Tenants' duty of care

Our Experts Answer:

If mould appears to be developing as a result of a tenant’s failure to take reasonable steps to care for the property you can issue a 14-Day Notice to Remedy. If they fail to take the necessary care (e.g. by opening windows and airing the property), you can then make an application to the Tenancy Tribunal for an appropriate order. You may ask to have the tenancy terminated, or you may ask for the cost of cleaning the mould and addressing the moisture issue.

A landlord is required to ensure that smoke alarms are provided at the start of tenancy, and a tenant is required to ensure that the alarms remain in place and working. Removing a smoke alarm is a breach of the Residential Tenancies Act, section 40(ca). You can notify the tenant of this breach and require that they re-install the smoke alarm.