When Michael Gemmell left his Whanganui flat in a state of disrepair (and minus a smoke alarm) Inspire Property Management claimed damages through the Tenancy Tribunal.

The property manager, Roxanne Ditchfield, presented evidence that when the flat was inspected after the tenancy ended, several holes where found in the walls, patched up with makeshift repairs. These needed to be repaired again and the walls needed to be repainted.

The curtains and blinds in the house were mould damaged and smelled of cigarette smoke and needed to be replaced. There was a smoke alarm missing, the key was not returned and there was rubbish left to be removed.

In the hearing documents, adjudicator J Greene pointed to the legal definition of “careless damage”. This states that tenants are liable for the cost of repairing damage that is intentional: defined as damage that a person intends to cause, or damage where a person does something, or allows a situation to continue, knowing that damage is a certainty.

The damage in this case was found to be more than normal “wear and tear”:and the tenant had not disproved their liability. The tenant (who did not attend the hearing) was therefore ordered to pay the landlord a total of $1,783, $920 of which was taken out of the bond.