Recent Feedback
We had our property rented out through an agent for almost 5 years, now we have the property back and have moved in we noticed the house was on a lean. We had a builder check the house and said the house is safe however the house will have to be jacked as the house has moved from it's foundations and all the piles may need replacing. The most likely cause of the damage was during one of the many earth quakes the lower South Island has experienced. What is the agents responsibility and will we be able to claim insurance?
Already Tried: Informed the agent and contacted a builder.
HiWelcome to JustAnswer. You may well have an insurance claim for the damage. The agents riole is more difficult but if you had a contract in which the agent agreed to look after the property, and maintenance was part of the responsibility in that contract (which I expect it was), then if the agent had any knowledge of the damage, he should have notified you and perhaps put into place some repairs of levelling to stop further damage. The failure to stop the gradual damage may make the agent at least partly liable. It may be that this was gradual and he did not notice, so you should at least question him and perhaps the tenants on this to check how quickly this happened and whether they noticed any change
Experience: LLB MMgt FAMINZ 32 years qualified as lawyer