Uber Eats driver warned tenant of danger outside her home
A tenant who was warned of electrical sparks by an Uber Eats driver at her rental home and feared a fire has been awarded almost $9000 in compensation.
A tribunal heard the renter was aware of “popping sounds and sparks” coming from a fuse box, which she found to be hazardous and “distressing”. However, the landlord took no action to fix it, despite numerous emails from the tenant alerting them to the danger, and that trees close to the house were brushing power lines, over a period of six weeks.
The home also made her feel unwell, the renter alleged. She endured no working toilet for four days, mould due to poor ventilation, and suffered from joint pain because of the spores and an uneven floor, which fell under the damages payout.
An Uber Eats driver warned the tenant they could see sparks when they delivered to the address in Sandringham, Auckland, the tribunal heard.
“The issue seems to be particularly pronounced during stormy weather with instances of sparks and popping noises occurring in quick succession,” the tenant said in emails tendered to the New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal in March.
“This development is deeply distressing, instigating significant anxiety for me, making it difficult to live peacefully in my own home.
“It causes banging/popping sounds every time it gets windy and rainy. It does it frequently during storming weather. It is inconsistent and difficult to capture on camera. I managed to get footage of the sparks happening from the outside the house (this also happens inside the house). This needs to be fixed urgently as I’ve mentioned several times, it could result in a house fire and it causes me anxiety knowing this. Please let me know what is being done to remedy this urgent situation after viewing the attached video file”.
Eventually, when the power went out, the tenant hired an arborist at their own cost to trim the trees, and texted the property manager that she had been forced to do something. “…you have acted too late”, she said in the SMS.
The landlord reimbursed the tenant but the tribunal found they had failed in their responsibilities.
This formed evidence in a decision to award the tenant $NZ9023.79 ($AU8249), including damages for a toilet that was out of order due to a busted cistern, the unsafe power supply, ruined enjoyment of the home (due to stress and anxiety over the power problems) and a lack of ventilation resulting in moisture and mould. The vast portion – $NZ6000 ($AU5485.35) – was awarded for the landlord’s breach of the country’s healthy homes standards.
These are the minimum requirements in a rental, covering heating, insulation, ventilation, moisture and drainage.
“I find this to be a clear and fundamental view failure by the landlord to meet its obligation to keep the premises in a reasonable state of repair,” adjudicator Bryan King said in the published decision.
The toilet’s cistern was repaired four days after the tenant notified the property manager and the delay was not the fault of the landlord, the tribunal found, but the tenant was awarded $50 a day compensation because she did not have a working loo but continued to pay full rent.
Before the tenant moved in, in January 2022, the home was found not to meet minimum standards during a healthy homes audit, because there was no extractor fan in the kitchen. The property was later rubber stamped as compliant based on the landlord’s evidence they purchased an extractor unit and vent, but the house was not inspected again to see if it was installed.
The tribunal heard the tenant reported uneven flooring and mould issues making her feel sick, even though she was only 27.
“The house has been a major contributing factor towards my diminishing health, as I’m sure you remember our concerned emails earlier this year, and I can’t afford for my health’s sake to stay there a moment longer,” she said in a message to the property manager.
“Some of these issues include: hard uneven floor through the house which has been causing joint problems and my ankles and hips have deteriorated to the point I can no longer run without pain. I’m 27 years old and this has never been a problem for me before this house and this floor. I work from home so there is no escaping it. Must be hidden mould problems because I’m very sick inside that house even with windows open and feels (sic) fine everywhere else I go.
“Some of my furniture and picture frames have begun to develop mould which had never been (sic) in any other house. This is a very serious issue.”
King said in his decision that the landlord was possibly trying not to pay for the home’s upkeep.
“In the circumstances, I can only assume the landlord’s motivation to have been to avoid the cost of having those issues properly investigated and of any resulting remediation,” he said.
The property manager did not turn up to a scheduled inspection and a representative of the agency later demanded to be let in when they arrived without giving the tenant notice. These occasions, King found, were “disrespectful”, but not cause for compensation.
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