Chinanews.com, April 1st. According to the New Zealand Tianwei.com report, a Chinese couple in Auckland recently fell into an awkward situation: due to the epidemic, their Internet cafes in the city center closed, and the new house they just signed a lease has not waited to move. Shangfeng City couldn't move there, it could only stay in the old house, he needed to pay rent on both sides.
43-year-old Ray Chun and his wife have been in Auckland for many years. After the government announced last week that they had closed the city, they had to close down the Internet cafes in the city center and the family lost their livelihood.
The Chun couple and two children rented a house in the North Shore for 8 years. Not long ago, the landlord informed them of their intention to sell and asked them to leave. So Chun signed a lease on a five-bedroom house nearby, with a rent of NZ $ 820 a week, and originally planned to move on March 29.
What he didn't expect was that the government suddenly announced to upgrade the epidemic prevention and control level, and the country was closed to the city, and the moving company was unable to work. Seeing that moving was unsuccessful, he discussed with the old landlord to continue to live here, and the rent was calculated at NZ $ 800 until the epidemic prevention and control was lifted. At the same time, he wrote to the intermediary of the new house, explaining the difficulties faced by the family, saying that the financial situation was poor after the business was closed, and the new lease was postponed for 4 weeks to take effect on April 24.
"Unfortunately, we are in a state of emergency, and our families are under tremendous pressure." Chun wrote, "In order to survive, we must be united, friendly, work together and help each other, rather than taking into account our previous rights. . "
In the end, the intermediary agreed to a two-week reduction or exemption, but insisted that the rent be calculated from April 12. "Relax, I fully understand your concerns," the intermediary wrote in a reply, "but now we have no choice but to stay at home."
According to this plan, Chun will need to bear the rent of two houses after two weeks, totaling NZ $ 1,620 per week. If the epidemic prevention and control is not over, they will not see their heads and cannot move.
Chun then contacted Tenancy Services and asked himself what to do, and a customer service consultant said in a reply that he really should pay the rent on both sides. But if the closure time is extended, he can further negotiate with the landlords on both sides to solve his own plight.
"If you are required to pay rent on both sides, you should try to reach a payment plan agreement with one or both of them in order to pay for possible arrears," the customer service said.
Chun said the situation was unfair and he intends to appeal to the leasing court. He believed that many people had the same experience as himself, and called on the government to provide financial relief to tenants, just as it did to landlords.
"I don't want to pay two rents, many people are facing the same problem as me," he said.
In this case, Jennifer Sykes, head of the Housing and Tenancy Services, the department in charge of the leasing industry, said tenants may have to pay double rents, but they can try to reach an agreement with the landlord. If the lease period is fixed, consider cancelling this waiting time. In this case, they encourage landlords to adopt flexible policies.
If the negotiation fails, the tenant can sue to the rental court for force majeure.