The Tenancy Tribunal has ruled Cutlers Ltd, trading as Cutlers Property Management, breached smoke alarm and maintenance requirements under the Residential Tenancies Act.
The breach related to a fire which happened in a flat of a two-storey building in Heriot Row on September 7, 2022.
"In respect of Flat 2, Cutlers accepts that the property manager provided non-compliant (1year) rather than 10-year photoelectric smoke alarms, and did not install these smoke alarms or test the smoke alarms once installed to ensure that they were working," the decision said.
The Fire and Emergency New Zealand station officer who attended the tribunal hearing said "if the fire had occurred an hour later, it is likely the tenants would have been asleep and would not have been alerted to the fire by smell and the consequences may have been catastrophic".
"This is not an overstatement or dramatisation of the facts. It is the plain fact and stresses the importance of smoke alarms."
When the fire occurred, the smoke alarms did not activate in either flat 1 or 2, the decision said — and the fire was only detected when one of the downstairs tenants smelt something "melting".
"There was a history of the tenancy not having working smoke alarms — this was evidenced in text messages between the tenant and her mother where the tenant notes that there was a lack of fire alarms in the property at the beginning of her tenancy.
"The property manager not only failed to provide compliant smoke alarms but also failed to install the smoke alarms and to ensure that they were working at subsequent inspections."
The fire had a significant and profound effect on the tenants.
"Although the tenant inadvertently caused the fire, she says that had the smoke alarms been working she believes that she would have been alerted before it took hold, thereby avoiding a large kitchen fire which displaced her for five months."
The tenants of Flat2 were awarded $5000 for Cutlers’ breach and an additional $250 in damages; while Flat 1’s tenants were awarded $1200.
Exemplary damages should have a punitive and deterrent effect, the decision said, and it was "in the public interest that a significant award is made".
The decision said Cutlers managed hundreds of properties and had been doing so for years.
"This appears to have been an isolated breach and I am satisfied that Cutlers have taken the necessary steps of their violation to ensure that there are unlikely to commit further breaches."
Cutlers managing director Matt Cutler said the tenants had Covid-19 on the day the property manager went to drop off smoke alarms, so he did not enter the property and the tenants said they would install them themselves.
"They put them up but also took the batteries out, so they did not go off when the fire occurred.
"In September 2022, the tenants then left the element on high which caused a fire.
"The smoke alarms should not have had batteries in the first place, so even though the tenants removed them, we accepted fault as soon as we were made aware that the smoke alarms weren’t compliant.
"If we had provided the correct smoke alarms then they would not have been able to remove the batteries.
"We also never followed up to make sure they were installed properly, so we accept liability there."
