An Auckland woman has been awarded almost $2500 after her landlord failed to attend to an "extreme" cockroach infestation and water leakages in her rental property.
Melanie Griffith attended the Manukau Tenancy Tribunal in August over issues with her landlord, the AB Sahib Family Trust.
Griffith moved into the Mangere East rental property in February 2020 where she "discovered that there were extreme numbers of cockroaches at the property".
"She raised this with the landlord, who did not attend to removing the cockroach infestation," the Tribunal said.
Griffith had to call and pay almost $150 for a pest control expert to get rid of the infestation herself.
She also claimed the property had water leaking in the kitchen, which left the kitchen bench covered in mould, and in the bathroom and laundry, making the floors "soft and unsafe".
The Tribunal noted Griffith had talked to her landlord about the issues, which they had acknowledged, but done nothing about.
The AB Sahib Family Trust indicated to Griffith their finances were tight at the time.
The Tribunal found that the landlord's failure to maintain the property meant Griffith did not have full use of the property for which she is paying rent.
"This extends to reduced use of the kitchen, bathroom and laundry. I consider the tenant is entitled to compensation for that."
The landlord was also found to have not lodged Griffith's bond with the Bond Centre- an unlawful act with a maximum fine of $1000.
"A failure to lodge the bond is a serious breach because it undermines the legislative arrangement for the management of residential tenancies."
Overall the AB Sahib Family Trust was ordered to pay Griffith $2454.
