New Zealand tenants kept up at night by cockroach infestation awarded £5,600

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

A group of tenants in New Zealand who faced a severe cockroach infestation that disrupted their sleep and damaged appliances have been awarded £5,600 in compensation.

According to a recently released Tenancy Tribunal decision report, the cockroach infestation also caused two dishwashers to fail and led to other issues at the rental property.

The landlord had failed to address these problems adequately and tried to pass repair costs onto the six tenants of the apartment – the location of which has not been made public – including a stove replacement and a cracked toilet, according to the report.

Tribunal adjudicator Michelle Pollak noted that the landlord failed to take any further action to resolve the issue during the tenancy. However, a receipt indicated that pest control services treated the property for cockroaches two weeks after the tenants had moved out.

“The tenants endured a severe cockroach infestation for the duration of their tenancy that interrupted their sleep at night from the sounds of them scuttling across the ceilings and caused issues with the dishwasher appliances,” Ms Pollak said.

“This ongoing infestation has also led to them having to have all their belongings decontaminated after their tenancy ended and before they could safely move their belongings into a new premise.”

When the tenants vacated the property in February 2024, they were required to decontaminate all their belongings.

The tribunal also found that the landlord raised the rent before the legal minimum period had elapsed. The tenants moved into the property on 9 January last year.

The property was rented through PR Property Management Limited, acting as the agent for Bhavika Enterprises Ltd. The Auckland agent mentioned in the decision, Ram Narayanaraja, criticised the tribunal’s decision and was quoted as saying by NZME: “Everything was wrong, the decision was wrong.”

The landlord claimed that the tenants did not leave the premises clean and tidy, failed to remove all rubbish, and left the property “contaminated with cockroaches” that were not present at the start of the tenancy.