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GOOGLE MAPS / Supplied
A woman and her family had been living in the Sharland Ave rental in Clendon Park since 2015.
Kāinga Ora has been ordered to pay $ 3,520 after failing to maintain a property in South Auckland where a family lived with rot and mold for years.
The problem became so severe that a “basketball-sized hole” formed in the floor under the carpet.
Lease Court Adjudicator Nicola Maplesden said there were many major problems at the home, on Sharland Ave in Clendon Park, and they had not been fixed in a reasonable amount of time.
They included clogs in the toilets and leaks that were not addressed until there were six clogs and leaks in the floor, continuous leaks causing mold damage in rooms, and an electric heater that went unrepaired for two years.
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The tenant told the court that he had made numerous phone calls and emailed the landlord about the problems, asking that they be fixed.
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Going to court was the only way she felt she would be taken seriously.
“All I ever wanted was for someone to listen to me,” the tenant told the court.
Maplesden said a large organization responsible for government-owned housing “should meet its obligations.”
“The fact that the tenant has complained for so long and to so many people makes me happy that this violation was intentional.
“It may be that one or two people employed by Kāinga Ora did not take your complaints seriously, or that a contractor did a poor job or a property manager did not follow up after an inspection.
“But for this to continue to happen for several years, various contractors and various property managers is not mere oversight.”
The court heard that some floors and walls rotted so badly that they had to be replaced.
The tenant, her partner and their five young children had to sleep in the living room during the repairs as two of the bedrooms were unusable.
Mold and dust possibly raised during repairs may have exacerbated asthma and other respiratory symptoms, Maplesden said.
A representative of Kāinga Ora told the court that he recognized that he has a clear obligation to maintain his property. He is one of the largest landlords in New Zealand and one whose tenants may be vulnerable.
Maplesden ordered Kāinga Ora to pay the tenant an exemplary compensation of $ 3,500.
Those were at the “higher end of the scale” because of the number and duration of maintenance problems, and because the owner as a provider of government social housing “should do better,” he said.
Home Health Area Manager Tavai Karapani said Things Kāinga Ora had apologized to the tenant and moved her to a more suitable home for her family.
“We should have been more receptive and listened to what she was saying. We have around 190,000 clients on 67,000 properties and it is very important to us that we do our best for all of them.
“We didn’t do it for this family and we paid a price for that, which is more important in terms of their goodwill. We will make sure to work very hard to restore that. “
