An Auckland tenant has been ordered to pay her landlord more than $7000 after taking several items of furniture from her flat and selling them on social media.
Joanna Cathrine Penny Filipaina rented a home in Manukau from Investment Portfolio Management Limited Partnership until November 2021, according to a recently released Tenancy Tribunal decision.
The landlord only discovered the items had been taken after they completed an exit inspection.
The missing items included a fridge, washing machine, dryer, swivel chair, bedside table, console, round table, mattress, bedhead, TV, mattress protector, blinds, wardrobe, shelves, washer and dryer stacker unit and a shower head.
"The tenant admitted in a text message to taking the furniture items and selling them on Facebook. The landlord has had to replace the items," the tribunal decision noted.
As well as the missing items, there was significant damage to the property including a broken toilet seat, holes in the walls, tagging and scrape marks on the walls, and damage to the door lock and alcove of the apartment. The wardrobe shelving was also removed.
The tribunal said while some of the damage was fair "wear and tear", most wasn't.
"The damage is more than fair wear and tear, and the tenant has not disproved liability for the damage," the tribunal said.
It also noted the property was new at the beginning of the tenancy.
"The landlord should be returned to the position they would have been in had the tenant not breached their obligations and should not be better or worse off," the tribunal said.
Filipaina was ordered to pay a total of $7,661.83 to her landlord.
The majority of the money was for replacing items such as $780 for a new dryer and $733 for a new washing machine and installation.
Filipaina was ordered to pay $1,792 of that for a new swivel chair, bedside table, console and round table and $632 for plastering and painting.
