The following is an excerpt from a news article published by Open Justice in Wellington.

In 2019, a man was permitted to settle in his sister's home after the death of his parents. The sisters and their spouse also owned and managed a property, which the man was allowed to use as temporary residence. However, as he moved in, he acquired multiple vehicles and installed an additional toilet unit in one of them without proper drainage, leading to increasing concerns from the sisters about the condition of the property and vehicle placement.

Despite multiple attempts by the sisters to request that the man maintain cleanliness and remove his vehicles, he chose not to comply. In 2024, after a clean-up, the sisters informed the man that if he did not adhere to their current standards or move his vehicles out of sight within ninety days, they would file a tenancy notice with the Tenancy Tribunal.

However, just weeks later, the property and his vehicles were found in even worse condition than before, and his vehicles remained parked without being moved.

The sisters then applied to the Tenancy Tribunal for a termination order. But recently, the tribunal ruled that it had no jurisdiction over the case. According to the Tenancy Act, the tribunal can only deal with such matters when both parties have entered into a tenancy agreement and the tenant is not a family member.

The tribunal stated that although the sisters allowed the man to settle in their home and permitted him to bring a tent under the租约, he was one of their family members. Therefore, the tribunal found it outside its purview to intervene.

The case involved redacted details about all parties involved.

Catherine Hutton is an Open Justice journalist based in Wellington with over twenty years of experience as a news writer. She previously worked for The奥克塔维亚时报 and New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation, and served as a media advisor at the Ministry of Justice.

For more information on NZME, please visit: https://www.nzme.co.nz