Upper Riccarton tenants win $2500 after repeated uninvited visits from landlord’s mother
A group of tenants in New Zealand was awarded $2,500 by the Tenancy Tribunal after their landlord's mother repeatedly entered their home uninvited. While the tribunal acknowledged the breach of privacy, it denied exemplary damages, ruling that the mother lacked malicious intent.
Why it matters
The case clarifies the legal boundaries of landlord-tenant privacy rights and the criteria for awarding exemplary damages in property disputes.
A group of flatmates knew a garage renovation would be happening at the property they were renting when they moved in.
But what they didn't know was that the property owner's mother, Ying Sin, would repeatedly visit the home uninvited - in one instance, walking into the bedroom of a woman who was naked on the bed with her boyfriend.
Now the case has ended up in the Tenancy Tribunal, where the tenants claimed exemplary damages for breaches of quiet enjoyment.
But while they were successful in their claim for breach of quiet enjoyment, tribunal adjudicator Brett Greene ruled Sin "seemed to me to be a person who had no idea that what she was doing was inappropriate" and did not act with intent. He therefore dismissed the claim for exemplary damages.
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