Tenancy Tribunal advice

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UKNZ

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Geek

#168572 18-Mar-2015 19:16

About to go to tenancy tribunal to try and get money back from my thieving ex-landlord. Anyone got any general advice about the tribunal?

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Master Geek
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#1261920 18-Mar-2015 19:44

a bit more info would be helpful. ie: what are you claiming etc

Lias

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#1261928 18-Mar-2015 20:04

Be honest, take as much proof/paperwork as you possibly can, be logical and have your ducks lined up in a row, don't be emotional or crazy.

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Aredwood

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#1261942 18-Mar-2015 20:29

Consider asking on the real estate subforum on the trade me message boards. The landlords on there will give good advice. Tell them the full story and they will tell you how to win at the tribunal. They hate slack landlords.

Inphinity

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#1261948 18-Mar-2015 20:44

Be honest and factual. Don't refer to him as a thieving landlord, as you will come across more emotional than logical.

tdgeek

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#1261951 18-Mar-2015 20:47

Good advice. Oddly, less than an hour ago, I paid the skip guy $1140 for three large skips. And spent days filling them with trash, rubbish and filth, from our rental.There are bad tenants and bad landlords, take the advice above, don't go anal, go factual, what is fair will be treated as such.

andrewNZ

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#1261953 18-Mar-2015 20:48

What Liars said.

As you are the one making a claim, you MUST be able to PROVE your claims (and possibly disprove their claims). You will need all your documents with you on the day, an they should be organised so you can find what is asked for fairly smartly.

They probably won't have read any documentation you have already supplied, so be prepaired to start from scratch.

The tribunal is nothing like a court hearing, its much less formal. They typically don't tolerate time wasting.

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UKNZ

25 posts

Geek

#1261993 18-Mar-2015 21:48

Thanks everyone this is really handy.

The main part of my case is that they are claiming damage to floors which looks like a couple of 1-3cm indentations in 5 rooms, very spread out and only 1 seems to break the surface and are claiming it needs a full sand and 3 coats of varnish in all the rooms, and they have 3 quotes for about $4k each to back it up. Seems insane to me, especially as the original floor looked patchy anyway. Cant they just patch the indentations?

(all of which is aside from the question of whether we actually caused them, but I'll leave that for now)

JimmyH

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#1261995 18-Mar-2015 21:54

Exactly. Be factual, concise, and unemotive. Just outline what you are claiming and why, and be prepared to support it with documentation and evidence as far as you can. Hyperbole, name calling, raising your voice, looking unorganised, or making allegations that you can't substantiate are all things you should avoid, as they will just damage your credibility.

If, for example, you are alleging that he improperly failed to return your bond, you just need to concisely set out why you believe he had no grounds under the tenancy agreement and laws for doing this. Anything extraneous to the argument you are trying to make will likely either be seem as time wasting or axe-grinding, and probably won't help you.

gbwelly

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#1262094 19-Mar-2015 07:59

UKNZ: Thanks everyone this is really handy.

The main part of my case is that they are claiming damage to floors which looks like a couple of 1-3cm indentations in 5 rooms, very spread out and only 1 seems to break the surface and are claiming it needs a full sand and 3 coats of varnish in all the rooms, and they have 3 quotes for about $4k each to back it up. Seems insane to me, especially as the original floor looked patchy anyway. Cant they just patch the indentations?

(all of which is aside from the question of whether we actually caused them, but I'll leave that for now)

Assuming you caused them you might have a rough time in there. If you are lucky you might be able argue that it was typical wear and tear, though 3cm is pushing it. If you can produce photos of the floor being patchy when you moved it you might have a better case.

If I had polished wood floors I wouldn't be happy with patching holes, I expect that argument would get shut down fairly quickly. My advise would be to argue that the floor was going to need some work soon anyway due to the condition when you moved in, negotiate back down you what your bond was (I presume it was less than $4k) and cut your losses.

UKNZ

25 posts

Geek

#1262112 19-Mar-2015 08:59

Thanks.
Floor is clearly soft as anything, almost all the marks are indentations.
The bit they're not claiming for is absolutely riddled with them, IMO not fit for purpose (low quality wood/ not enough tough lacquer) plus they knew we had toddlers. Is 'not fit for purpose' something you can argue?

And as I said, not convinced we caused them anyway, but thats a bit too convoluted for here, just preparing for a worst case scenario.

PeterQ

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#1262113 19-Mar-2015 08:59

What type of floor is it I mean to be 3cm it would be through most normal floors, not indentations

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UKNZ

25 posts

Geek

#1262118 19-Mar-2015 09:02

sorry 3cm long not deep!

surfisup1000

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#1262126 19-Mar-2015 09:11

Is the landlord managing the property themselves, or a property agent?

If it was a private landlord then more likely they do not know the rules and have mismanaged their responsibilities required to prove you owe this money.

Check the tenancy website , they have a check list for landlords and go through and determine if the landlord followed the correct process , such as pre-inspection reports of existing damage.

If you believe you did not make these marks then just say so. It will be your word against theirs and you should win if they have no documentary evidence in the form of the inspection report.

If you signed a pre-inspection report , without checking the floors then say so.

Landlords can be absolute low lives and consider wear/tear as damage. 4k is ridiculous.

4possm

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Master Geek
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#1262127 19-Mar-2015 09:12

How long were you in the house for? If more than a couple of years you can generally claim normal wear and tear easily.

Also, if you have time to, call up a couple of flooring companies and get some quotes. If they quote cheaper this may help you if you do end up losing the battle you may be able to at least save money.

PeterQ

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Master Geek
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#1262145 19-Mar-2015 09:40

UKNZ: sorry 3cm long not deep!

Is it particle board or solid timber floors

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