Damage caused when a tenant makes changes to the house or flat
In some situations tenants can ask to make changes to the property, such as renovations and attaching fixtures (eg, brackets for shelving).
If the attachment of the fixture is a "minor change", tenants must remove it and change things back to "substantially" how they were at the beginning of the tenancy, unless they have agreed with the landlord that the fixture can stay (s 42B(4)-(6) RTA).
If a tenant has attached a fixture, the tenant may remove it when they leave, unless that would cause irreparable damage (s 42(3) RTA). If they do cause damage when they try and remove it, the tenant must inform the landlord immediately. The landlord can choose whether the tenant must either repair the damage or compensate the landlord for any reasonable expenses incurred in doing the repairs (s 42(6) RTA).
Unless the damage was intentional or caused by an action that is an imprisonable offence, then the tenant’s liability will be limited to the "cost limit" associated with carelessness (s 49B(6) RTA).
'Acts of God' (eg, storms)
'Acts of God' are natural events like storms and earthquakes. The landlord is responsible for fixing damage caused by such events.
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