Auckland Council has welcomed a District Court decision that fined property director Paul Knights $54,000 for illegally converting a Maich Road, Manurewa property into unsafe accommodation for migrant workers.
Between mid-2017 and early 2018, Mr Knights, acting as director of 4 Corners Investment Ltd, allowed the staged installation of prefabricated cabins and other associated building works, inside the light industry-zoned building. He allowed the works to proceed despite clear advice from the council that consent for boarding house activity was unlikely and indications that the activities were unlawful; no building or resource consents were obtained.
The unlawful operation ran between 2017 and 2019 with migrant workers sourced by Radius Contracting Limited, housed in 22 container-style cabins that lacked adequate fire safety systems and appropriate means of escape. Mr Knights and his family lived on a mezzanine floor above the operation while he received a share of rental income.
In sentencing, Judge Tepania said the case demonstrated why the consenting process exists and why “the creation of risk to health and safety calls for a strong response, even if that risk has not eventuated.”
“While one cannot say what Mr Knights subjectively ‘knew’ about the building’s safety, managing such things is the purpose of a consenting regime, which he knew about and did not comply with,” Judge Tepania said.
“I find circumventing the resource consenting process undermined the council’s ability to properly regulate the use of land. The defendant’s commercial motivation speaks to his culpability and his intent or wilfulness.”
The Court determined Mr Knights’ offending went beyond wilful blindness, noting he knowingly flouted requirements for financial gain. In addition to collecting rental income, he avoided the costs associated with obtaining consents and maintaining a current Building Warrant of Fitness (BWOF).
The Crown submitted that while no actual harm occurred, the tenants were housed unsafely. Fire safety systems were inadequate for a boarding house of that scale and the cabins were not arranged to provide appropriate escape routes.
Judge Tepania rejected defence claims that the absence of actual harm should reduce the penalty and accepted that as the building owner and property director, the duty to ensure that the building was compliant and safe rested solely with Mr Knights. She stressed that the purpose of the Resource Management Act 1991, and the Building Act 2004, is to prevent such risks from arising.
Mr Knights received a fine of $54,000, reduced from a starting point of $60,000 due to his lack of prior convictions and a late guilty plea. The Court declined any further discounts for good character or remedial action, which amounted to no more than what was legally required.
Auckland Council’s Team Leader Investigations Paul Cowling said the outcome is a clear reminder that putting people at risk for financial gain will not be tolerated.
“This was deliberate, reckless, and profit driven. Mr Knights housed vulnerable workers in unsafe conditions, ignoring the law to line his own pockets,” Mr Cowling said.
“Our role is to protect both people and the environment, and Aucklanders must be able to trust that buildings are safe and properly consented. Council will not hesitate to act against anyone who cuts corners at the expense of community safety.”
Mr Knights’ co-defendants, Radius Contracting Ltd and logistics manager William Farmer, were fined $67,500 and $45,000 respectively in 2021, penalties later upheld on appeal.
READ MORE:
Hefty fines imposed for breach of Resource Management and Building Acts
