NZ tribunal ordered Good Girls Property Management to pay over 20 tenancy breaches

New Zealand's Tenancy Tribunal ordered Christchurch firm Good Girls Property Management to pay $5,877 in exemplary damages and compensation after finding it breached the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 across 20 tenancies. The company accepted the breaches, which included an unlawful termination, an unlawful rent increase in one tenancy, unenforceable clauses added to agreements in eight tenancies, and the omission of insulation, insurance and Healthy Homes compliance statements from tenancy agreements. MBIE's Tenancy Compliance and Investigations Team brought the case on renters' behalf.

The tribunal found the firm treated one tenancy as a boarding house arrangement — which carries different termination rights — and ended it without grounds, even though sole director Prudence Morrall, who has appeared on TVNZ's reality show Renters, was unsure how to classify it. The adjudicator found she 'clearly had doubts' about her action and knew she should not end the tenancy.

Exemplary damages covered the missing compliance statements; compensation addressed maintenance failures, with MBIE images showing rotting weatherboards at one rental and a front door with a large gap letting in a cold draught. The firm had raised repair concerns with owners, who delayed or refused work over cost — the tribunal said this did not remove the firm's responsibility.

MBIE national manager Brett Wilson said the ruling reinforces a professional obligation to act when managers learn of breaches, keep records when owners refuse to fix them, and stop acting for non-compliant clients: 'Turning a blind eye is not an option.' The company said it accepted the findings and would learn from the breaches. All private rentals in New Zealand have had to meet Healthy Homes standards since July 1, 2025; penalties reach $7,200 per breach, and leaving out a compliance statement can bring up to $500 per tenancy.

NZ$5,877 in exemplary damages and compensation, with rotting weatherboards and draughty doors among the evidence.

The manager kept acting for owners who refused repairs, and the tribunal held that a client's refusal does not transfer the legal duty to comply.

It ended a tenancy by treating it as a boarding house without being sure of the classification, while the director 'clearly had doubts' the move was lawful.

Basic compliance statements — insulation, insurance, Healthy Homes — were missing across many of the 20 tenancy agreements.

Acting for a landlord doesn't outsource the duty: a manager that spots a breach must push, document it, or walk away from the client.

The company accepted the tribunal's findings and said it would learn from the breaches. The case lands as New Zealand moves to regulate property managers: Cabinet has agreed to develop a registration model with a regulatory authority and a disciplinary tribunal, and to require client funds to be held separately from operating funds. The housing ministry says property managers handle around half of the residential tenancy market.