Landlord Obligations - Natural Disasters

Do you know the law?

There have been plenty of natural disasters in NZ of late, and the Auckland and the Hawke's Bay floods come immediately to mind! The aftermath of these events is still playing out, but when it comes to property owners and their obligations, there has been plenty of confusion in both regions.

Pukeko property owners are well educated when it comes to natural disasters, and we know our fellow Pukeko Property Managers in both of those regions were kept pretty busy during and after the floods making sure tenants and property owners were protected, and safe.

We heard horror stories about non Pukeko tenants left to fend for themselves as owners based overseas were helpless to help out, and even a couple of cases where property managers who managed hundreds of properties each...just couldn't get around to everyone.

So, since not all investors are lucky enough to have a Pukeko Rental Manager on hand to take care of everything, we thought we would explain how we manage these situations.

We do:

• Get in touch with all our tenants to make sure they are safe and help them as they need. Depending on the damage, this might mean supporting them to find alternative accommodation if the property is completely uninhabitable.

• Once the danger has passed, we make sure the power is working and safe.

• Arrange trades and other services to fix damages. This includes anything in the house other than personal property. Eg walls, carpets etc...

• Work with our owners to keep them informed of damages, related costs and timeframes.

• Support our owners to source any government relief funds and insurances as they need.

• If the house was water damaged, we work with owners to ensure the house is completely dried out and protected from mould.

We don't

• Rely on physical offices being open to do our job. We can manage our properties from anywhere so if our office IS impacted, as owner operators we can still just get stuck in and sort what we need to for our valued owners and tenants. Personal safety and protecting investments - it's what we do. 
• Kick tenants out to clean up the property. If the property is partially uninhabitable, then we discuss rent adjustments while it is getting fixed. If it is completely uninhabitable, then tenants do not have to pay future rent and they have two days notice to end the tenancy if that's what they want. Otherwise we work with them to let them know what's happening and when the property is safe to return. It's worth noting that we can also give 7 days notice to terminate a tenancy in this case, but this is something we discuss with owners and tenants at the time, and it really depends on the extent of the damage.

• Charge tenants rent when they have to move out while any repairs are being done.

• Make tenants pay for the power at their rental while they are not living there and the home is being repaired.

• Ask tenants to help with the clean up - We aim keep them away from all potentially hazardous materials

  Rest assured that when your property is managed by Pukeko Rental Managers that we are constantly working behind the scenes to stay up to date with the latest laws and developments, so that when the unforeseen happens we are well prepared for it. We strive to be the best at what we do so that you get the service you deserve.