Case Study: Right Property, Wrong Tenant

The setting: a clean and tidy three bedroom property in reasonable area with a large double garage.

The owner had used a casual letting agency to secure a tenant, but then chose to self-manage the property, renting the property above the market.

Soon after, the tenant missed rent as well as not paying the water rates and our owner was unsure of how to go about sorting this. Enter our characters: West Auckland Property Management (WAPM), local problem solvers.

WAPM immediately sent notice of inspection; a 14 day notice for rent arrears and water rates arrears. From the inspection, we issued a 14 day notice for breach. The tenant was advised to mow the lawns, tidy the rubbish around the property, and repair the holes in several of the doors.

Upset, the tenant came to the office and agreed to a plan of action. Unfortunately, the tenant failed to carry this out.

Later, at the tribunal hearing, the adjudicator agreed to give the tenant more time to pay rent arrears, repair damage and tidy up property, and adjourned the hearing for a week. However, the tenant once again failed to carry out the agreed plan of action and at the subsequent tribunal hearing an order was secured for rent arrears and water and termination of the tenancy.

The tenant, however, refused to take responsibility for the damages. The lawns had remained unmowed for months, the rubbish continued to rot, and the holes were never repaired. In conjunction with the damages, the rent payment was not paid in time. Thus, an eviction notice was issued.

Contractors were contracted to clear out the rubbish. This included a freezer with stale food still in it and rusted car parts left around the property. The contractors also repaired and repainted the doors, mowed the lawns, rekeyed the property for security, and cleaned the carpets. WAPM was able to get the property back on the rental market with the balance of the tenant’s bond covering the costs.

Careful to not repeat a mistake, the owner had WAPM bring in new tenants. The new tenants were credit checked, referee checked, and were under no illusions of their responsibilities as tenants.

Moral of the story? When things go wrong – and they will – use an experienced specialist. Or even better: get an experienced specialist to start off with!

In need of an experienced property specialist? Give Glenn and Helen a ring (09) 832 0832.