Rental with soggy floorboards and leaky roof among first to jump tribunal queue

A Wellington family who slept in the lounge of their three-bedroom rental because of mould and a hole in the bedroom floor has found a new home, after their case was bumped up the tribunal queue.With claims of soggy rotten floorboards, a leaking roof, and widespread mould, the case is one of the first to be part of the Tenancy Tribunal's pilot to prioritise severe health and safety cases.The tribunal told RNZ it had assessed the matter as involving a potentially significant health and safety claim and scheduled an urgent case conference.The first hearing was on 26 August, eight days after it was lodged - a much faster turnaround than the tribunal's 48-day average wait time last year.As the claim was ongoing, the tribunal said it could not comment further on the case.RNZ has seen emails between the family and property agency Quinovic, which manages the rental, in which requests for alternative accommodation were initially declined.However, RNZ understands that this week Quinovic began working closely with the family to relocate them.Brendon's son's bag grew significant mould after sitting on the floor for two weeks.SuppliedBrendon, who asked to go by his first name only, said he was paying $660 per week for the three-bedroom home that was "borderline ready to be condemned".He lived at the home with his 6-year-old son, and the child's mother, who gave birth to their second child last week.When the family moved into the home in June, Brendon said they were told it was Healthy Home-certified."I got sick at least twice in the first month of trying to clean up all the mould and the rot."And a medical certificate seen by RNZ said the then-pregnant woman needed immediate alternative accommodation, as the rental was making her sick.Brendon said the largest bedroom was not being used, as it had a large hole in the floor covered by carpet."If you had jumped, you would have gone straight through it."I mean, it's clearly not livable."The renter said the home had severe soggy floorboards and leaks.SuppliedBrendon said major repairs to the kitchen, which was rotting and mouldy, made it unusable for over a month.The tribunal's three-month pilot, which began in August, is trialing prioritising cases with serious health and safety risks, like significant mould, structural issues, or methamphetamine contamination.Rent arrears cases - when a tenant is behind on rent payments - are also being moved up the queue as part of the trial.Emails seen by RNZ show Quinovic originally rejected Brendon's requests for rent reduction and alternative accommodation, with staff telling him to take his concerns to the tribunal if he wished.One email reads: "With regard to your request for temporary accommodation, there is no general obligation under the Residential Tenancies Act for a landlord to provide or pay for alternative accommodation while repairs are being carried out. We do not currently have a suitable alternative property available in the area."However, it was prepared to agree on an early tenancy termination date.Quinovic originally rejected Brendon's requests for rent reduction and alternative accommodation.RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-KingQuinovic chief executive Parrish Wong later told RNZ it had been working with the family and supported them moving out of the property and into alternative accommodation."We will continue to work with the family and support them to help ensure the right accommodation moving forward."Brendon said Wong had stepped in this week and was ensuring the family was assisted with moving belongings in and out of storage, and into a new home.In March, the government announced proposals to develop a "light touch" approach to regulate property managers, including a register and separate disciplinary tribunal.The proposed bill is still in the drafting stage, and would not change realtors' and landlords' ability to self-certify for Healthy Homes.