A New Zealand landlord who forced a single mother recovering from a brain tumor to find a new home so he could charge higher rent has been ordered to pay $5,500.
The woman said she and her two children moved into the property in Mosgiel, about 270 kilometers southeast of Queenstown, owned by landlords Roshan John Mureekal and Anu Abraham, in July 2020.
Their lease was for one year and was extended in July 2021 with a higher rent. Stuff reported.
However, in July 2022, the mother told landlords she could not sign for another full year as she had been diagnosed with a brain tumor and required surgery in November that year.
She and the two landlords agreed that she could instead become a recurring tenant and pay a higher weekly rent with no set end date.
Two New Zealand landlords have been ordered to pay $5,500 to a single mother after faking renovation works to force her from their property (stock image)
However, on February 21, 2023, landlord Mureekal sent an email to the property manager, Property Brokers, notifying the mother to vacate the property.
Mureekal told Property Brokers managing director Tania Simpson: “Give the tenants a notice to vacate as I plan to do some renovation work before the new agents take over. I assume this is a 90 day notice.”
Simpson confirmed she would inform the mother, but stressed it was illegal for Mureekal to lie about renovations.
“Please note that if the property is not renovated as you advised and you have ordered the tenant to leave for these reasons, this is illegal, just so you know,” she said.
'Renovations mean rebuilding, repairing and upgrading spaces in the home and beyond.'
A court heard the mother was devastated by the announcement after working hard to build a support network for her brain surgery.
She had befriended neighbors to help her after the operation, placed her children in a local school and made minor improvements to the house, including planting a garden, to help her recover comfortably as quickly as possible.
Instead, she spent much of her time after the surgery finding a new home for her family.
She described the move as 'very stressful', causing her sleepless nights and extreme fatigue which affected her recovery.
A court heard one of the landlords, Mureekal, told the mother to leave the house for renovations just five months after undergoing surgery to remove a brain tumor (stock image)
A letter from her occupational therapist to the tribunal confirmed that she was unable to properly complete her rehabilitation program due to the move.
The woman and her two children were able to find a house on April 24, 2023 – about five months after her operation.
She told the court she still hasn't been able to fully unpack the new house.
Just four days after finding the new home, the woman saw Mureekal and Abraham's property on Trade Me for $130 a week more than what she had been paying.
Ms Simpson said it was the second time Property Brokers had been instructed to terminate a tenant, only to discover the landlord had moved to a new agency and wanted to charge a higher rent.
Mureekal tried to justify the notice to the ailing mother by saying he was planning to do renovation work to sell the house.
However, by the time she left, the market had declined and it was no longer worth it.
He said some minor renovations had been made to the home, including carpet replacement, painting and exterior work, but he could not provide receipts or photos.
Tribunal Judge M Allan eventually found that Mureekal had forced the mother and her two children to leave the house so he could earn more money.
'Over there [is] no evidence to support any changes, repairs, renovations or repairs and certainly not to the extent necessary. If any renovation work was carried out at all, it would be very minor and not of a significant nature that would justify terminating the lease,” Allan said.
“The fact that the property was immediately relisted with another real estate agency and advertised just four days later, at a higher rent of $130, leads me to the inevitable conclusion that notice was given so that the landlord could increase the rent.”
The tribunal found that Mureekal had faked the renovations after hearing that the property was back on the market at a higher price just four days after she and her two children moved in (stock image)
Allan found that the consequences for the mother had been serious and that the Mureekal's breach of the Tenancy Act was 'on the high side'.
'Tenants are in a vulnerable position if they have to cancel their rent. They have to find a new home at short notice and make all the life adjustments that such a move entails,” says Allan.
'There is a strong public interest in ensuring that landlords comply with the law and only terminate if they are entitled to do so.'
Mureekal and Abraham were ordered to pay $5,500 in damages.