The Southland Times
Southland's recent wintry blast has proved a boon for southern skifields but for three young Invercargill women it has been a nightmare.
Nursing students Ally Edwards and Rebecca Calder, along with Rebecca's sister Jenna, said they returned to their Lowe St flat two weeks ago to find water running down the inside walls, the ceiling on the second floor bulging and the carpet soaking wet.
Water dripped through electrical socketsand had even soaked right through Jenna's bed, through the floor and into the kitchen below, they said.
"It was like waterfalls flooding down the walls," Miss Edwards said.
The girls said they had visited Todd Real Estate, the agency responsible for the flat, and were initially told to call in a carpet cleaner to get the carpets dried and cleaned.
However, when the cleaner arrived the damage had been so extensive he had told them the flat was uninhabitable and the carpets would have to be pulled up, Miss Edwards said.
Todd Real Estate had indicated it was unwilling to pay for the drying-out service, and as a result the girls had been forced to continue living in the squalid flat, she said.
Despite their own efforts to clean and dry out the flat, the upstairs carpets still squelched when walked on, and the rotting carpet smell coming from the bathroom area was so bad that the door had to be kept closed at all times, she said.
One of the girls had been forced to move out of her room because the roof was badly bulging and water continued to drip through the ceiling, she said.
The trio have also been unable to use a light in the garage area because water continued to drop through it and were reluctant to use the stairs in the flat because, after two weeks of being wet, they did not know how structurally sound they were, she said.
It was also thought the roof could collapse, Miss Edwards said.
"The roofs are all going. I don't know how long they are going to hold," she said.
"It was pretty bad, I expected something (to be done)." The trio had tried to move out but had needed $1000 to cover their costs, money they did not have, she said.
They had since found alternative accommodation but were still not impressed at their treatment by Todd Real Estate, the women said.
ChemDry Southland owner Nick Kelly confirmed his company had been called to the flat by the tenants.
The flat had suffered water damage and was quite damp but the problem could have been fixed relatively easily using air movers and dehumidifiers, he said.
The drying out process would have taken about three or four days and cost about $1000, he said.
ChemDry Southland had not proceeded with the work because it had not been given authority by Todd Real Estate, he said.
Todd Real Estate property manager Rosemary Brader declined to comment on the matter.
New Zealand's Residential Tenancies Act 1986 requires that landlords maintain premises in a reasonable state of repair, while tenants must inform the landlord or agent of any damage or need for any repairs as soon as possible.
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