Legally blind, elderly tenant with nowhere to go is latest victim of rising rents

Ian Marr, a victim of rapidly rising rents.

Kerikeri pensioner Ian Marr has eight weeks to find a new home, and that won't be easy.

District councillor Dave Hookway said 80-year-old Mr Marr, who is legally blind, was the victim of rapidly rising rents, largely due to rising house prices in the Far North.

Shortly before Christmas he had been told that his rent would rise from $270 a week to $325.

His landlords were told that they could get up to $400 a week for the two-bedroom cottage in central Kerikeri.

Mr Marr turned to Cr Hookway for help after Work and Income said it could not help.

"People seem to think that Kerikeri is an affluent area, but it too has its share of poverty," Cr Hookway said.

"Residents like Mr Marr are now finding that because property values have risen so quickly, they are no longer able to afford rates or rents for the properties they call home."

The Far North District Council owned 48 pensioner units in Kaitaia, 38 in Kaikohe and even 10 in Rawene, but Kerikeri offered just four one-bedroom units and three bedsits.

Because of his disability, Mr Marr was unable to drive and needed to be close to medical services and his hobbies.

Being socially connected was important to older people, and being close to the Kerikeri Bridge Club and RSA was important to his well-being.

Cr Hookway was unsure whether it was up to the council to provide pensioner housing, but he did not believe it should walk away.

"I think the council has a role in ensuring that the disadvantaged in our community still have accessible and affordable housing, whether this is through us taking the lead or providing special zoning for the dwindling number of sections close to townships throughout the district," he said.

"This is something for the community to decide, as it is the ratepayers who must foot the bill at the end of the day."

One possible solution was the Abbeyfield's concept of community houses, which provided independence for residents together with a degree of supported living, and worked well in New Zealand and overseas.

Meanwhile he asked anyone who knew of accommodation close to the centre of Kerikeri that Mr Marr could afford to contact him urgently on (027) 543-5502 or dave.hookway@fndc.govt.nz