Josephine Rawstorne talks about how she was told to move out of her rental after becoming pregnant.

About five weeks before an Auckland woman was due to give birth, she was told to move out of her rental "sooner rather than later".

The property management company told Josephine Rawstorne she would breach the tenancy agreement's maximum occupancy limit by having a baby.

Rawstorne told Stuff she found the news "quite terrifying".

RICKY WILSON/STUFF Josephine Rawstorne was asked to exit her fixed term tenancy early because she was pregnant.

"My stress levels were super high. It gives me shivers," she said.

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Rawstorne took her case to the Tenancy Tribunal claiming she was being discriminated against because of her pregnancy.

In a recent decision, the Tenancy Tribunal ordered her former landlord to pay her $1411 in rent overpayment, but did not order any damages in relation to discrimination.

Rawstorne had been living in her Grey Lynn rental with her partner for a year when she told her landlord she was expecting a baby in September 2019.

She asked if she was in breach of contract as the tenancy agreement only allowed one tenant at the flat. Her partner had already moved in with the landlord's permission.

RICKY WILSON/STUFF Josephine Rawstorne with daughter Madeline, who is now five months old.

In April, Quinovic Property Management congratulated Rawstorne and her partner on the pregnancy and there was no indication the baby was a problem, according to the Tenancy Tribunal decision.

However, in September, Rawstorne received an email which said her pregnancy had been brought to the owner's attention.

Quinovic told Rawstorne the owner did not want three people living in the rental and had "raised some concerns" about her breaching the tenancy agreement, the tribunal decision said.

When Rawstorne asked for a timeframe on moving out, she was told "sooner rather than later", the decision stated.

Rawstorne explained to Quinovic she was 36 weeks pregnant and moving out then or straight after the birth was not an option.

She said felt her health and the health of her daughter would be compromised by moving, but she started to look at other rentals.

RICKY WILSON/STUFF Josephine Rawstorne feels she was discriminated against because she was pregnant.

On the day her daughter was born, the owner decided the family could stay until the end of the tenancy in February, the tribunal said.

However, Rawstorne moved out on October 26, 2019.

The Tenancy Tribunal said the landlord "assumed" they were entitled to terminate the tenancy on the birth of Rawstorne's daughter as the maximum number of tenants agreed was exceeded.

But the decision found although this assumption was wrong, the landlord and owner had "no intent" to discriminate against Rawstorne because she was pregnant.

It is illegal for landlords to treat anyone differently on certain grounds, including sex — which includes pregnancy — race, colour, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and disability.

The tribunal awarded Rawstorne $1411 in rent overpayment between October 2019 and February.

She also claimed exemplary damages for discrimination and unlawful entry, along with storage costs.

The tribunal found the landlord was not required to pay for these damages. Storage costs would have been incurred at the end of her tenancy, and the landlord entered the property after taking possession, the decision said.

RICKY WILSON/STUFF Josephine Rawstorne, her partner and their daughter Madeline will be moving into a new rental on Sunday.

Rawstorne told Stuff she was considering appealing the tribunal's decision.

The mother said Quinovic had "no regard" for the vulnerable position she had been in.

"No one ever said this is a very s....y situation and we'll stop and reassess in February. They dragged it out for five weeks.

"I felt like I was being discriminated against because I was pregnant," Rawstorne said.

"If they'd shown a bit of remorse and apologised — it's not about the money."

Quinovic has been approached for comment.