'I probably wouldn't live there', admits owner of rental property company fined $88000 over mouldy homes - Stuff

The flats were cold and damp, with mould growing on ceilings and walls. Some had rotten or missing floorboards, or decaying window frames that plants grew out of. One had repairs ordered three years ago still not done.

Despite boasting several internal business excellence awards, Ray White New Brighton has neglected dozens of homes in the last two years, according to Tenancy Tribunal reports.

The company has been fined $88,000 over two years for offences relating to substandard rentals, securing its top spot on the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s (MBIE) worst offenders of tenancy law breaches in 2022/23.

It was the only Christchurch company named on the list of “particularly egregious” cases, and the only company in Aotearoa to be named twice.

Maxine Jones, who owns the Christchurch company (which also trades as Results Realty), has admitted the state of one unhealthy property was such that “I probably would not live there”.

The firm’s lack of compliance with the law and Healthy Homes Standards was at times intentional and had harmed the health of tenants, according to tribunal rulings and MBIE.

In one case involving three properties, two of which were later demolished, a Tenancy Tribunal adjudicator found the company “acted intentionally when they failed to provide and maintain the premises in a reasonable state of repair and failed to comply with health and safety requirements”.

The subsequent $14,770 payout to tenants (the cost of which was shared with property owners Anatoly and Svetlana Khokhlov) made it one of the largest payouts in a case of dodgy rentals where MBIE got involved.

KAI SCHWOERER/STUFF

Karwin Davidson's home isn't healthy, despite over six years of fighting his landlord to make it better.

That figure paled in comparison to a separate $54,995 out-of-court settlement to tenants. MBIE did not share details on that case as it was an ongoing tribunal matter.

Meanwhile, MBIE has an ongoing case against the company involving 26 properties.

Jones said her former employee and property manager, Carolyn De La Mare, kept her in the dark about two or more of the dozens of properties that were taken to the tribunal.

This was despite De La Mare being publicly named as the company’s representative in almost all cases against the company in the tribunal, and one case resulting in a $6000 payout in 2020.

Jones said the company had no record of that payment, despite tenant Karwin Davidson confirming he received it.

KAI SCHWOERER/Stuff

Davidson doesn’t believe ignorance is good enough for a company that’s operated for over 15 years.

Jones said De La Mare resigned without telling the company about the condition of some properties, including Davidson’s.

Jones did not respond to evidence that another, current employee was aware for more than a year before the resignation that Davidson’s home was non-compliant in several areas.

Despite a tribunal order in March 2020 and another in August 2022 to make the home legally compliant, Davidson’s home was still awaiting ordered repairs in February.

In total, he had been awarded $12,500 in damages and compensation for the nearly seven years he’s spent in the unhealthy home.

Jones said she continued to rent the home to Davidson out of compassion.

“We don’t want to kick him out on the streets,” she said. “You or I probably wouldn’t live there.”

KAI SCHWOERER/Stuff

Instead of replacing the window pane, Davidson’s bedroom window was boarded over. The rest emits the legal requirement of natural light, his property manager says.

In a statement, Zac Snelling, Ray White New Zealand head of property management, said Ray White had since supported its New Brighton franchise in a complete audit of its processes.

Snelling said the Ray White brand operated as a network of independently owned and operated franchises. It wasn’t across every single tenancy, so was unaware of New Brighton’s issues.

However, it did expect franchises to operate within the law and uphold the rights of both tenants and landlords, he said.

Snelling described the breaches as “historic” and said it involved extenuating circumstances.

Regardless, Ray White New Brighton had an obligation and a duty of care, which it had failed over in several circumstances, he said.

The franchise received three internal ‘Premier Business Leader’ awards and a ‘Chairman’s Elite Business Leader’ gong from Ray White’s head office. Snelling said those awards were achieved automatically, based on a high number of residential sales commissions.

Jones’ daughter, Holly Jones, was Ray White’s number one real estate agent in 2019, 2020 and 2021 and a member of the company’s elite status members.

After Stuff approached Ray White for comment, the company invited Brett Wilson, MBIE’s national manager for tenancy compliance and investigations, to independently review and audit the New Brighton office.

Wilson told Stuff he congratulated Ray White for inviting him, but because MBIE had an ongoing case before the tribunal against the company, it needed to consider if it was appropriate.

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