Damage claims
Question from Emmeline updated on 16th March 2018:
We had a water leak in our rental property and had to replace the floor. Our tenants advised (much later, once we changed property management companies) that the tradesperson the old management company employed to fix the floor broke the bathroom vanity and glued it back together. The old company refuse to respond to our emails regarding queries raised around this. They also failed to pick up the damaged vanity on two occasions (once after floor was fixed, and after the next routine inspection). Is there any way we could get them to cover the excess on our insurance given their negligence?
Our expert Bernard Parker responded:
It seems that you have made attempts to contact your previous property manager, and that they are ignoring your e-mails. If you are not talking to each other, you may make a claim against them via application to the Disputes Tribunal. Hearings in this Tribunal are aimed at trying to get the parties to agree on a resolution. However, if you cannot agree the referee will make an order.
Bernard is principal of Quinovic – Kapiti-Mana. Quinovic's outstanding people and systems provide the most professional, effective and reliable residential property management service in the NZ market for over 30 years.Search the Ask an Expert archive
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