By Tracy Neal, Open Justice multimedia journalist of 
Fiona McLaren faced debt and stress after a tenant left $9000 in unpaid rent and $14,000 in damages to the property. Photo: NZ Herald / Cameron Pitney
- Fiona McLaren faced debt and stress after a tenant left $9000 in unpaid rent and $14,000 in damages to the property.
- The Tenancy Tribunal ordered the tenant to pay over $13,000 for rent, cleaning, and repairs but McLaren is not hopeful she'll see the money
- The Property Investors Federation warns landlords to manage properties carefully and consider using professional property managers.
A landlord says she has been left exhausted, stressed and in debt over damage caused to her property by a tenant who also left owing more than $9000 in rent.
Fiona McLaren said it's been a hard lesson which at times had left her in tears and wondering how she ever had compassion for the person she thought she was helping.
"This was a lesson, but the shame is terrible," she said.
"It's just so stressful. The amount of days I've had to take off work because I've just been a wreck because of my finances.
"It seems really unfair."
Despite a recent breakthrough with her insurer, the financial burden remained because she still had to bridge the rent gap, after having to rent the house at a lower rate because of the damage.
The 43-year-old operations manager has had to raid her savings to offset mortgage payments when the rent didn't cover it.
She was up to the limit on her credit card after paying some of the $14,000 repair bill for damage to the property north of Auckland which was also left dirty with items still in cupboards when the tenant quit the lease early and left.
A claim lodged
McLaren lodged a claim with the Tenancy Tribunal which recently ordered the unnamed tenant to pay more than $13,000 owed in rent, cleaning, storage and repair costs to McLaren.
She knew it would be an uphill battle getting the money, and had recently applied under hardship grounds to withdraw her KiwiSaver as a last resort to help pay off debt, including that owed to the builder who had been working on the repairs.
She delayed payment in the hope the tribunal's order would be binding upon the tenant but discovered it was up to her to try and get what was owed.
"I've had to make an application to the Ministry of Justice for an attachment order, to try and have the money taken out of her weekly income."
However, she was finding that process far from easy.
The only bright light was that she had been able to re-let the home, but at a reduced amount, and she had also just reached a confidential agreement with her insurer.
The insurer confirmed it had reviewed her claim after being approached by NZME.
McLaren said she cried again, on hearing the news they would pay out for damage and rent arrears from April which she claimed happened as a result of her trying to accommodate the tenant's difficulties.
"I was being compassionate. I've had it happen before but I was able to manage it, and I didn't want to kick her out.
"People are struggling and I get that. S**t happens in life and, you know, you don't just turn your back on people."
However, the promises kept coming that the rent would be paid, but when it came to the crunch, nothing happened.
"She was lying to me and I fell for the bulls**t."
'A very sad case'
McLaren was speaking out in the hope it might alert others to avoiding such problems.
She said it was doubly scary because, being self-sufficient, there were no lifelines available to her.
"I've got absolutely no one to fall back on. It's just me, which is also terrifying."
Landlord Fiona McLaren has been left in a perilous financial situation after a tenant left owing $9000 in rent, and having caused damage that has cost thousands to fix. Photo: NZ Herald / Fiona McLaren
The NZ Property Investors Federation described it as "a very sad case" and a salutary lesson for all self-managing landlords and anyone considering becoming a landlord.
PR and advocacy manager Matt Ball told NZME the key thing for any landlord to remember was that they were operating a business.
"This is not a passive investment. If you manage it properly you and your tenants will be better off.
"If you don't, and things go wrong, they can go very badly indeed," Ball said.
When things turned bad
McLaren, who arrived from the UK in 2007 on holiday but ended up staying, bought the three-bedroom property about a decade ago as a home for herself she then renovated.
She bought another property in 2018, around the same time as a particularly stressful separation, and kept the other as a rental.
McLaren said the previous long-term tenant moved out in October last year, and the new tenant moved in, on a year-long fixed-term tenancy.
The tenant, whose name was suppressed because of an alleged family harm incident, claimed hardship and handed the keys back to McLaren in July.
It wasn't until she arrived at the property to prepare it for a re-listing that she saw the state it was in.
"I turned up at the house and found that she'd actually half moved out. All the furniture was gone, but there was still a load of s**t left in the house."
Landlord Fiona McLaren arrived at the vacated property to find items left in cupboards and rubbish on the lawn. Photo: NZ Herald / Fiona McLaren
McLaren said a property inspection was done in January, about three months after the tenant had moved in. A subsequent scheduled inspection didn't go ahead when McLaren said the tenant reeled off a list of reasons, including illness, as to why the property couldn't be seen.
McLaren was then away all of May.
Door left open for dog
The tribunal finding was that most of the damage to McLaren's property was caused by rain, after a door had been left open for the tenant's dog to come and go.
McLaren's builder advised that the floorboards that joined the ranch slider door were also water damaged and needed to be replaced, and repairs were needed to about three quarters of one water-damaged wall of the living room.
There were scratch marks on walls, food items had been left in the kitchen, and a recycling bin was full of non-recyclable rubbish.
A bathroom bin had been left full of rubbish and there was more rubbish scattered on the lawn.
A number of personal belongings had been left behind including clothing, kitchen utensils, a drier and other miscellaneous household items.
A laptop and heater were also left behind, McLaren said.
The tenant also damaged the deck by replacing half of it with ill-fitting and unmatching timber boards, without McLaren's permission.
"I had people (prospective tenants) visiting that day but no one was going to take the property on at the rental price I had advertised because it just looked like an absolute state."
She negotiated with a new tenant and reduced the weekly rent from $595 to $510 then took a day off work to pack the tenant's belongings into about 15 rubbish bags, placed in private storage.
McLaren had insurance cover for default on rent, and damage caused to the property while occupied by tenants.
She has since learned another lesson about specialist landlord cover, and the obligations upon them, including that they must apply to the Tenancy Tribunal for vacant possession if the rent was more than 21 days overdue.
Inspections were also required at least every three months and between each tenancy.
The Insurance Council of New Zealand said that while it could not comment on individual cases, it acknowledged this was a difficult and stressful situation for the property owner.
A spokesperson said landlords needed to ensure they had the right policy in place and understood what it covered, particularly around deliberate damage and loss of rent.
They should also be aware that excesses applied per event, not when damage was discovered, and that regular inspections were an important way to identify and manage risks early.
"Loss of rent cover is also available if the property cannot be lived in due to damage from an insured event, and this is generally time-limited," the council said.
It said landlords had responsibilities to maintain their property and take reasonable steps to prevent loss which included regular property inspections, collecting rent and bond in advance, and monitoring arrears.
The Property Investors Federation said inspections benefited the landlord and the tenant by ensuring problems were picked up and fixed quickly, before they became bigger problems.
Matt Ball said some tenants might worry about reporting issues with their rental, thinking the landlord might be unhappy, but it was better to report problems sooner rather than later.
He advised those reluctant to manage their own property to get a good property manager to act for them.
"There are many great property managers around the country, but if you want a passive investment, put your money into KiwiSaver.
"It could save you a lot of heartbreak."
-This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald.
