A Christchurch landlord is to pay $13,000 to tenants after a rental was found with severe health risks, including gutter water flowing into a dining room and holes in the walls. 

Trott Dairy Limited must pay $3,400 in exemplary damages, after admitting to multiple breaches of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (the Act), and $10,000 in rent refunds. 

MBIE’s Tenancy Compliance and Investigations Team (TCIT) investigated the Bishopdale property in July 2023 after a Christchurch City Council referral. 

The bathrooms of a Christchurch property found to be an unlawful residential premises. Photo / MBIE 

The rental featured multiple major breaches, including a detached garage unlawfully converted into a residential unit, daylight visible through gaps in the wall and ceiling, exposed insulation, insufficient smoke alarms, a leaking roof and external guttering running through and overflowing into the dining room. 

“The yard had extensive earthworks underway and rubbish that appeared to be industrial in nature,” MBIE said in a statement. 

The outdoor area of an unlawful residental property in Bishopdale, Christchurch. Photo / MBIE 

The tenants were particularly vulnerable, as they were on temporary entry visas and reliant on the landlord. 

“The landlord promised them a tenancy in a property they had been working on. This promise was never fulfilled and instead the landlord provided them with a property that was not fit for residential purposes.” 

At a January 30 Tenancy Tribunal hearing, both parties agreed the landlord’s liability for the admitted breaches amounted to unlawful acts, including non-compliant tenancy agreements and failing to lodge the bond received from tenants. 

The bathroom ceiling of the rental in Bishopdale, Christchurch. Photo / MBIE 

Trott Dairy Ltd accepted the garage was an unlawful residential premise and consented to a partial rent refund. 

TCIT national manager Brett Wilson said they lodged an application with the tenancy tribunal, despite the tenants choosing not to participate in the application or hearing. 

Part of the unlawful residential premises in Bishopdale, Christchurch. Photo / MBIE 

“The breaches were so severe that it was in the public interest to proceed,” he said. 

Wilson said the tenants suffered a number of illnesses that they attributed to the property. 

“The landlord accepted [it] was not a lawful residential premise, but they (the tenants) were worried they would lose their tenancy if they complained,” Wilson said. 

Trott Dairy Ltd owns and manages about 40 Christchurch rental properties. Wilson said they should be acutely aware of their responsibilities under the Act. 

The company has also been issued with a 3-year restraining order by the Tenancy Tribunal, from committing the unlawful acts.