Exclusive: Kāinga Ora evicts three people after pledging unruly tenant crackdown

Housing Minister Megan Woods said Kāinga Ora is the landlord of last resort. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Opposition MPs are fuming after revelations just three people have been evicted from state housing for bad behaviour - despite a promised Government crackdown.

And a top lawyer is calling on the Housing Minister to step up and protect those who are suffering at the hands of unruly tenants across the country.

In February last year, Kāinga Ora announced new policies to deal with the worst offenders, including a termination option if three serious incidents were recorded within a 90-day period.

Newstalk ZB can reveal in the 18 months since the measures were announced, three people have been kicked out of Kāinga Ora properties.

Over the same period, tenants attracted more than 10,000 complaints, which the housing agency largely puts down to noise or frequency of visitors.

Almost 200,000 people live in Kāinga Ora homes, with 90 per cent of tenancies facing no complaints in the past year.

The figures have prompted the Act Party to hit out at the Government, claiming it is only interested in protecting those disturbing the peace.

“If Kāinga Ora tenants know they can’t be evicted, where is the incentive to behave?” leader David Seymour told ZB.

“If they know that a few who misbehave were told to sling their hook, their neighbours might get a bit of peace.”

National’s housing spokesman Chris Bishop is on the same page.

“Kāinga Ora should be enforcing the law and bad tenants removed from these properties,” he said.

“With a state housing waitlist of more than 25,000 people, people who are abusing the system should face consequences.”

But Housing Minister Megan Woods maintains she is satisfied with how Kāinga Ora is operating its eviction policies, saying it is about working closely with tenants.

She suggests when people have conflict with a neighbour or face an untenable situation, moving them away can be the best option.

“It is our job to be that landlord of last resort, so if we can’t help find a way for people to co-exist in a way that is acceptable to everybody, then who can?”

She said tenancy terminations are just one tool in the toolbox, and close to 200 households have been relocated in the past year.

Litigation lawyer Adina Thorn said although the Government insists that it does not have a “no evictions policy” for disruptive tenants, these numbers tell another story.

She said many people contact her at breaking point, and it’s not uncommon to receive emails from people being harassed or threatened by their Kāinga Ora neighbours.

Thorn said she has even been told by people that their children and grandchildren are unable to visit, due to safety concerns, and others are too scared to leave their homes.

“They’re complaining and complaining to Kāinga Ora, and no matter how bad they say their neighbours are, Kāinga Ora says... you can live there as long as you like.”

She added that Kāinga Ora is reaching “the point of negligence”, as the provider has obligations under the Residential Tenancies Act.