A landlord who said he would shoot his tenant's dog has been fined $500 for breaching her right to "peace and quiet enjoyment" and a further $500 for trying to evict her as revenge.
Jessica Robertson told the Tenancy Tribunal her problems with the father-daughter landlord duo began shortly after she moved into the Huntly flat in 2015.
The property was owned by daughter Am Ernst who lives in Australia, but Tribunal adjudicator S Munro ruled the father, Lance Ernst, was the landlord. The property was handled by Riverlands Real Estate.
Robertson says repeated requests for repairs went unmet - and it all came to head when she requested an electrician to fix a fault.
Robertson was sent a text by the property manager, relaying what Lance had said.
"He got quite nasty," the text read.
"He told me to tell you that when you keep your lawns mowed and put your rubbish out then he may consider getting it looked at...He also said he has been thinking about taking the fence down so the cows can get in there and eat the grass and if the dog attacked the cattle he would shoot it."
In a separate text to Lance the property manager warned him he could not enter the property without 24 hours notice, even though he lived next door and that any attempt to evict Robertson would now be viewed as "retaliatory" due to the threats being made.
"I realise this has made things difficult for all concerned and I hope that we can all show respect for one another and by sticking to the rules and relationships."
However during the hearing the property manager said Robertson had been in breach of the tenancy including "an on-going battle for her lawns and garden, the dog has treated the cottage as a kennel not a house, rubbish bags not put out for collection [and] smoking inside the doorway".
The adjudicator found no evidence for these claims .
"On the balance of probabilities on the evidence before me I am satisfied that the tenant has had her right to peace and quiet enjoyment breached, therefore I find that the landlord has committed an unlawful act," Munro said.
On top of this the Ernst's were made to pay another $500 for seemingly pretending to sell the rental between themselves so the Robertson could be told a new owner had bought the home and wanted it to be vacated.
Munro was not fully convinced the sale had actually been completed.
"The tenant claims that this notice is retaliatory as the title transfer is not a legitimate sale and is a way of getting 'rid of her'," Munro said.
"There is no independent evidence regarding the legitimate transfer of the title from the daughter to the father and I am concerned at the validity of the 'sale' and I accept the tenant's position."
