Housing NZ has no mould record

An empty state house on Campbell St, Hastings, which Housing New Zealand says it is considering selling. Photo / File

Housing NZ says it has no records to suggest a tenant was "unduly worried" about a mould infestation her ex-partner says aggravated her fatal emphysema.

Hastings resident Peter Harwood last week said his ex-partner, Huia Waikato, had died after suffering from chronic emphysema, a disease of the lungs that can make breathing difficult.

He believed her condition was made worse by an extensive mould infestation throughout their state house in Campbell St, Hastings.

He said Ms Waikato had applied to Housing NZ a number of times to be transferred to another house.

"She really suffered the last few months, the house was just so mouldy. It's in the walls and the whole building.

"With her condition, she shouldn't have been in there."

However, Teresa Pou, Housing NZ's acting regional manager for the central North Island, said the corporation had "no records to suggest that Ms Waikato was unduly worried about mould at the Campbell St property during her 15-year tenancy there".

"All our tenants are advised - at the beginning of their tenancy and throughout it via newsletters and annual inspections - to contact us via our freephone contact centre should they be concerned about any maintenance issues," she said.

"All issues are logged, investigated and resolved within a timeframe appropriate to their reported urgency."

Mr Harwood also told Hawke's Bay Today he had been told he had 21 days to move out after Ms Waikato's death, saying Housing NZ "didn't show much compassion".

Ms Pou responded: "We recognise that when a household's composition changes due to the death of a tenant, the need to move to a new home can be additionally traumatic.

"We will always look to work through this difficult process with empathy and compassion.

"In this particular case, Mr Harwood was allowed to stay in the property beyond the 21-day notice period until a new Housing New Zealand home that matched his requirements could be found for him."