An Auckland landlord has been ordered to pay almost $180,000 after "deliberately and knowingly" failing to lodge 81 tenancy bonds.
The Tenancy Tribunal has ordered Widharni Debbie Iskandar to lodge $119,625 in bond money and $47,600 in total to 68 tenants she wronged - $700 each.
On top of this, Iskandar must pay tribunal and application costs - another $10,495.56.
The Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) said it was the largest group of applications taken by its tenancy compliance team - 197 complaints in total were lodged against Iskander.
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"The legal requirement to lodge tenants' bond money with the bond centre is a fundamental responsibility landlords have under New Zealand's tenancy laws," Steve Watson, acting general manager of Housing and Tenancy Services, said on Thursday.
"Trust is a key component in the relationship between a landlord and a tenant, and for a landlord to breach that trust on a scale such as this is unacceptable."
Iskander has been under investigation since 2016. MBIE escalated its probe after Newshub revealed Iskander had been renting out illegal garage conversions and failing to lodge bonds.
MBIE says if Iskander cannot pay out the fees immediately, it will take her to court.
Newshub.
