An Invercargill couple have been fined $3520 for breaching the law after failing to look after their rental property.

Adrian and Elizabeth Jones were fined by the Tenancy Tribunal after it found the couple had failed to insulate the house and also failed to do necessary repairs despite repeated requests from their tenants.

The Teviot St property has since been sold and the new owners have decided to tear down the building rather than try and fix all its issues.

In May 2018, James Bryant, Roger Brand and Nicholas Armour signed a lease for the three bedroom house.

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The tenancy agreement was for one year and the house was managed by Macpherson Real Estate agent Tom Dymond.

SCREENSHOT The landlords of this Invercargill property have been fined for breaches of the law.

During each property inspection, the tenants raised concerns over the failure of the landlords to maintain the house.

The tribunal found that Dymond relayed these concerns back to the landlords but nothing was done.

In July, Dymond told the Jones family that the company would no longer be able to manage their property due to the failure to do the repairs and to insulate the house.

On August 1, the tenants filed their complaint against the Jones' and Dymond.

During the hearing, the tenants agreed Dymond had been easy to work with and had made the landlords aware of their concerns.

The tribunal found Dymond had done nothing wrong and the complaint against him was dismissed.

However, the tribunal was scathing in its finding against the Jones'.

In its decision, the tribunal said the landlords had committed an unlawful act by failing to carry out the necessary repairs to the property.

The landlords also breached the law by not insulating the property, the tribunal found.

Since July 1, ceiling and underfloor insulation is compulsory in all rental homes where it is "reasonably practicable" to install.

123RF The Tenancy Tribunal found the Adrian and Elizabeth Jones failed to insulate or do necessary repairs on the rental property.

Within a week of the insulation rules coming into effect, the tribunal had received 40 complaints relating to the failure of landlords to insulate their rental properties.

The Government has announced further changes to reforms of the Residential Tenancies Act, including an end no-cause evictions and ban rental bidding.