Rotorua pensioner gets window replacement from council after two-year wait

Mary Smith is delighted a new window has been installed in her council flat. Photo / Andrew Warner

After two years of petitioning her council landlord to replace her deteriorating windows, pensioner Mary Smith’s home is finally warm and draught-free.

Smith’s new aluminium-framed window, and those for two other units at the Rawhiti Flats in Rotorua, had been sitting in a vacant unit a few doors down.

Smith spoke to Local Democracy Reporting early last month after seeing no progress regarding her direct requests to Rotorua Lakes Council.

The day after Local Democracy Reporting sent the council questions, it sent someone to put putty in a hole in the wooden frame.

Smith said within a week of the story being published, she had her new windows.

Her story prompted criticism that the council was in “gross violation” of its obligations as a landlord.

The council said it took its landlord responsibilities seriously and the unit was weathertight, but the work was not done as it had struggled to find contractors, which had been a major issue since Covid.

Three businesses contacted Local Democracy Reporting after seeing the story with offers to install the window within a month.

Speaking about her new window this week, Smith said one of the other units’ work was done as well, but the third unit was empty and awaiting a more complete renovation.

She said the wait had made her feel like a second-class citizen. ”I gave up.”

But she changed her mind, she said, as she knew she needed to stand up for what she believed in.

Smith said she felt the difference from the new window on the first cold day.

“Now I can have the door open on a windy day and the net [curtain] will stay dead still.”

Mary Smith's old window was deteriorating. Photo / Andrew Warner

Previously, she would have all the windows and doors shut, but the curtains would still move with the draught.

She said the builder also put some insulation into the window wall. Now, she barely used her heater, apart from a five-minute blast on cold days.

She said it had shaved money off her power bill. “It’s awesome.”

She wanted to thank the council staff who visited her, and the contracted installer from Shane Moore Services.

Moore said a lot of contractors he knew were busy at present. “Everyone is sort of pretty much tapped out.”

He said the firm did various jobs for the council and so worked to fit this one in.

“We saw it in the newspaper … we’ll do what we can to do what it takes to get things sorted.”

Rotorua Lakes Council corporate services group manager Thomas Colle previously said repairs were prioritised and worked through as quickly as possible, but it had been taking longer than the council would have liked to secure contractors.

The council acknowledged this was not ideal.

Laura Smith is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based at the Rotorua Daily Post. She previously reported general news for the Otago Daily Times and Southland Express, and has been a journalist for four years.

Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ on Air.