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Housing New Zealand terminates five tenancies in Pomare
Housing New Zealand has terminated the tenancies of five households in state homes in the Lower Hutt suburb of Pomare following an incident where a family were forced to flee their home.
"State tenants have a legal obligation to abide by the conditions of their tenancy agreement, and contribute to the peace and harmony of their neighbourhood. If they fail to fulfil this obligation, they risk losing the opportunity of a state home," Housing New Zealand chief executive Lesley McTurk said.
"In examining recent events in Pomare, Housing New Zealand is satisfied five state tenants have breached their obligations, and either themselves or their household have severely disturbed the community.
"In addressing these breaches, we have decided not to take these cases to the Tenancy Tribunal, as we have done in the past. Instead, we have used our power as a landlord under the Residential Tenancies Act to issue notices to the tenants requiring them to leave their homes after 90 days.
"We have done so because the Pomare community deserves a swift and definitive response to the recent unrest in the area, and there is no guarantee of obtaining termination orders for these tenancies from the Tribunal," Dr McTurk said.
"A Tribunal hearing would require members of the public to give evidence against the tenants. In many cases, local people are being intimidated. Housing New Zealand is aware of other incidents in this community over the past six months. Neither the Police, nor Housing New Zealand, have been able to act in these cases because the victims have been afraid for their safety.
"The issuing of 90 Day Notices in these kinds of situations marks a new approach by Housing New Zealand to tackling the small minority of state tenants whose behaviour seriously disturbs the community," Dr McTurk said.
"Over the next few months, we will be rolling out a series of policies and initiatives to support this approach.
"We are conducting a review of tenancies where we believe serious anti-social behaviour is a significant risk, and we will be closely monitoring those tenancies to enforce the obligations the tenants have to their communities.
"A new national tenancy agreement for all tenants is to be introduced to more clearly define a tenant's rights and responsibilities. Housing New Zealand staff are to receive further Conflict Management Resolution training, and discussions with the Minister are underway to explore the introduction of a mandatory stand-down period for tenants removed from state housing for serious anti-social behaviour.
"In the case of the five tenancies in Pomare, the homes will now be offered to families on Housing New Zealand's waiting list, at the conclusion of the 90 Day notice period," Dr McTurk said.
"Housing New Zealand will be closely monitoring up to 30 other tenancies in Pomare, and is not ruling out further action if those tenants also breach their obligations. Nor are we ruling out applying to the Tribunal to terminate the five tenancies where we have issued notices earlier than 90 days, should that prove necessary.
"In the meantime, Housing New Zealand will be visiting Pomare on a daily basis. We will be introducing signage throughout the area warning against anti-social behaviour, and we will be targeting at risk families with government services to help those families sustain their tenancies.
"Pomare is a strong community, and it is a community Housing New Zealand believes in," Dr McTurk said.
"We have begun talking to the community and stakeholders about the possibility of developing a Neighbourhood Improvement Programme for the area over the medium term.
"While that project continues to develop, Housing New Zealand is determined to ensure the many good state tenants in Pomare are not overwhelmed by a disorderly minority."
Media Contact: Nick Maling, Communications and Media Manager, ph 04 439 3857, 021 229 4105.
