Instead, the tenants were awarded $1500 for breaches of their quiet enjoyment due to ongoing interference with their reasonable peace, comfort and privacy, and $1000 in compensation for delayed and inadequate repairs.
One of the tenants who took the landlord to the tribunal, Paige Galland, described the dismissal of exemplary damages as a “slap in the face”.
“We had spoken with numerous lawyers, property managers and landlords leading up to the hearing and we were expecting a lot more compensation or at least for what we had to deal with for the entire year to feel justified,” Galland told NZME.
According to the recently released decision, when the tenancy began on December 28, 2024, the tenants knew garage renovations would be taking place.
Sin was the project manager for the garage conversion but had no legal standing in relation to the tenancy.
But Galland and her flatmates, Maia McGregor, Sylvia Brown, Libby Hutchings and Chloe Lui, told the tribunal Sin was “pretty much always there” throughout their one-year tenancy.
The owner of the property, who is not named in the decision, hired Eddie Wongeoon and his company, Wongeoon Vast Limited, to manage the Upper Riccarton property.
Wongeoon told NZME the conversion of the garage made the tenancy “very tricky” and Sin was often looking after the property, including doing the gardening.
The tenants gave evidence that Sin sometimes asked to be present at the premises, but most of her visits were unannounced and occurred after 6pm.
They told Wongeoon about her visits on several occasions.
He told the tribunal he had phoned Sin and told her she could not go to the property without an appointment arranged by him. When Sin continued to go there, he contacted her son.
Wongeoon told the tenants to call the police if Sin continued to visit the property.
On one occasion, the tenants said Sin entered a bedroom where one of them and her boyfriend were lying naked on a bed. Sin denied that happened, but Greene said he was inclined to believe the tenant.
“The incident when Sin entered a bedroom was serious. While Sin denied the tenants’ accusations, the fact that Mr Wongeoon, and apparently the owner, recognised what was happening corroborates the tenants’ evidence,” the decision stated.
“Wongeoon did not interfere with the tenants’ reasonable peace, comfort, or privacy, but he permitted the interference by Sin. Although he took some actions by talking to her and her son, he could have done more.
“The tenants experienced a loss of enjoyment of the tenancy because their peace, comfort and privacy were constantly interrupted.”
Tenants went without hot water
The tenants also claimed the landlord failed to attend to property repairs promptly.
Panels fell off a bedroom door and the repairs were described by Wongeoon as “quite ugly”, the tribunal heard.
They said that even after the repair, the door dragged on the carpet. They had to use duct tape to keep the panels in place.
The tenants claimed Sin would yell at them and tell them their boyfriends should carry out the repairs for free.
They also told the tribunal they had insufficient hot water, and, for about three weeks, the hot water cylinder made a high-pitched sound.
Wongeoon said the leak in the hot water cylinder was reported on August 18 and the cylinder was replaced on September 8, with the work arranged by Sin.
However, the tenants said they notified him of the problem three months earlier.
They referred to text messages sent to Wongeoon and Sin that were produced in evidence. They said Sin regularly checked that they had emptied the bucket placed under the leaking cylinder.
Greene said his impression was that both Sin and Wongeoon had a “fundamental lack of understanding” about who the landlord was.
“The tenants suffered a loss of enjoyment of the tenancy from these delayed repairs, especially to the hot water cylinder.
“Being able to use a shower without hindrance is important and necessary, as is having a bedroom door that ensures privacy and closes properly.”
The tenants also sought exemplary damages for breaches of the act. Greene had to find the landlord acted with intent to cause harm in order to award exemplary damages.
He found Wongeoon had not acted with intent, while Sin “seemed to me to be a person who had no idea that what she was doing was inappropriate”.
The landlord also made claims for damage to the property, with the tenants accepting claims relating to a cooktop, the replacement of an air-conditioning remote control and carpet cleaning.
Greene did not approve a claim relating to a handrail. The tenants gave evidence that it was never properly affixed to the wall and would move when touched, so they removed it during inspections and placed it in the garage.
The tenants accepted the landlord’s claim for damage to a door, with Greene awarding the landlord $690 for repairs.
Galland told NZME the flatmates were unsure whether they would appeal the decision.
“We feel as though the amount of effort we put in and stress we went through to prepare for the first hearing was enough, and feel disheartened that it turned out the way it did.”
Brianna McIlraith is a Queenstown-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the lower South Island. She has been a journalist since 2018 and has had a strong interest in business and financial journalism.