Pensioners appalled at rental hike for 220 Hastings District Council flats

Impacted residents have been shocked by the rental increase. Pictured are (from left) Roger Pulley, Sue Harrison, Phyllis, and Leanne Richards outside their Hastings units. Photo / Warren Buckland

A sizeable rent hike for 220 council-owned flats around Hastings will cause “a lot of hardship” for pensioners already struggling to pay their bills, impacted residents say.

Rents are currently set between $117 and $178 a week at the senior flats, owned by Hastings District Council.

Residents were informed last week their rent would be bumped up to $260 a week at the end of January for all flats - an increase of at least 45 per cent.

The one-bedroom homes are full and there is a lengthy waitlist, as they provide an affordable housing option for seniors.

The flats are located in Hastings, Havelock North and Flaxmere.

The council said the new rate was well below market value and would help cover rising insurance and maintenance costs.

“The new policy [also] ensures all tenants will be paying the same rent rather than some paying much less due to the length of their tenancy,” a council spokesperson said.

“The difference in [current] rents relates to how long the people have been in the units. Those paying the lowest rents are the longest-residing residents.”

Pensioner Sue Harrison is currently paying $178 a week for her unit at Parkhaven Village in Hastings.

She said getting by on a pension - of about $1000 a fortnight - was hard enough as it was.

“They are taking half our pension,” Harrison said, of the change.

“It is going to cause a lot of hardship. I’m thinking about all these elderly people here who are struggling as it is.”

Harrison said she was not sure how she would continue to pay her funeral plan or cover her next car registration.

“That is our last piece of independence, our car,” she said. “This is an absolute disgrace what the council has done.”

She said many residents were in the last part of their lives and “they can’t even live it” with the rising costs.

Neighbours Sue Harrison (left) and Leanne Richards say the rental hikes are unaffordable. Photo / Warren Buckland

Her neighbour, Leanne Richards, did not understand why the increased rent had to be passed onto residents in one go, rather than rolled out over a few years.

Richards, 64, is not yet on NZ Superannuation income (the pension) but has lived in one of the Parkhaven units for five years, as she qualifies on a sickness benefit.

She said that benefit was even less than the pension.

“You go to the supermarket and you are too scared to look at anything, and then we get this letter seven weeks before Christmas.”

She said it was not a fair comparison to liken council flats to rentals of similar size on the open market.

“My son is flatting, and he certainly does not share a clothesline with his neighbours,” she said, of her arrangement.

She was grateful to have her unit but did not have the likes of a closed-in backyard or garage either.

Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said the existing model for the flats was not viable in the long run.

She said accommodation supplements would help “minimise” the higher rents.

“Our older people are very important to us, and we know that it’s going to be very unsettling for some to learn of these rent increases.

“We are working closely with Ministry of Social Development to help our residents access any central Government-funded accommodation supplements they are eligible for, so the effects on them, personally, can be minimised.

“We have arranged a series of in-person information sessions with each of our senior housing communities where our housing team will talk through the changes.

“For those on a basic superannuation income it’s expected they will be able to get a higher accommodation subsidy to help them meet the new rents. Each case, however, will be different depending on people’s individual circumstances.”

A council spokesperson said they were not staging the rent increase over multiple years as it would impact on ratepayers.

“We could not delay introducing this rent rise to ensure we could do the work that needed to be done on the properties without putting any extra burden on ratepayers,” the spokesperson said.

“Any gradual rollout of rent increases would not keep pace with the increasing cost of delivering this service and it was important that council took all measures to seek available Government support rather than more directly from the ratepayers.”

Richards’ understanding was any accommodation subsidy from the Government would cover only a portion of the increased rent.

Residents have been given a form to fill in to apply for that accommodation subsidy.

The eligibility age for the council senior housing was also increasing from 55 years to 65 years or older.

All rental income from senior housing is ring-fenced and must be spent on improving the facilities.