Mr Seque’s comments come after the Otago Daily Times reported yesterday that Dunedin man Vic Inglis was ordered to refund $10,960.44 of rent to Natalie Parry after she took the landlord to the Tenancy Tribunal following the discovery the layout of the house was altered from the original plans submitted to council.
Mr Inglis conceded he had not carried out due diligence after failing to seek a LIM report when he bought the house to live in with his wife.
The ill-fated decision meant the tenancy was void and Mr Inglis counterclaim for Ms Parry breaking aspects of the tenancy agreement and damaging the property was thrown out.
Mr Seque said he did not believe the tribunal exercised common sense in making its decision, calling it "a bit excessive".
"There might be some case for some compensation but not the whole amount," he said.
"It’s opening up a different aspect that nobody has actually ever thought about before because there are a lot of places around that have had work done without consent for them or there’s a variation to the plans that hasn’t been lodged, as [there] was [in] this case."
Many members of the association would be assessing the ramifications of the decision as "it’s setting a precedent that hasn’t been seen before".
It was unclear if the decision meant those who discovered they historically lived in a property which was technically untenantable could seek refund of rent.
"There could be a fair few ramifications for a fair few properties around Dunedin," Mr Seque said.
"We will all be going out and checking our properties are all OK within the law."
Mr Inglis sought a rehearing with the tribunal, but that motion was dismissed.
The decision had now been appealed to the district court.
