Nine sleeping in lounge to keep warm

KEEPING WARM: An oven in a Fordlands property is the main source of warmth for a family of 12. PHOTO/ STEPHEN PARKER

As winter sets in, a struggling Rotorua family of 12 is using an oven to heat their home and sleeping nine in a room to stave off the cold.

The mother, who did not want to be named to protect her children, said nine of them slept in the lounge "marae styles" each night at their Fordlands rental property. The woman, who receives a jobseeker and de facto benefit, has children ranging in age from a baby upwards. A pregnant relative also stays with them.

"We not only do marae-styles [sleeping] but we need to huddle together. The oven is on 24 hours and the gas heater stays in the kitchen because it is too dangerous for my kids, they can burn their fingers on it, the oven has been cheaper to run than a fan heater but it's still dangerous to have it open all the time."

Despite the nightly ritual and the constant wiping down of the walls to prevent mould from building up, she said they're not complaining. She said all they would like is a working fireplace.

A spokesman for the real estate company managing the property said they did not consider the house to be cold or damp and said the landlord had met his legal obligations.

"We understand the fireplace can't be used any more because it is an open fireplace but it is not the landlord's responsibility to buy heaters."

The mother said they were counting down the days until winter was over.

"My family is warm and fed and as long as we're all together it's all good. But this is what we have to do. This winter seems to have definitely been the worst, we have the oven on all night, everything is closed, the curtains shut and a [lounge] chair blocking the fireplace but when you wake up in the morning the top of the blankets are wet. It's like it's warmer outside than it is inside.

"There is no insulation so if the kids need to go to the toilet we have to wrap them up in their jackets and slippers - it's only five steps away down the hall but it's just too cold. I don't think we're unique, I think there are a lot of families in Rotorua in the same predicament as we are," she said.

Work and Income made more than 640 hardship payments in the Rotorua region for electricity and gas in the year ended March.

Ministry of Social Development figures showed the ministry paid out $282,137 in the Rotorua region from March 2014 to March 2015, down from $402,000 last year.

"Hardship assistance is available where there is an immediate and essential need and no other way to meet the cost," a ministry spokesman said.

"There is also a range of other assistance available depending on a person's circumstances.

"People who face extra heating, gas or electricity costs because of a disability may qualify for a Disability Allowance to help with these costs." Temporary additional support could also be available.