Rising housing damage due to allocation, lobbyist says

Chris Carter

Damage costs for state housing are on the rise because the Government is giving housing preference to "substance abusers, criminals, the mentally ill and refugees," a group representing state house tenants has said.

In answer to parliamentary questions by National's Phil Heatley yesterday, Housing Minister Chris Carter said Housing New Zealand spent $21 million fixing damaged state homes last year - $6 million more than the year before.

Mr Carter said the rise in the cost of repairing state houses was a worry but part of the increase was because of better maintenance.

But Housing Lobby spokesperson Sue Henry told Newstalk ZB today the Government needed to be more choosy who it housed if it wanted to stop costs skyrocketing.

Ms Henry said in the past priority had been given to low income people, but they were no longer first choice.

Tenants were responsible for $16.7 million of the damage done in the year to June 30.

About $3.8 million was done by "third parties" and about $530,000 was the result of "natural causes".

Tenants were charged for $7.46 million of the damage and third parties for $260,000.

That left a cost of $13.4 million to Housing NZ, which holds 66,000 state houses worth about $11 billion. The average cost of damage a house was $318 - $203 of that a cost to Housing NZ.

In Parliament, Mr Carter said Mr Heatley was misrepresenting the cost by saying the whole $21 million was the result of intentional damage.

"Any increase in the cost of repairs is a concern. However, more than half of the total damage bill was for basic expenses all landlords face like mowing lawns before re-letting, replacing locks and shower curtains, clearing drains and replacing flooring, which are also included in the tenant damage category in some circumstances."

Mr Heatley disputed that the costs were for maintenance, as Housing NZ said the figures were "not a result of fair wear and tear but results from the action or inaction of the tenant or third party".

Mr Carter said Housing NZ was being more pro-active about fixing damage and not just waiting until people moved out to do it.

"We are identifying more things that needed to be fixed as a result."

Mr Heatley asked why, if that was the case, the same figure was being budgeted for the next financial year.

He also asked why more tenants who caused damage were not evicted when there were 11,500 families on waiting lists.

Mr Carter said under Labour the number of state houses had increased by 7000 and that National had sold 13,000 when it was in power.

United Future housing spokeswoman Judy Turner said people who owned their homes were far more likely to look after them than when the property was state-owned.

"Families who own their own home are also more active within the neighbourhood, and more involved in their local communities."

Mrs Turner has previously proposed a rent-to-buy scheme, which would see a share of capital gains accrued over a rental period put into a deposit for tenants.

The Government is considering a similar scheme as it looks for ways to deal with the declining rate of home ownership.

- NZPA


Reader comment: Anyone thinking that the tenants arent doing the damage needs to take a drive down Glenveagh Dr Manurewa and the next sreet beside it....beautiful new brick houses trashed. Then go across the road to Sandwick Dr and see the exact same houses that are not housing corp leased. It leaves no dispute whatsoever.
- - - posted 9.36am August 3, 2006 by Melodie