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Question Details: The owner of our rented property is sub-dividing the adjoining property that they also own. Through this process we will lose our entire back yard, double garage, and garden shed. Can we ask for permanent rent reduction or some other compensation for this?
Filed under Tenancy | 1388 View(s)
Community Law Wellington & Hutt Valley
You can apply to the Tenancy Tribunal to ask for compensation for the disruption to your "quiet enjoyment" of the backyard you were renting.
You should start by talking to your landlord about the reduced value of the home you rent. You can ask for a rent reduction or compensation.
If you can't agree with your landlord about fair rent or compensation, you can apply to the Tenancy Tribunal. There are two things you could ask the Tenancy Tribunal for:
You could apply for an order from the Tenancy Tribunal that the landlord had breached your right to quiet enjoyment of the property, and the Tribunal could order the landlord to compensate you.
You could also ask the Tribunal for a market rent review. If the Tribunal finds that the rent is substantially higher than the rents of similar properties in similar areas, it can make an order reducing the rent to the market rent. Note that there are some time limits on when you can apply for a rent review. Click here to read more: www.communitylaw.org.nz.
See these links for more information about the tenancy tribunal: www.communitylaw.org.nz and www.dbh.govt.nz.
For more information, contact your local Community Law Centre or call 0800 TENANCY.
Answered 5 Sep 2013. The IMPORTANT NOTICE below is part of this answer.
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