CLICK HERE to read the story to which Whale and the original poster are referring.
Had the tenant simply wanted to deal with a nuisance from a neighbour and the landlord and EC had refused to get involved, she could have taken action herself via Fair Trading.
However, the Tenants Union advises renters to take action against the landlord under the Residential Tenancies Act because it is less expensive, less complicated and it may result in a rent reduction or, as in this case, financial compensation.
By the way, reading the details of the story, I wonder if the owners corporation may be liable in a claim by the landlord becuse “a mechanical problem in the internal ventilation passages of the strata [allowed] the smoke to pass from the downstairs unit into the inside areas of the upstairs unit”.
If I were his lawyer, I would be all over that.