A New Zealand tenant has been ordered to pay her landlords more than $A1000 after a “careless” act set fire to the property she was renting.
A home on New Zealand’s South Island was destroyed when a tenant did not properly extinguish ashes from a wood burner, according to a Tenancy Tribunal ruling following a hearing in December 2023.
The renter had placed the hot ashes in a plastic bucket which later ignited and caused “significant fire damage to the house”.
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The tenant did not have any insurance, the ruling stated.
While the landlords did have house insurance, with an excess of $A700, their policy did not include contents.
The two parties had agreed the renter would pay the $A700 excess, as well as some rent in credit, and would only receive some of their bond back.
At the time both parties “considered that resolved the matter regarding house damage,” tribunal adjudicator Michael Brennan said in his ruling.
However, the homeowners’ insurer later declined to cover costs for the damaged curtains and light shades, deeming them contents.
The landlords proposed a further settlement with the renter, which she refused saying she was not liable due to the “no chattels” clause in the tenancy agreement.
A chattel is a form of personal property that is movable and belongs to the person rather than to the building or the land.
In their application to the tribunal, the landlords sought further compensation from the tenant of $A3113 to replace the curtains, fittings and light shades.
Brennan said even though the landlords had released the tenant’s bond, the tenant was still liable.
“The subsequent loss of the curtains and light shades cover was unexpected as both parties considered the one insurance claim would cover all losses from the fire. The bond was released on that basis,” Brennan said.
“The cause of the losses was a single event, the fire, but it is considered multiple losses can follow such an event; some losses may be insured, others not.”
Brennan considered the quote the landlords received to replace the damaged curtains and lamp shades ($A3113), and ruled that 40 per cent of that amount would suffice.
The landlords were awarded $A1245 in compensation.
The landlords also claimed the tenant did not remove several items at end of her tenancy, which concluded “abruptly” due to the fire.
A tenant is required to leave the premise “reasonably clean and tidy”, according to Brennan, however the renter did not remove a portable spa and four wooden pallets.
A third party removed these items, costing the landlords $A227.
The landlords sought compensation for this amount, however Brennan ruled the tenant had limited access to the property after the fire. Coupled with the fact the property was being demolished and therefore there was no rush to remove the items, Brennan dismissed this particular claim.
