RTA contract worthless?

[m3ntis]

So..
Another red flag on renting out property in NZ which makes me ask is this for real(?) it’s all landlords problem to solve and no accountability on the tenant despite a clear contract & RTA statements

Tenant has Partner live with her. He is not on the Tenancy. Partner & her have a fight. Partner uses keys & enters property while she’s not there; pours petrol thru house and smashes up walls. Police called; he gets charged, locks get changed. We’re all jumping into make sure she is safe & ok.

Assessor puts forward cost to repair damages. She then calls Tenancy services & states nothing to do with her everyone can pi$$ off; which Tenancy services agree with. Tenancy tell her that it is a criminal damage claim & between myself as owner of the property and her partner.

I see it differently- this person was invited into the property by the tenant, gave keys to them and damaged the property under the tenants responsibility & because of the tenant. The tenant is liable via our contract & statements on damage; if she chooses to reclaim costs from the partner that is her right of recourse..

I have no relationship to her partner and no ability to enforce any claims as it is outside of the contract. I need to now pay, get the time & setup a legal claim and continue to chase..including enforcement when the person stops paying which we know happens..

So despite a contract I as landlord am now responsible for stepping in to tidy up the damage done by tenants ‘guests’(?)

..RTA is a total crock..rents don’t cover the cost of this type of Accountability & spoon feeding

Thoughts?

[artemis]

Tenancy Services is not the best or only source of information. And sounds like you have not checked yourself and you are insured. Suggest immediately lodge an application with the Tenancy Tribunal against the tenant. You may only be awarded excess or 4 weeks rent, maybe also cost to remedy damage not covered by insurance. Include rent arrears if any. Even if you end up not winning you will have a definitive answer and there will be a written record in the TT database. And the insurance company might go after the tenant as well.

See this page-

https://www.tenancy.govt.nz/about-tenancy-services/news/rta2-passed/

[Perry]

Get the Right Advice

Artemis is too kind. Tenant Services is all-too-often wrong. They exist to help tenants primarily. (It's the interest on the millions of dollars of tenants' bonds that pays their wages, so they don't bite the hand that feeds them.)

You do need to help yourself a bit with this sort of thing. My guess is that English is not your mother tongue. A Tenancy Agreement is not a contract, so don't use that word in such matters.

Follow Artemis' advice and lodge a claim with TS. It can be done via the Internet.

I wonder if the Insurance company could be joined as a party? Can't hurt to ask the insurer.

41 Tenant’s responsibility for actions of others

(1) The tenant shall be responsible for anything done or omitted to be done by any person (other than the landlord or any person acting on the landlord’s behalf or with the landlord’s authority) who is in the premises with the tenant’s permission if the act or omission would have constituted a breach of the tenancy agreement had it been the act or omission of the tenant.

[Keys]

Tenancy Services is not the best or only source of information. And sounds like you have not checked yourself and you are insured. Suggest immediately lodge an application with the Tenancy Tribunal against the tenant. You may only be awarded excess or 4 weeks rent, maybe also cost to remedy damage not covered by insurance. Include rent arrears if any. Even if you end up not winning you will have a definitive answer and there will be a written record in the TT database. And the insurance company might go after the tenant as well.

See this page-
https://www.tenancy.govt.nz/about-te...s/rta2-passed/

My emphasis.

Remember,
1 - Petrol is one event.
Numbers 2 through to 10. Each wall is a separate event.

IE, claim for 10 times excess as there are 10 separate events.

[Viking]

Partner & her have a fight. Partner uses keys & enters property while she’s not there;

The person who let himself in may not have been there at that time by her agreement. Essentially he entered a property without permission of the tenant and was intent on deliberate wilful damage.
Insurance claim I would suggest and claim as many excesses as you can as Keys has said.

[m3ntis]

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12349744

Tribunal was long and challenging and we went into a lot of depth but full credit to the Adjudicator who would go on details and delved deep on things which just made no sense

[Keys]

Well done (mamc).