Angela Sun, who is also a licensed real estate agent, must personally pay $21,750 in exemplary damages for multiple breaches at a property rented out in Takapuna, while Sunny Rentals Limited, of which Ms Sun is a director, must pay $1,200 in exemplary damages for breaches at a property the company rented out in Pinehill.

MBIE’s Tenancy Compliance and Investigations Team (TCIT) first opened an investigation into the Takapuna property in June 2021, after receiving a complaint from 1 of the tenants. An investigation into the Pinehill property was opened after an anonymous complaint was referred to TCIT by the Ministry of Social Development in April 2022.

TCIT investigators identified multiple issues, including loose and exposed wiring, a lack of working smoke alarms, and the absence of written tenancy agreements, and filed applications with the Tenancy Tribunal against Angela Sun and Sunny Rentals Limited. Auckland Council also issued a Dangerous Building Notice after visiting the Takapuna property, due to the exposed wires and lack of proper fire safety precautions. 

During the hearing in Auckland, Ms Sun claimed that all rental activities at the Takapuna and Pinehill addresses were conducted by Sunny Rentals Limited and not her personally. She also claimed to live at both properties and said there were multiple exceptions, which meant she was not required to comply with the Act.

However, the adjudicator found none of these exceptions applied, and did not accept that Ms Sun was living at either property.

“I did not find Ms Sun at all convincing when she gave her recollections as to where she lived. There is a big difference between “having a room” at a property, being a room you might store some old furniture, junk and unwanted belongings, and then actually living there.

The adjudicator noted that landlords need to familiarise themselves with the law.

“Ms Sun’s reason for failing to provide tenancy agreements was because she believed the Act was excluded. She therefore claims she was mistaken about the effect of the Act. I do not consider that an adequate justification.”

Furthermore, the adjudicator held that 3 of the tenants had their tenancies wrongfully terminated.

“All of the tenants in these premises were vulnerable tenants. They included people released from jail who struggle to find landlords willing to take them in. They are the sort of tenants who are therefore vulnerable to being taken advantage of by landlords,” noted the adjudicator.

TCIT National Manager Brett Wilson agreed, explaining that boarding houses have long been a focus for TCIT as they often house some of the most vulnerable people who may not be in a position to address any tenancy issues themselves. TCIT therefore undertakes both proactive and reactive work to identify and tackle the most serious instances of harm in the boarding house sector”.

“The most troubling aspect of this case is that there were multiple people living in these properties without proper fire safety precautions in place and potentially hazardous maintenance issues. The tragic fire at Loafers Lodge is a reminder to all landlords, but particularly boarding house landlords, of the importance of maintaining fire safety systems. TCIT will press for the highest sanctions in cases where fire safety or maintenance standards are not being complied with.”

“Boarding houses have needed to comply with the healthy homes standards since July 2021, so there is no excuse for any boarding house operator to claim they are unaware of the relevant law as Ms Sun tried to do in this case.

“All landlords have an obligation to be aware of and comply with their responsibilities under the Act. As Ms Sun works as a licensed real estate agent we would expect she had more opportunity than most to ensure awareness and compliance with tenancy rules.”

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