A Lower Hutt couple have been taken to the Tenancy Tribunal by their landlords after they refused to disclose they had gotten a dog.

A video surfaced on social media revealing the couple had gotten a dog without asking, confirming the landlords’ suspicions after the smell of urine had gotten so bad the carpet had to be replaced. 

Solicitor Mike Thornton says the landlords were entitled to use the publicly available information in their investigation.

"If there's publicly available information, once the landlord knows about it, they can go to the tenant and say - hey, I've learned this, do you have a dog? And that's exactly what happened."

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A Lower Hutt couple have been taken to the Tenancy Tribunal by their landlords after they refused to disclose they had gotten a dog.
A video surfaced on social media revealing the couple had gotten a dog without asking, confirming the landlords’ suspicions after the smell of urine had gotten so bad the carpet had to be replaced.&nbsp;
Solicitor Mike Thornton says the landlords were entitled to use the publicly available information in their investigation.
"If there's publicly available information, once the landlord knows about it, they can go to the tenant and say - hey, I've learned this, do you have a dog? And that's exactly what happened."
LISTEN ABOVE

With a straight down the middle approach, Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive on Newstalk ZB delivers the very latest news and views to New Zealanders as they wrap up their day.

Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Mike Thornton: solicitor on the Lower Hutt couple who refused to disclose they had a dog to their landlords

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/9f31112d-98d0-4f34-842d-b416005dfe9f/transcript