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RNZ News
6 hours ago
- RNZ News
Dunedin City Council warned of 'slumlords' exploiting students
Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon A Dunedin student flat horror story is prompting a call to action to prevent others from falling prey to bad landlords and filthy flats. The Dunedin City Council was warned about 'slumlords' exploiting students and vulnerable people and presented with a possible solution to the perpetual problem during a meeting on Wednesday. The council also voted to ask the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) to share how it planned to monitor and enforce the Healthy Home rules in Dunedin to ensure rentals were fully compliant. Zoe Eckhoff was hoping to have a classic Otago flatting experience with her two friends this year, instead it turned into a horror story. The second year student shared her story during public forum, saying that when she and her friends inspected the flat last year, people were living there and it was messy. But she thought it would be clean by the time they moved in so they signed the lease and paid rent for a month. "We found the house in a pretty shocking state, it was mouldy, filthy and completely unprepared," she said. "The landlord refused to engage with us, entered without permission continuously and ignored our concerns." They then discovered their landlord had gone to the Tenancy Tribunal more than 20 times. Things quickly escalated and eventually the police became involved, she said. They went to the tribunal to challenge the unsafe conditions and serious incidents including the landlord screaming at them. Despite this, the students were unable to get out of their lease. But they did not give up. "Only after hiring a lawyer and installing cameras and recording her entering 85 times in 10 days at all hours of the day and night, including about three in the morning while we were still paying rent, were we able to get out of the lease," Eckhoff said. It was lucky they were all locals and had somewhere else to go but it took a big toll on them and their families, she said. "We paid over $5000 for a house we never lived in. We lost study time and faced serious stress and trauma. "All we wanted was a safe, lawful and respectful tenancy and instead we were exploited by a landlord and let down by a system that's supposed to protect us, and we're just one of many student groups that this has happened to and continues to happen to." Zoe's mum Pip Eckhoff said it was stressful going through the Tenancy Tribunal process. "We had an abusive landlord ... and a property that we couldn't move into and the adjudicator made no mention of how to allow us to move in and have the property ready so it really set us up to fail," she said. They did receive $5000 as part of the process. But it was not just one landlord, it was a much wider problem, she said. "Dunedin's housing is declining and unsafe. We have a broken enforcement system and slumlords are exploiting vulnerable people. The impact of ratepayers includes, but is not limited to, fewer students, businesses and families choosing Dunedin as a place to study and live," Eckhoff said. Parent and ratepayer Amanda Dyer said they sought help from nearly every support group across the city, but none could hold the landlord accountable or genuinely help them. The Tenancy Tribunal was not fit for purpose, Dyer said. "It's inaccessible, it's emotionally exhausting and inconsistent. Our case was riddled with factual errors and contradictions. The adjudicator appeared frustrated, even blaming our young adults for submitting the wrong kind of application," she said. The fines for landlords were minimal and did not deter bad behaviour, Dyer said. "Why spend $20,000 fixing up a property when the risk is just a $2000 fine? The fines determined case-by-case by the local Tribunal demonstrate how the system's enabling the slumlords and others repeat offending." Pip Eckhoff asked the council to be part of the solution by boosting its capacity to provide independent housing condition reports. "These reports would help tenants inspect properties like you'd do before buying a house, help tenants in disputes, support MBIE and Tribunal cases and build a report card history on problem landlords," she said. Earlier this year, MBIE's tenancy compliance and investigations teams inspected more than 50 Dunedin rentals, finding that students often discovered problems with the properties soon after moving in. Councillor Marie Laufiso put forward the motion asking the ministry to share how it planned to ensure rentals met the Healthy Homes rules. The Healthy Homes standards - which became law in 2019 and kicked in earlier this month - introduced a new benchmark for heating, insulation, ventilation, moisture barriers and drainage, and draught stopping in rental properties. Laufiso said she saw the toll it took on the tenants and their families to take action against this landlord and this was a way to take action and represent their residents. Councillor David Benson-Pope said it was a sensible decision as the city had a real problem with cold, damp housing. "This isn't just about one appalling landlord, there's a nest of them and they're not just in the campus area," he said. When his son was a student, he lived with his mates in an "ice box" with a little bit of insulation around the manhole but nothing anywhere else, Benson-Pope said. Now that the rules were in place, he wanted to see them enforced. Councillor Christine Garey said she was sadly not surprised to see photos of Eckhoff's flat. Students had raised concerns about speaking up and "rocking the boat" part way through a lease and possibly missing out on the next flat, she said. Migrants and refugees were also vulnerable, Garey said. She had heard of a property manager asking a tenant to sign that their property had the Healthy Home standards in place, only for one of the tenants to find that one of the standards had not been met. The tenant had refused to sign until it was completed, but she said that took courage and could be a difficult step to take. Councillor Jim O'Malley said he previously had to clean spiderwebs off the outside of a house and clean the carpet to get a deposit back. He was then told the carpet was not clean enough - despite cleaning it twice - and did not get his deposit back, he said. He also had to intervene after landlords tried to charge his daughter and her flatmates for damages done long before they moved in, and it was only after he threatened to take them to court that they paid the deposit back, O'Malley said. "Landlord abuse of tenants is around." Councillor Andrew Whiley, who is a landlord, said anything that improved healthy homes in Dunedin was important to do and it would only make good landlords look better. There were five ministry inspectors who were already in town and had started doing inspections, he said. Landlords had their "heads in the sand" if they only started preparing to follow the rules just before the deadline, he said. Deputy mayor Cherry Lucas said they needed to signal that they wanted a city of good, healthy rentals. Councillor Lee Vandervis said the Tenancy Tribunal's job was to ensure properties were fully compliant when there was an issue and they were already doing it. He did not support the motion. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

1News
15 hours ago
- 1News
Kiwibank greenlit to raise $500m capital to challenge big four banks
Kiwibank has been given the green light to raise up to $500 million in new capital, a move the Government says will help the New Zealand-owned bank better compete with the big four Australian-owned banks. Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced on Wednesday that, following a market-testing process, Cabinet had approved Kiwibank's parent company to raise up to $500 million of capital to fund the bank's growth. "Allowing Kiwibank to raise up to an additional $500 million is the first step towards giving Kiwibank access to the capital it needs to truly compete with the big four Aussie banks while retaining its intrinsic New Zealand identity." A Commerce Commission report released in August last year found the banking sector was "uncompetitive' and that the four big Australian-owned banks made high profits while Reserve Bank rules made it hard for smaller banks to challenge. Several recommendations were made, including to increase Kiwibank's capital funding. ADVERTISEMENT Willis said advice to the Government was that an additional $500 million of capital could support up to $4 billion of business lending or $10 billion in home lending. "To assess interest in Kiwibank, Kiwi Group Capital (KGC) engaged with New Zealand KiwiSaver funds, investment institutions and professional investor groups including Māori institutions." They advised her there was "sufficient interest" from professional New Zealand investors groups to proceed. While the capital raise is not a state asset sale—no Crown shares will be sold and all funds raised will go toward Kiwibank's future growth—Willis said a future government may consider a public listing of the bank but that this would not happen without an electoral mandate. The Government had also approved measures to safeguard the bank's New Zealand identity. These include: Maintaining at least 51% government ownership of KGC for the foreseeable future. Requiring a majority of KGC's directors to be normally resident in New Zealand. Ensuring Kiwibank retains its current name and principal place of business in New Zealand. Limiting any future foreign investors to a maximum of 20% ownership. Keeping Kiwibank's head office in New Zealand. ADVERTISEMENT KGC had until June 30, 2026 to complete a capital raise which would be subject to final approval of terms and conditions from shareholding Ministers. Kiwibank. (Source: Supplied) KGC chairperson David McLean said the Government had reaffirmed its commitment to supporting Kiwibank as a competitive, New Zealand-owned alternative to the large banks. "The capital raise process aims to provide Kiwibank with capital to continue its above market growth and enhance its competitive position while ensuring all funds raised are invested into New Zealand's future. There will be no return of capital to the Crown, and no changes for Kiwibank customers." Kiwibank chief executive Steve Jurkovich said the bank existed to challenge the status quo and disrupt the banking sector for the benefit of New Zealanders. "Delivering on our purpose of 'Kiwi making Kiwi better off' is what differentiates Kiwibank and drives our performance, and that is what we continue to be focused on. Any capital raise would be structured to ensure Kiwibank's continued role to improve services and pricing for consumers."

RNZ News
a day ago
- RNZ News
Contractor fined $70k for safety breach after forestry worker loses fingers
By Shannon Pitman, Open Justice reporter of The hauler involved in the incident which left a forestry worker seriously injured. Photo / Worksafe Photo: Supplied / Worksafe A seasoned forestry worker lost four fingers in a workplace accident, which ended a 45-year career that was marked by pride, satisfaction and no intention to retire. Now, Kohurau Contracting has been ordered to pay $150,000 and must publish an educational article about the dangers of untangling cable snarls in forestry operations. In August 2021, the worker - who has name suppression - was at a forestry site near Waipu, south of Whangārei, helping clear a cable that had not been wound correctly on to the drum. The experienced crew were packing up to relocate to another location but the tail line had over-spooled on to the drum, creating a "bird's nest" similar to which can occur on a fishing reel. At least 1200m of cable had to be pulled out in order to clear the bird's nest. The victim was guiding the rope back on to the drum using a hammer while seated beneath the tower. Another worker was operating a grapple loader to keep the cable elevated. During the operation, the stabiliser ram supporting the tower fractured, and a broken section - known as the spear - fell on to the victim, seriously injuring him. As a result, the victim was hospitalised for six weeks and had to have four fingers amputated. Kohurau was charged by WorkSafe for failing to ensure the health and safety of its workers and pleaded not guilty. A five-day judge-alone trial was held in the Dargaville District Court in November 2024, where several witnesses gave evidence including the victim and industry experts. WorkSafe's mechanical engineer, John Mains, stated that winching without guy ropes was unacceptable and the accident would not have occurred had the tower been properly secured. Kohurau's expert argued that guy ropes were unnecessary for the task and the force involved was minimal - claims Judge Peter Davey found inconsistent. The court also heard that Kohurau lacked a specific safe system for clearing birds' nests and relied heavily on the experience of its crew. Judge Davey concluded Kohurau breached its duties under the Health and Safety Act and found the company guilty of exposing workers to serious risk. This week at the Whangārei District Court the company was sentenced in the presence of its owner, Hamish John Owen. Kohurau's lawyer Daniel Robinson argued the company was insolvent and had suffered a loss of $1.3 million because of the accident. "Where do you get that from?" Judge Davey questioned before noting the company still had assets of around $400,000 and $250,000 in its bank account. Judge Davey did not accept the losses were from the accident and stated the company had been downsizing prior to the accident. Judge Davey repeatedly expressed his concern around whether reparation would be paid, to which Robinson assured him any amount ordered would be met. "My instructions sir, is we will be able to be pay but that is limited to the reparation order," Robinson responded. Robinson also submitted the absence of any industry guidelines for winding cables was a mitigating factor that should be applied to the companies' overall sentence. Judge Davey noted the significant impact the accident had on the victim. "He hasn't been able to return to work, he enjoyed the work, he had no plans of retiring," Judge Davey said. "He clearly took great pride in his work, took great satisfaction in his work and he was good at his job. "Despite what's happened to him, he nevertheless tries to stay positive." Judge Davey said the price of an emotional harm reparation order was an intuitive exercise and there was no way to put a figure on the suffering caused. "No amount of money can compensate the emotional harm that he has suffered." Judge Davey said Kohurau should have had a process in place to clear birds' nests and there was "a real risk he could have been killed". Kohurau, which has already paid the victim $10,000, was ordered to pay him a further $50,000. The company was also fined $70,000 and ordered to pay legal costs of $30,000. The court also issued a project order with two key commitments to be completed within 12 months. Kohurau must work in collaboration with the Forestry Industry Safety Council (FISC) and Forestry Industry Contractors Association (FICA) to develop guidance on winding in non-working ropes. It must also publish an article in NZ Forestry magazine highlighting the case to raise awareness and promote safer practices across the industry. "This project order is a way for Kohurau to take the lead on delivering initiatives that create genuine sector-wide improvements in forestry. We look forward to seeing the benefits that this industry-led guidance produces," WorkSafe spokesperson Mark Horgan said. * This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald .