Tenancy Tribunal to launch database naming bad tenants

The long-promised Tenancy Tribunal database – detailing Tribunal rulings – is expected to be available from late February this year.

Wednesday, January 10th 2007, 3:30PM 2 Comments

by The Landlord

The database will be made up of current and future decisions and will not include past decisions or mediation decisions because of issues regarding the consistency and format of names on historical decisions.

The database will be updated daily, and the Department of Building and Housing expects some 20,000 orders to be lodged on the site each year.
 
The New Zealand Property Investors’ Federation has “long and strongly” lobbied for the database, said Federation president Martin Evans.

 
The database has been delayed from its original planned implementation date of July 2006.

Evans says the database will help landlords better screen prospective tenants for previous history of unpaid rent and/or deliberate vandalism.

The Federation also recommends that landlords should carefully check and record a tenant’s full name on any tenancy agreement, and says obtaining a copy of a photo identification could prove invaluable as well.

Vice president of the Federation Andrew King said landlords make 90% of Tenancy Tribunal applications, with approximately 80% of these being for rent arrears and property damage.

“At present the power is with the tenant as there are many loopholes for tenants who behave badly and few repercussions to deter bad behaviour. Hopefully these issues will be addressed in the Residential Tenancies Act review later this year,” King said.

He added that publicly listing “the few landlords who don’t know the regulations they operate under” would help the property investing industry. “Property investor associations around the country help accommodation providers to be better property managers as well as profitable property investors.”


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Comments from our readers

On 25 May 2011 at 5:39 pm Jacqui said:
If changes have been made to the Residential Tenancies Act for the greater good, I would hate to see what it was like before the changes. I cannot understand if it can be proven that the tenant is not paying rent and has damaged the property why on earth does it take so long to get them out. These tenants are nothing but theives I'm on my 6th week of battle with no rent and I have to preserve her rights its unbelievable and injust. I've been told my case will take some time because the courts are full, full of what I wonder tenants verse landlords or Landlords verses tenants I would think.
On 10 November 2011 at 8:13 am Janet said:
Yes bad tenants are worse in Auckland. I have had a property manager look after my place and still the same problem, damage and costs I have occurred, is unbelievable. Unfortuately we are the victmins in all this.
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