Published tribunal order
Tenancy Tribunal case 5192764 — Leaks at 290 Jervois Road, Herne Bay, Auckland 1011
Decided 6 Jun 2025 · Published 6 Jun 2025 · Application 5192764
- Leaks
- State of repair
- Cleanliness
Party names are redacted in the official published order.
Order
- The Tribunal orders suppression of the Tenant’s name and identifying details.
- Zingela Property Management Limited must pay [The tenant/s] $15,027.00 immediately, calculated as shown in table below:
Reasons
- Both parties attended the hearing.
- This is a tenancy for which the weekly rent is $5,000 for a luxury 4 bedroom, 4 bathrooms, 2 car garaging on over 500sqm home which sits on a 1,300sqm section with spa and swimming pool facilities in leafy Herne Bay.
- [The tenant/s] claims that the landlord has breached their obligations under section 45 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 as a result of being provided with a swimming pool which is not in adequate working condition.
- Under section 45, a landlord must: a) provide the premises in a reasonable state of cleanliness; b) provide and maintain the premises in a reasonable state of repair; and c) comply with any relevant enactment in relation to buildings, health and safety
- The landlord provided evidence and submitted that they had responded to the tenant’s complaints of the inadequate pool conditions in a timely manner and that a regular maintenance schedule has been carried out throughout. The landlord also asserted that the tenant had not been filling up the pool with enough water (which is the tenant’s responsibility) which compromised the pump and filtration system of the pool.
- I have carefully considered all the evidence submitted by the parties, including the water usage of the tenant and the evidence of the pool maintenance person.
- I consider that there is nothing from the water rates invoices which suggest that the tenant has failed to fill up the pool adequately, having regard to natural evaporation in the sun. On the contrary, I find that the evidence leaned more towards there being a leak in the pool.
- I accept that the tenant is experienced in pool maintenance as a long-time user of swimming pools in previous accommodations that he had been at both in New Zealand and in North America; the tenant is not unaccustomed to the regular needs of a residential swimming pool.
- The tenant has been told by the pool maintenance person that a leak is likely to be present from what they observed during a maintenance session in early 2025.
- Text messages to the pool person to confirm the relevant conversation was not answered.
- The pool tradesperson later emailed the property manager during the hearing to say: The conversation I had with your tenant on-site was that based on the evidence infront of me and presented to me by the tenant, a pool could not lose that much water without having a major leak. I suggested we get a specialist in to have a look and confirm weather or not the pool was leaking. I was not aware at this stage that the pool had not been topped up by the tenant when it was requested.
- If the pool person had qualified his viewpoint at the material time, in the manner as set out above, I would expect the pool person to have responded to the tenant’s texts accordingly and immediately. The pool person only qualified his initial views concerning his conclusion that “there must have been a leak” during the hearing which was a few months after the conversation had taken place.
- I found the tenant to be a credible witness. I accept that his issues with the pool were not minor. The pool was not properly presented, in terms of colour and water quality, and working pool filtration system. The pool was not befitting of a luxury rental home with weekly rent of $5,000.
- I accept the tenant’s submission that the age and condition of the pool do not change the fact that the home should have an adequate and working pool system without the problems experienced by the tenant here.
- I agree with the tenant that if the pool is too old or unfit, then as tenants, they should not be expected to pay the portion of the rent that is associated with the pool feature.
- Despite some regularity in the pool maintenance schedule, I find that overall, the pool has not been maintained adequately and not kept in a working or aesthetically pleasing condition which commensurate with the luxury rental.
- I consider that 5% of the rent to be a fair barometer on what constitutes adequate compensation for the tenant and his family’s loss of amenity on account of the inadequate and poorly presented pool.
- I only award compensation for the April 2024 to June 2025 period, accepting that the landlord had already compensated the tenant $4,000 for compensation for various failures at the start of the tenancy, in the first quarter of 2024, which included the problems associated with the pool before April 2024.
- Only the amounts ordered are proved.
- As the tenant is substantially successful in his claim, I order the suppression of the tenant’s name and reimbursement of the filing fee by the landlord.