Kāinga Ora neighbours from hell: Mum told that tenants will move

Weeks after speaking up about her lengthy battle with Kāinga Ora over “neighbours from hell,” Hamilton woman Katelyn Park has been told she will soon be free from the troublesome tenants that have left her a prisoner in her own home.

Park shared a message with the Herald that she received from Kāinga Ora staff, shortly after she shared her moving story on Newstalk ZB.

After enduring years of abuse and threats directed at her and her family and after suffering serious, ongoing health effects from the stress of the situation, Kāinga Ora told the solo mother-of-four that the neighbours will be moving.

Pressure has been building on the Government agency since Park first went public, initially on TikTok and then in stories in the Herald that laid bare the severity of her situation.

Mark Rawson, Kāinga Ora’s regional director for Waikato, confirmed that the tenants agreed that shifting out of the home was the “best way to resolve this situation.

“Once we have found a suitable home, we will ensure support is in place to help the customer settle into their new home and community,” he added.

While it might appear to be good news, for Park the move doesn’t go far enough.

One of Katelyn Park's neighbours argues with her mother over the fence of their Hamilton home. Photo / Katelyn Park

She says receiving the news that her neighbours are moving only made her feel worse about her situation and fears that the family across the fence might seek retribution, citing a background of violent and threatening behaviour that has seen her repeatedly call police for help.

“It seems to me that they are only making an effort because it has now reached the media,” Park told the Herald.

“I don’t feel that Kāinga Ora has everyone’s best interest in the forefront of their minds.”

Park believes that the agency’s “priority is their tenant and not the safety of those at risk”.

She also has concerns about any new neighbours she might get and knows that she is also still burdened with the challenge of on-selling a property that borders a known Kāinga Ora troublespot.

“I have had to wear the stress, financial burden and damages to my home for years while being repeatedly ignored,” a frustrated Park said.

”The only sensible solution I can see is them purchasing the property so I can move on with me and the kids having the fresh start we need and deserve.”

Park told the Herald that she is now considering legal action against Kāinga Ora.

Rawson responded by saying the agency wanted to work with Park to address her concerns.

“We are very aware of Katelyn’s concerns and her expressed reluctance to stay in her home,” Rawson said.

“We will work through these issues with her and our partner agencies on how we can all ensure she feels safe in her home.”

Katelyn Park, the Hamilton solo mother-of-four who has been battling Kainga Ora over her abusive neighbours. Photo / Katelyn Park

Park, who lives with her children aged 14, 10, 9 and 6, told the Herald last month that she has repeatedly complained to Kāinga Ora but the agency only responded when she shared a TikTok video about her struggles and it went viral.

She said she had been living a nightmare for the past five years, constantly under the shadow of her neighbours’ anti-social behaviour which includes verbal abuse, fires and intrusion on her property.

She also revealed there had been over 90 callouts made by police have made to the house during the neighbours’ tenancy, a number Park obtained through the Official Information Act process.

Park has been crippled by chronic migraines that her doctor has attributed directly to the stress she is experiencing and found herself trapped inside the home behind drawn curtains, afraid to let her pets and children out for fear of what her neighbours might do.

Rawson also claimed that Kāinga Ora’s delay in responding was due to the agency not receiving emails sent by Park.

“We want to again provide assurance we have been working through this as quickly as possible since we were made aware of the serious and escalating issues a month ago.

“It’s really unfortunate that we didn’t get to work through this with Katelyn sooner as we didn’t receive her emails, and we encourage anyone who is having issues to get in touch with us as soon as possible through email or calling us on 0800 801 601.”

Rawson earlier admitted that the agency had received other complaints over the past two years about the property, saying that some were made anonymously.

The Herald has also heard recordings of the calls Park made to the agency, pleading for help.

Rawson earlier told the Herald that the agency was using the tools available to them under the Residential Tenancies Act to try and resolve Park’s issues with her neighbours, adding that the troublesome tenants had been “reminded” of their responsibilities.

“We want our customers to be good neighbours - and the vast majority are,” Dawson said in a statement.

He went on to say that when “serious and ongoing disruptive behaviour situations” occur, Kāinga Ora can arrange for the tenants to shift to another Kāinga Ora property.

“Most customers take moving to a new home as an opportunity to change and make a fresh start without further issues,” he said.

“If a customer is not willing to work with us to change their behaviour, we can and do use Section 53B of the Residential Tenancies Act, which allows us to end a tenancy and transfer the customer to another home. Another tool available is issuing a notice under Section 55a of the RTA.

“In the very small number of situations where issues with behaviour do not resolve, we will issue a third notice and apply to the Tenancy Tribunal to end the tenancy.”

There is no suggestion that these final steps have taken place in this case.

Chris Marriner is an Auckland-based journalist covering trending news and social media. He joined the Herald in 2003 and previously worked in the Herald’s visual team.