The property manager of a short-term rental house in Mt Albert said the damage would cost thousands of dollars.
Photo: Supplied
The property manager of a rental involved in a violent incident in the Auckland suburb of Mt Albert on Friday night says he is frustrated by ongoing damage caused by different renters over the years.
At least four people were injured during a youth brawl at a house party on Phyllis Street.
Police said a car had been driven at partygoers, and there were reports of machetes being involved.
Neighbours said it was not the first time a large party, hosted at a couple of short-term rentals next door to each other and owned by the same landlord, had disrupted their quiet residential street.
Resident Rosemarie Powell believed the owner of the rentals didn’t care about the neighbourhood, but was just using the properties for capital gains.
Damage to a short-term rental house on Phyllis St, Mt Albert, Auckland
Photo: Supplied
Nzlandmax owns the Phyllis Street properties.
Quan Shu was originally listed as the company’s director and shareholder but now manages the rentals through his property business, ARent1.
Shu said he was “extremely concerned” to hear about what had occurred Friday, claiming himself to be the “most serious victim”.
Damage worth thousands of dollars had been done to the property, and his company would have to pay for repairs pending claims to the booking platform, if any would be paid out, he said.
“They broke the door. They broke the vanity. They took all the inside furniture, duvets, everything,” Shu said.
“Whatever they can take, they take. Whatever they can damage, they just damage.”
Police officers attend the scene of a large youth brawl that left several people injured in the Auckland suburb of Mt Albert.
Photo: RNZ / Jessica Hopkins
Shu said all guests were required to sign a rental agreement before check-in, which included clear terms about permitted occupants, quiet hours, respectful use of the property and neighbourhood expectations.
He said Friday night’s booking was a standard booking for two people, and at no time was he aware of any intention by the guest to host a large gathering.
“The described violence, behaviour and disorder are deeply regrettable and not representative of how we expect properties to be used,” Shu said.
He claimed to be frustrated by continual damage caused by different renters over the years.
Shu had taken complaints to the Disputes Tribunal and Tenancy Tribunal to claim losses, but the money was seldom paid back despite court orders.
“We can’t find them in New Zealand, and [if we found those guys], they had no money to pay us,” he said.
“We’re just helpless. Nobody can actually help us.”
Shu said neither he nor his company had broken any laws by using the properties as investment portfolios.
“We support stronger community safety measures, including more effective enforcement and appropriate consequences for unlawful and violent behaviour,” Shu said.
Neighbour Rosemarie Powell believes the landlord needs to take responsibility.
Photo: RNZ /Jessica Hopkins
However, Powell said the landlord couldn’t “completely wash their hands of responsibility” from the events that occurred.
“It’s not acceptable that someone’s property can be used for these kind of events that turn violent,” she said. “The landlord must be responsible for who they allow to use their property. I think it’s a cop out to say that they’re simply victims of this as well.”
She said a few residents have reached out to local MPs to discuss incidents like this in a bid to find a solution.
The house involved in Friday’s incident in Mt Albert, Auckland.
Photo: RNZ / Jessica Hopkins
“I think it’s a much wider ongoing issue, and it clearly hasn’t been resolved despite multiple negative incidents,” Powell said, adding that neighbours’ cars had been smashed following a large party at one of the two properties several years ago.
“I think ensuring that short-term rental regulation is sufficient to hold landlords accountable for the behavior of the tenants so that they’re forced to do more rigorous checking when they hire places out,” she said.
“But, also, there’s a need for short-term housing and short-term rental.
“Houses should be used to home people who need somewhere to live. They shouldn’t be used as a venue for one-off parties, and I think that needs to somehow be accounted for in property law and in the way properties are used and what they’re allowed to be used for.
“If we have a housing crisis, how is it okay that we’ve got all of these kind of essentially ‘land bank’-type short-term rentals sitting around the city that aren’t being used to house families. … The system’s clearly not working the way it should.”
Police said they were preparing an update on the incident, including the status of hospitalised people, which is likely to come through on Wednesday.
In January, RNZ reported that Shu and ARent1 had been ordered to pay more than $60,000 in exemplary damages after tenants at 34 properties complained of cockroaches, sewage overflows and holes in their walls and floors.
Meanwhile, Shu said that he was owed hundreds of thousands of dollars that was ordered by the Dispute Tribunal and Tenancy Tribunal after taking tenants to court.