Social housing provider under fire for rent riddled with mold with rotting walls

A community housing provider who housed a vulnerable whānau in a moldy house with rotting walls, floors and windowsills was ordered to pay more than $ 2,000 in damages.

In a case that the Leasing Court says undermined public confidence in the social housing sector, the adjudicator found that the Porirua Whānau Center (PWC) failed in its mission to ensure that families could access a safe, warm and safe home. affordable.

The single mother and the two children entrusted to her through Oranga Tamariki, lived in Porirua’s house since the beginning of January.

As the tenant’s mother was a PWC trustee, she reached out to them for help after the family had to urgently move to the area.

PWC is a registered housing provider for the Wellington region. It is also one of six family social service centers in Aotearoa that offers education and social service programs to families and children in the community.

The charitable trust owns 13 properties and manages four in the region, under its stated mission “to ensure that the Whānau have the opportunity to access safe, warm and affordable housing.”

But when the tenant saw the house in late December, they noticed that it was full of someone else’s belongings.

Then a moving contractor’s foot sank to the floor as they tried to move their belongings.

When the family moved in in early January, the tenant says he was surprised to see that the house was still in that condition and contacted the PWC operations manager, who inspected the rental and prepared a report.

The report found “serious deficiencies” in the house, including holes in the doors and walls, a huge hole in the hallway floor near the hot water cylinder; mold and moisture
everywhere, even under the carpet and on window sills, walls and floors to
the extent to which some areas were rotting; missing window latches, a broken oven and a rotten laundry room.

After the report, the tenant emailed the landlord multiple times seeking desperately needed repairs.

Although the landlord completed some of the necessary remedies, many of the listed issues were completely ignored until the end of the lease in July.

The family was given a second-hand oven, only to have it break down soon after.

Despite calling the owner again, nothing was done and the whānau lived without a working oven for months.

The rental was also riddled with mold, which the tenant told the court that he cleaned every few days without success.

It aggravated his health conditions, including multiple sclerosis, asthma and diabetes, the court heard. The two children also had a history of bronchiolitis.

“She [the tenant] produced a letter from his doctor confirming that the condition of the premises (recurring mold and moisture) likely contributed to the development of an asthma condition with a child and that the stress of the poor housing situation added to the fatigue caused by his health conditions. “He read the decision.

But PWC CEO Ms Kelly argued that the court should put tenant complaints and exacerbated health concerns into context.

Kelly told the court that PWC “took a chance” to help the Whānau when they had an urgent need for shelter, at the request of the tenant’s son.

“She believes that PWC addressed major repair issues to achieve that result and make the property ‘livable’,” the decision reads.

Kelly told the court that PWC intended to make the necessary repairs, but their hired maintenance worker was busy, it was difficult to work with the tenant’s two children to make repairs, and restrictions on accessing the property during Covid- 19 made it difficult.

But while it was commendable that PWC was willing to help the tenant in dire straits, Judge Stirling said that did not relieve the landlord of their obligation to provide adequate housing.

“While there was no evidence from an appropriate expert that the property was uninhabitable, the evidence presented shows that it was well below an acceptable standard and that significant cleanup and repair work must have been performed.
done before it was rented to anyone, “they found.

“Recurring mold and soft, rotten walls, floors, and sills caused by moisture
the conditions are simply not acceptable. “

The poor conditions in which the family was forced to live were notable, as the general public has a great interest in social housing, Stirling wrote.

“This case calls into question the credibility of that system and undermines public confidence that the system is meeting the needs of those eligible for assistance.”

PWC was ordered to pay the tenant a total of $ 2,320.44, comprised of exemplary damages and compensation for the condition of the property, and a refund of the filing fee.