WP Addicts Anonymous

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I hope it wasn't some sort of screwy news....

Oh, has something happened?

^^Hugs for you.

Ahh, just a little, not life threatening ( but could be to the other part )
Long story, but having some issues with my landlord which is a real estate company. They are taking it to tribunal apparently according to the text i received. Just another day in the life of... Its just a little stressful when they wish me to pay a fee into an account because they have increased the rent but not give me a total figure to put in, so apparently went in arrears, so they sent me a 14 day notice on the 1st to remedy and was going to deposit the remainder tonight, but they have already jumped the gun and sent it to tribunal.

Thank you
As above Froya

When is the tribunal date?

Do you have a landlord-tenant court in New Zealand?

I'm thinking: perhaps you could make some sort of settlement with them (i.e., pay that "fee.")?

Lots of times, in my experience, the landlord would rather accept the arrears than go to court.

In New York City, if a tenant has the money up front on the court date, the finding is almost always for the tenant.

Yes, will pay the remainder later, but under tribunal law here also if the total amount is not set out in original correspondence they legally have to start the 60 day process again... There have been a number of issues with realestate, ie house inspections without notification, refusal to remedy a room that is damp,cold and moldy hence i am also having to make payment to cover another room i cannot lease out. Breaching confidentiality agreement by discussing certain issues to third parties, ie random people in town ( of which was also untrue and do have proof to back that up) Owners turning up on property without the proper legal notification ( twice) even though realestate even said they would give me written verbal warning prior to them coming round. Aswell as a list of other things... Is something i should have done in the past but somewhat avoided as at the moment cant deal with too much confrontation and dealing with court settings, so partly my fault there aswell.

No date set as yet, just the crappy information that they have submitted to tribunal.

So you are the only one who has your signature on the lease with the owners/real estate agent? And then you have made the choice to sublet rooms to others?

Yes Froya , i am now, i was in a joint tenancy but he moved down south...It kinda started with when he left about a year ago.. but in short yes, i hold main signatory.

So the room mates that lives with you, pay you rent, and then you pay the whole amount to the real estate agent/owners?

Yes

I'm just trying to get the whole picture here.

How long a notice do you have for terminating the contract? The places I have rented I have had one month. 3 months is also common, and also 6 months.

It was originally a 12 month contract but rather than renew contract real estate decided to then not renew but instead by default turns into a periodic contract.Where instead of giving me 12 months notice or the length of contract falls on a 90 day notice.
( and all good, can be a bit confusing especially from country to country )

Ok I see a short notice as a good thing, but that is me. Well if I understand this correctly (I might not) To me it looks like the moldy room issue is your problem really. Sorry. If the contract says that you are responsible for the whole rent, you somehow have to pay the rent. If you can't, you have the option to terminate the lease and move to another place

Actually that isnt correct here. A home has to me livable, ie free of, damp, mold etc as it has caused many deaths here in the past and why we have some of the highest asthma rates in the world. The owners are legally obliged to make sure the house is structurally sound and if paying a premium for a rent increase on a 4 bedroom home then the 4 bedrooms must be of standard that complies with health regulation, i have had 3 flatmates move out in the last months because of this issue which has forced me to financially cover another room as it is not safe to live in. Also when heavy rain there are a number of leaks and the lower floor can get flooded up to an inch in water. Part of the lease is they maintain the property of which that has not happened, effectively i am a cash cow for them ( fair enough to a point but still needs maintaining) also reaestate have certain obligations with the owners. IE to make sure smoke alarms are up to date ( Still waiting for delivery and that was 2 years ago) Owners house insurance becomes void if chimney flues are not cleaned every year ( been here over 2 years and never been cleaned and smoke billows out, despite informing realestate) . They must pass on as an intermediary any issues i find, which includes re grouting the kitchen as water is getting under the counter and the deck needs re treating as it is starting to rot) All of which i have let real estate know as if it was my house i would want to know these things, but have never had a response back from them nor any correspondence showing they have contacted owners about said issues. Also They are under contract obligation to do a certain amount of house inspections each year and realestate have done none for over a year now. As i actually want them to do inspections for a number of reasons.

Also legally speaking as mentioned if they do NOT outline the exact amount they need from me ( as i am not clairvoyant either) Then they MUST send a new copy with the correct amount starting the 60 day cycle again.
Will call tribunal again later to discuss i think, have called them in past and they have been quit helpful, even when i had someone from head office come down some time back she openly said she didnt care what citizens advice bureau or tribunal say it is there company policy.. So sort of dealing with the wild west of commercial mentalities, where it is '' Do as i say and not as i do'', unfortunately many people just cave in and it doesnt get documented, but am sort of fed up now, i have waited over a year for repeat requests on information , always been promised it will be sent that night and never received what i have asked for but go ignored. So i have been patient and waited a year so will likely get the ball rolling and myself issue a 14 day notice of request.

edit, they came from realestate head office, sorry may seemed like i was talking about tribunal head office