[swank]

I'm looking for specific info on renter's rights in NZ (if they exist...)

I have gone though the http://www.dbh.govt.nz site and I can't seem to find any thing more specific than:

"The landlord needs to look after the place and keep it reasonable."

My problem: After the last period of heavy rain we started hearing rumbling/scratching through the walls and ceilings and now we have started to find droppings in the garage (which is connected to the house)

Rats!

After investigating further I have found multiple cracks and crevices where they could be getting in at around the house, including the roof... Now we have also learned that the house has a history of rat problems, having at one point chewed through a water pipe!

Lucky we have not found any droppings yet inside the living space, I think this is only a matter of time as winter arrives... My one year old puts everything in her mouth(...), and my three year old is starting to get frightened by the noises in the wall...

The landlord seems to have been aware of the problem for a period of years and has done nothing to repair the holes.

My question is: What are his obligations to fix this?

There is a related issue: on the second floor there is an unfinished bathroom, just a toilet and sink with no finished walls, just the exposed wall framing, wires etc. When we moved in I asked the owner what the plans were for the bathroom and she said "we're working on it..."

Obviously, if the rats are in the walls, this room would be an easy entry point for them to the rest of the house (I have the door sealed off now)

Are there any regulations that the walls in a rental house must be finished? What are the landlords responsibilities?

It's really a shame... It's a nice house... Pity to just let it rot...

[Smiler]

Hi Swank

The rights and obligations of landlords and tenants under a residential tenancy are determined by the provisions of the RESIDENTIAL TENANCIES ACT 1986 and by your particular tenancy agreement. The landlord should comply with all legal requirements to do with buildings, health and safety and that of the tenants.

I've had a quick Google so you've probably seen the same site http://www.howtolaw.co.nz/html/ml021a.asp

I'd put your concerns in writing to him/her first off, with a set time for them to repond or get the work done.

If you don't get any response (or the one you need) go to the Tenancy Services in the DHB. I've found them very helpful, especially on the phone, and you can lodge an application with them. It costs $20. (You'll probably find that you only need to mention TS to your landlord to get them moving though ;)) TS will work with you and mediate too.

You don't say how long you've been there, did they mention anything when you signed the agreement? Timescales for finishing the bathroom etc?

I'd also put some rat bait down now, in the cracks and crevices where the littlies can't pick it up, before the problem gets worse. Then you can show you've attempted to sort it yourself (although I agree you shouldn't have too or live with exposed wiring too :no!)

HTH

[swank]

Thanks very much for the info.


You don't say how long you've been there, did they mention anything when you signed the agreement? Timescales for finishing the bathroom etc.?


We've been here six months.... On the bath, there was never anything more said than "we're working on it"... But as this picture starts to put itself together, I'm beginning to realise that it will never happen unless they are pressured...

At this point I am reluctant to put poison down, as I'd rather catch them so as to prevent them from somewhere dying in the walls... (a plumber I talked to said that he had them die in the walls in his house and the stench was so bad they had to tear down the ceiling to clean it out...) Then after catching some the holes need to be patched and then a regimen of traps/poison stations needs to be set up out side, on the roof etc. It's extremely frustrating because were it my house, it all would have been done by now...

Like I wrote, it's really a shame to let such a nice house rot. I have been reading up on rats, and it seems they can really wreck a house.

The owners seem like nice people, but my guess is that they, like a lot of other kiwis pre-kiwi saver, 'invested' in a rental property, and now find that they lack the extra money and time to maintain it properly.

The house is 'managed' by a a large real-estate company, but they say that they can not do anything with out the owners approval...

[Smiler]

Swank

It sounds like a letter stating your concerns and mentioning the Tenancy Service is a good start, both to the landlord and management company, or call the TS first to be sure where you stand. I think there are som pro forma letters on the DHB site too.

We had rats in our UK rental and one got poisoned/stuck and died. Yep it stank (so did the pigeon that died up the chimney), but we put up with that rather than the scratching :uhoh which drove me up the wall.

It's an awful position to find yourself in, especially with children. I hope you can get it sorted out soon.

[zardell]

The house is 'managed' by a a large real-estate company, but they say that they can not do anything with out the owners approval...



If you do decide to go down the T. Tribunal route, make sure that you have ALL of copies of requests for repairs in writing and make sure you follow the proceedure correctly.

As you say, I'm sure with a little pressure, things should start moving, but there is one room in your house that you can't use ie the bathroom and yet you are still paying full rent?

I personally to not believe that having rats in the house is 'reasonable' - maybe if as you say, theses issues are long standing problems you could have some recourse with the agent, as presumably they kew about it?

Good luck,

Julie

xx

[zardell]

The owners seem like nice people..



Well of course they do - you're still paying the rent which in turn probably pays their mortgage !!!!

I forgot to say that should you decide to put your complaint/request for repairs in writing to the agent ALWAYS state that you are giving them 7 days in which to respond/reply or you won't hear a thing for ages if at all.

You may have guessed by now that we took our rental problems to the Tenancy Tribunal...it's not difficult if you are short, sweet and precise and don't waffle. In our case, our landlords settled 'out of court' so to speak.

No-one in this day and age irrespective of how short of money the owner of the property is, should be forced to live in a rat infested home.

Put in your notice....

Or are they saying you have signed a long term tenancy and you can't leave?? Utter twaddle - what do they expect you to do? Live with rats for another 6 months? Ridiculous.

Been there and done the long term tenancy argument too...

Julie

xx

[Smiler]

What Julie says - as she puts it better than I did! :D

[urban78]

Hiya Swank,

I don't know if this will help or no, but hopefully it will.

About a year ago, we had a problem with our toilet, basically it blocked up, which was quite annoying.

The building manager wasn't being helpful at all asking to ring the head office for the managing company (at 10pm, yeah right!) OH called a plumber the next morning who came very quick and after about 10 minutes, everything was sorted out with no hassles. He said it was due to the odd plumbing in some city apartments. 1 week later we received a bill (which looked like a shoddy makeshift bill too) for $236 from our property management company, with no breakdown in costs for the plumber's work, no GST costs ect and asking us to pay it within 7 days :mad:

We got in touch with tenancy services over the phone (on their 0800 number) who told us we should not have to pay as it wasn't willful/intentional damage. They asked us to either send a letter to our landlord or call them confirming we got in touch with the tenancy people and tell them what they asvised us. A couple of days later, the management company called us saying they'd pas the bill onto our landlord :clap

It might be worth just ringing Tenancy Services just for advice. They really know their stuff :nice1 Hope you get some positive answers on your problem, I can't imagine how you guys must feel!

Jen.

PS: We're moving out of our current place on Saturday into a much better/bigger apartment cos we've had enough of that property management place not doing their job properly :laugh