Bereaved family fails in attempt to sue landlord over home infested with dangerous mould

The family of an elderly man who died of lung disease tried to sue a state landlord for thousands of dollars over a house infested with dangerous mould.

The tenant died a month after inspectors found "excessive amounts of visible mould" may be affecting his health.

All names and the location of the house were suppressed.

The case came to light through the Official Information Act (OIA).

The landlord, Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), knew about the mould in November 2023.

When the man died in July 2024, the agency had still not dealt with it.

The Tenancy Tribunal found against LINZ for taking "far too long to deal with this problem".

But the Coroner did not look into the death and no medical findings linked it to the mould.

Partly because of this, the tribunal rebuffed the family's claims.

LINZ admitted to the delays, and said it had made big changes since the death to strengthen its property management.

'Serious lung issues'

The man's family believed the mould made their father ill.

He "went from a healthy man in his 70's to having serious lung issues in a very short timeframe" his son said in their claim for $91,000 in rent paid plus exemplary damages. They got neither.

The adjudicator ruled, "I am satisfied that the landlord was aware of the mould problem in November 2023 and at the time of [the tenant/s] death in July 2024 had effectively done nothing to actual remove the mould or to rectify the situation."

LINZ managed 400 houses and a lot of other Crown property.

"It was an isolated situation and is not representative of its other properties," it said.

It warned its minister Chris Penk about the case. In an email in January 2025, it told him it might face fines and other charges, and the case could "set legal precedent".

Man 'loved' living there

The man had lived in the old house at the upper end of a harbour in an unidentified town for over eight years.

"He got to live in the house that he loved living in with his dogs and his spectacular views," the tribunal report said.

He did not tell his family or LINZ about the mould - a routine inspection found it.

The adjudicator said by failing to report it or clean it, the man may have contributed to the problem - he likely "discredited and downplayed" the effect of the mould. This was one reason not to award compensation, it said.

When the agency found out about the mould it sent in cleaners but they failed to deal with it.

Next, inspectors were called in. They found all the rooms riddled, recording "extremely" high levels of three types of mould.

"The matter should have been given some urgency given the advancing age of the tenant and the other occupants in the house and that it was evident at the inspection that a young child was also staying in the home and sleeping in bedroom three where toxic black mould was found," they reported to LINZ.

"The ceiling in the bathroom and bedroom three have excessive amounts of visible mould that may be affecting the occupant's health."

Coroner not called in

Mould spores could aggravate the lungs and cause inflammation and scarring.

Three times the inspection report said, "the current levels of airborne fungal spores are not befitting of a healthy living environment".

The family gave evidence that interstitial lung disorder had many causes, including environment and airborne contaminants.

"The family are concerned that the mould at the property made [the man] ill which may have led or contributed to his death."

The tribunal said, "It is not the tribunal's place to determine what may have caused or contributed to the death of person, that can only be decided by the coroner."

But a Coroner was not called in.

"There is no upcoming Coronial process that LINZ is aware of," its acting kaihautū customer delivery Sonya Wikitera said in a statement.

The family said no maintenance was done in the years their father lived there.

Colliers International NZ in its annual inspections told LINZ about "significant" mould and the "very poor to average" condition of the home but "had no power to arrange for maintenance or repair".

It put a work order through to LINZ in late 2023 saying, "LINZ requested to investigate the cause of mould."

The tribunal said no evidence was given why it took LINZ two months to get in cleaners and five months to get a mould report done.

No precedent set

LINZ said the case had the potential to set a legal precedent because it was the deceased former tenant's estate bringing proceedings at the Tenancy Tribunal.

"The tribunal struck out claims relating to compensation, exemplary damages, and Healthy Homes Standards. This means that a precedent was not set in this case," it said.

The tenancy began before July 2021 so Healthy Homes did not apply and the tribunal said as the tenant had died it could not award exemplary damages.

LINZ declined to be interviewed.

The tribunal had said, "there is public interest in all cases where any action is brought against the Crown as the landlord."

'Raise any concerns with us'

Wikitera said LINZ was not aware "of any finding that attributed the death to the condition of the property".

"Out of respect for the privacy of the deceased and their whānau, we will not comment further on the circumstances of the death."

She admitted there was a delay, and that early efforts to relocate the tenant had not worked.

"We acknowledge there were opportunities for us to respond more quickly."

Since then, LINZ had shifted property management in-house to improve oversight and so it could respond "more directly and promptly".

It had given all its residential tenants information about how to prevent mould, how to safely clean small amounts of mould, and how to report it.

"Tenants are encouraged to raise any concerns with us, even if they appear minor," Wikitera said.

Many of LINZ's properties were held in landbank for Treaty settlements.

It used to manage Education and Corrections properties too, including old schools, but both those agencies took theirs back recently.

The Education Ministry said this allowed it to be more hands-on and was not driven by specific concerns.

LINZ said it was standard practice when it emailed the minister's office in early 2025. It did this if operational issues might attract public, media or parliamentary interest.

"This reflects a no-surprises approach."

RNZ approached the Minister of Land Information - Mike Butterick since April 2026 - for comment.