave us notice she would need to move in to the sleep-out as advised by her lawyer while she went through a divorce from her husband so that he could not try to force sale of the property though it was solely under her name only.
The tenancy agreement was replaced with a new one when she hired a property management agent, the agreement however made no mention of the landlord residing on the property or any part of the property being made inaccessible to us although we understood this was going to be the case.
The problem is that the rent was only reduced $25 a week and the landlord has not only taken the sleep-out for her own use but had builders install two fences that ran along the side of the property and a car park for her own use in the driveway, she also has taken the patio located of the back deck which is roughly 5 by 3.5 square meters in size.
Our Right to quiet enjoyment of the property is non existent, and for the last few weeks every garden including the ones under our bedroom windows have been taken over by her and we look out our windows when we hear a noise while in our rooms to find her right there outside the window gardening, my mother said she had a power meter installed in the sleep-out and she takes the power bill and somehow calculates her portion and gives the money to my mother as she cannot have a power bill set up in her name because it is not a separate dwelling, that means the rubbish bin, recycling bin, and mailbox are shared with the landlord, we tried mentioning our concern of the rent not being reduced more than $25 with the property agent considering the size of the area the landlord has claimed for her own exclusive use but we were rudely shutdown, sorry for all the information but I don't know where we stand with this issue

Be nice to your landlord .
She has a lot of problems
If the house is sold due to the divorce you will have no home.

[jimO]

she has problems so do you, renegotiate the rent,

[artemis]

Deal only with the property manager who is your landlord now. Set everything out in writing to them immediately and make your specific requests with reasons. Your post here says you have a good handle on that. See what the PM comes back with, and if not complete answers keep asking. Record incidents and phone calls. You have recourse to the Tenancy Tribunal and the PM will be aware that quite significant penalties can be applied.

You probably will not want to go to the TT right now, for obvious reasons, but time to get the ducks in a row. That should get the PM focused.

And start thinking about moving when that becomes possible. Sounds like that will become inevitable.

[donna]

Look at what you can control and that's where you live so I agree with the sentiment mentioned so far - you don't have to live there and moving maybe your best course of action for your own peace of mind etc. Before you make a decision however weigh up the pros and cons of a staying vs a move and then if you work out it's better to stay go get a better outcome, i.e. your property must have some outdoor area for your exclusive use etc. Get in writing and poss. a visual of what's yours for exclusive use etc.

The tenancy agreement was replaced with a new one when she hired a property management agent, the agreement however made no mention of the landlord residing on the property or any part of the property being made inaccessible to us although we understood this was going to be the case.

PMs on here will know if this gives you some leverage.

cheers,

Donna

[mrsaneperson]

Im guessing the sleepout must be self contained?
Even though your rent was reduced only by $25, for the loss of the sleepout - overall your accomodation is still a good deal?
Some sympathy for your landlady as it looks as though she has been forced into the situation by the divorce circumstances.

[donna]

Empathy goes a long way but fair is fair and what's your situation like now that the LL has settled into the sleep-out?

My guess is as soon as her life circumstances improve she'll move on.

cheers,

Donna

[RoseTinker]

Update...
We moved out after finding more suitable rental, the landlord tried to charge for damage that had been due to a major storm we had in west Auckland that her husband had been notified by email of.
See since first entering into a Residential tenancy agreement 7 years ago We were left without a agent or property manager after the landlord moved overseas about two weeks after we moved into the house. Every issue such as plumbing, electrical, or due to damage as a result of nature, was left for us to repair or pay from our own funds and the landlord would deduct from the next due rent as agreed via email. But as the last damage happened just months before the landlord returned and she usually left her husband to deal with us she was unaware.
Not only did we have to dispute it but she had my father looking for 12months BF or a bucket of paint that didn?t exist she finally conceeded the painter probably took it and she wasn?t actually sure it ever was left.
She didn?t know what the wiring that ran down the side of fridge were until I identified it as the telephone jack which had always been there like it was, and we had arranged to leave the keys with her as agreed and not the property manager and had handed them to her as we were a hour out from finishing with moving out and cleaning. I was shocked to find her in the house testing the keys as she thought I had gone out with my father to Drop off last load and when I went to investigate noises found her inside the house embarrassed at being caught out in the home when she knew she was not legally allowed to be in

[donna]

You've gotten through it and wiser for the experience. Good luck with your next tenancy.

cheers,

Donna

[AndyB]

That's awful. It seems you could have rented the room outside to a flatmate for 180 a week. 25 dollars is ridiculous and seems you endured a loss. Did your mother also have to move out from the sleepout?