Ghost Landlords

Ghost landlords typically have a fair bit in common with Rat Kings and more often than not might be one and the same. This shifty breed of landlord typically owns fewer properties than the Big Dogs and hires property managers to “take care of things.”

Ghost landlords are identified by their absence. Their invisible presence makes it near impossible to get in touch with them directly. One group of students that Critic Te Ārohi interviewed on Castle said they have “no idea who the landlord is,” and have had “no communication” with them. Instead, the students only had “unreliable” contact with Cutlers, a property management company that manages over 80 flats. Unsurprisingly, when the students moved in, the flat had not been cleaned. However, when they got in touch with their property manager, they received an “apology” but were told that it’s the “landlord’s responsibility” to make sure that the flat was clean. This put the Castle residents in a bit of the ol’ catch-22 situation, forcing them to clean the property themselves.

These paradoxical scenarios of landlords hiding behind property managers which hide behind landlords are not uncommon. We can only wonder if, at a certain point, the zero accountability paradox opens a vortex to another dimension. Either way, if you find yourself in a similar situation, it might be worth taking your landlord to Tenancy Tribunal.

Outside of economics, if you find yourself facing off against your landlord about that oven that isn’t working, or that hole in the floor, you do have some power to fight back (legally, not literally). For the low price of $20, you can file a claim to the Tenancy Tribunal and be heard before an adjudicator within a few weeks - just fill out a form online at tenanacy.govt.nz. Whether you're after justice, compensation, or both, for $20 it’s worth a shot.