'Neighbours from hell' torment motel owner

Aotea Motel owner Steven Wilke has had enough of his "neighbours from hell." Photo / Geoff Sloan

A Christchurch motel owner has come to his wits' end with what he is calling "neighbours from hell."

Aotea Motel owner Steve Wilke said the police were called to the social housing unit next door to his motel on Bealey Ave three times a week on average.

He has seen tenants throw knives at each other during late-night arguments, gang members go in and out of the premises, drug deals take place just outside his motel and has received threats of violence such as "I'll knock your head off old man."

Recently one of the motel's units was burgled. CCTV footage shows the burglars came from the social housing unit next door.

A police spokeswoman said police were making inquiries into the incident.

Wilke said dogs from next door also wander on to his property.

"You sort of feel like you are in a prison, you don't want to say anything when they are yelling and screaming at each other," he said.

Several guests cut their stay short due to the disruption.

"This year there has been quite a bit of that, people leaving the house (motel) because of noise. We have had customers say they wouldn't come back if we still had the same neighbours," he said.

The social housing unit on Bealey Ave opened in September 2015 two years after Wilke opened his motel.

He said things had got a lot worse after one tenant moved in about six months ago.

Wilke claims this tenant has been the reason police have been visiting the social housing unit up to three times a week. He said they were throwing knives at their partner, bottles at walls and partying up until the early hours of the morning.

Kainga Ora, the government agency which runs the social housing unit, said it had been in touch with Wilke since they were made aware of the issues.

Said assistant regional manager Liz Krause: "There are a lot of complex issues at play here but we would not discuss the specific ways Kainga Ora has been working with our tenants without a waiver from them as they, like everyone, have a right to privacy.

"This has involved working closely with police, Corrections, the SPCA and dog control, as the issues you are referring to go beyond the jurisdiction of any one agency."