Students Win Tenancy Battle After Sewage Flood

Landlord Ignored Pleas, Forced Two-Month Ordeal

A group of university students endured a harrowing two-month ordeal involving sewage leaks, ignored repair requests, and eventual eviction from their Wellington flat. A Tenancy Tribunal ruling has now awarded them compensation and released them from their lease.

Escalating Mishaps Lead to Evacuation

The four students moved into the Kelburn property in November 2024. By April 2025, significant maintenance issues emerged, including a concerning “bowing” kitchen ceiling. Despite a repairman dismissing it as minor, raw sewage began spewing from the ceiling the very next day.

The situation rapidly deteriorated, forcing the students to take turns emptying buckets of sewage every two hours throughout the night. They were compelled to discard all their food and disconnect their appliances due to contamination. A plumber was only dispatched the following day, confirming a burst internal pipe as the source.

While repairs were made and the area cleaned, the students were offered a temporary kitchen in another vacant unit. However, the alternative facility was not fully operational, and one student experienced five days of absence due to health concerns. Another tenant reported developing respiratory issues, allegedly from mold caused by the leak, after a medical note to the landlord was disregarded.

Landlord’s Neglect Fuels Tenant Distress

The lack of a kitchen door allowed the foul sewage odor to permeate the entire flat. The students described experiencing significant “uncertainty and anxiety” due to the landlord’s continued inaction and lack of meaningful communication, adding immense pressure to their academic responsibilities.

A request for a rent rebate, made three days after the sewage began, was denied. The landlord failed to respond to the students’ formal attempt to end the tenancy on April 15 until April 23, and a subsequent 14-day notice to remedy was also ignored.

By May 6, when the students again sought to terminate their tenancy, the landlord’s only response was to demand a week’s unpaid rent. The students then took their case to the Tenancy Tribunal.

Tribunal Slams “Lack of Care and Attention”

As of the hearing date, May 26—nearly two months after the initial leak—the kitchen repairs remained incomplete. The adjudicator, **Kate Lash**, found the landlord had repeatedly failed to address the escalating problems.

“The landlord was given multiple opportunities to engage with the tenants, put into place a rent reduction, provide compensation, advise them of time frames, and acknowledge their concerns, but they did not. Things do not seem to have changed even in the days since the hearing, accordingly it is not likely they will.”

—Kate Lash, Adjudicator

Furthermore, **Lash** criticized a likely AI-generated apology from the property manager.

“This, they say, and I agree, indicates a lack of care and attention by the landlord to their interaction with the tenants.”

—Kate Lash, Adjudicator

The tribunal awarded the students their tenancy termination and $300 in compensation, accounting for the outstanding week of rent. The landlord acknowledged poor communication, blaming insurance company delays, but **Lash** chose to publicize the company’s name due to their handling of the situation.

This case highlights the importance of prompt and effective property management. In 2022, New Zealand saw over 14,000 applications to the Tenancy Tribunal, with disputes often arising from maintenance and communication issues between landlords and tenants (Tenancy Tribunal Statistics).