Tribunal: Tenants’ bond ‘kept in a tin’

Jill and Falconer Smith began renting a Balclutha farmhouse owned by Ralph Cochrane in May 2011. A $280 bond was paid to Cochrane and “kept in a tin”.

Cochrane admitted he did not lodge the bond as he did not know he needed to and only found out when the Cochranes filed a Tenancy Tribunal application in June.

The application challenged a termination notice as retaliatory and sought compensation for failure to insulate the premises.

The tribunal considered Cochrane’s failure to lodge the bond was unintentional and the result of ignorance of the law relating to renting of premises.