Latest news with #KāingaOra
NZ Herald
2 days ago
- Business
- NZ Herald
Auckland developer in Kāinga Ora partnership goes bust, Rotorua housing project up in the air
An Auckland-based development company that went into partnership with Kāinga Ora to build 36 apartments in Rotorua has gone bust. Realm Victoria Ltd has been placed into liquidation and the construction of the apartments on Victoria St, near Rotorua Central, is up in the air. Kāinga Ora bought the site
NZ Herald
4 days ago
- NZ Herald
Kāinga Ora sees 600% rise in warnings under new tenant crackdown
By Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says a Government directive to crack down on abusive Kāinga Ora tenants has been a success, citing improved tenant behaviour. Potaka said Kāinga Ora's Sustaining Tenancies Framework, which was ended in March last year, had effectively allowed tenants to
Scoop
4 days ago
- General
- Scoop
Focus On Unruly Tenants Brushes Up Behaviour
Associate Minister of Housing A Government directive to take firmer action against abusive Kāinga Ora tenants has led to consequences for threatening and abusive behaviour, and improved tenant behaviour as a result, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. In March 2024, Ministers instructed Kāinga Ora to end its Sustaining Tenancies Framework, which had allowed tenants to stay living in a Kāinga Ora home no matter how abusive or disruptive their behaviour. 'Living in a taxpayer-funded social house is a privilege. The vast majority of social housing tenants are respectful of their home and courteous to their neighbours, but unfortunately they are let down by a small minority who threaten and abuse their neighbours or wilfully damage their home. Our Government campaigned on focussing in on these unruly tenants, and new data shows our approach is leading to improved behaviour,' Mr Potaka says. 'Over the past 10 months, 63 tenancies have been terminated for abusive, threatening, or persistent disruptive behaviour. This compares to 11 tenancies being ended for disruptive behaviour in the previous financial year, and only two in the financial year before that under the previous Government. 'Formal warnings for tenants whose behaviour is putting their tenancy at risk have increased by more than 600 per cent compared to the previous financial year, with 1,463 being issued in 2024/25 so far. 'Around 80 per cent of warnings – known as section 55a notices – have been first notices and 18 per cent were second notices. Third notices, which can trigger the end of a tenancy, made up just two per cent of warnings. 'I'm also pleased to see that the time taken to address complaints to Kāinga Ora about tenant behaviour has reduced significantly. In January 2024 it took an average of 60 days to take action in response to a complaint. In April 2025 it had reduced to less than 12 days. 'This data shows that the vast majority of disruptive tenants are taking the notices seriously and changing their behaviour to prevent receiving a second or third notice. And where they don't change their behaviour, we're no longer putting up with it. 'There are whānau who have been living in angst from their neighbours abusing the privilege of a taxpayer funded home, so we've taken swift action to get on top of it. 'The Government is taking an approach that ultimately benefits everyone involved, by reducing negative behaviour through formal warnings and following through with real consequences in the rare circumstances that behaviour doesn't improve. 'I thank Kāinga Ora staff for their work to improve tenant behaviour, particularly noting that in doing so they have to navigate some very challenging situations. We look forward to further improvements in this space.'
RNZ News
4 days ago
- General
- RNZ News
63 Kāinga Ora tenancies terminated after government clamps down on bad behaviour
Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says it is a "privilege" to live in taxpayer funded social housing (file photo). Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka has lauded a government directive to crack down on abusive Kāinga Ora tenants as a success, citing improved tenant behaviour. Potaka said in a release that in Kāinga Ora's Sustaining Tenancies Framework, which was ended in March last year, had effectively allowed tenants to stay in a Kāinga Ora home regardless of abusive or disruptive activity. "Living in a taxpayer-funded social house is a privilege. The vast majority of social housing tenants are respectful of their home and courteous to their neighbours, but unfortunately they are let down by a small minority who threaten and abuse their neighbours or wilfully damage their home," Potaka said. In the past 10 months, 63 Kāinga Ora tenancies had been terminated as a result of abusive, threatening, or persistently disruptive behaviour, Potaka said. There had also been a 600 percent increase in formal warnings when compared to the previous financial year, with 1463 issued in 2024/25 so far, Potaka said. "Around 80 percent of warnings - known as section 55a notices - have been first notices and 18 percent were second notices. Third notices, which can trigger the end of a tenancy, made up just 2 percent of warnings. "I'm also pleased to see that the time taken to address complaints to Kāinga Ora about tenant behaviour has reduced significantly. In January 2024 it took an average of 60 days to take action in response to a complaint. In April 2025 it had reduced to less than 12 days," he said. This data showed that tenants were taking the warnings seriously, Potaka said. "The government is taking an approach that ultimately benefits everyone involved, by reducing negative behaviour through formal warnings and following through with real consequences in the rare circumstances that behaviour doesn't improve." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Scoop
24-05-2025
- General
- Scoop
Some Landlords, Tenants Unaware Of Healthy Homes Standards Despite Looming Deadline
Liam White can share some horror stories about rental properties in Dunedin. 'I went into a flat and I saw a window – the landlord had cut out the corner wide enough that you could stick your finger through it so they could open the window past a balcony – there was just a constant draught coming in. There's heat pumps that don't work … there's the classic holes in walls, cladding on the side of houses broken that hasn't been fixed. It's a lot of stuff.' White is president of the Otago University Students Association. The government's Tenancy Compliance and Investigations team (TCIT) has this week been visiting student rentals in Dunedin to check whether they comply with the Residential Tenancies Act. Acting TCIT national manager Clare Lyons-Montgomery said landlords must provide rental homes that are warm, safe and dry. 'Young people are a priority population for our team, as they can be vulnerable and unaware of their rights because they are new to renting. 'Landlords have obligations and responsibilities under the Residential Tenancies Act and must provide a rental home that complies with all building, health and safety requirements in additional to tenancy law.' All rental properties must also comply with the Healthy Homes standards by 1 July this year, which require ventilation, heating and insulation. Tenancies started or renewed on or after 3 March had until then to comply but from 1 July there is no leeway and every new tenancy must comply immediately. White said he had been told about 30 percent of Dunedin student rentals would not comply. But he said students were sometimes hesitant to raise problems with property managers or landlords because they worried about their ability to get a reference in future, or about creating other problems for themselves. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development said its most recent survey of Healthy Homes compliance was in January 2024 and found 17 percent of landlords said they fully met the standards and almost three-quarters had done something to prepare. 'From July 1, all private rentals must comply with the healthy homes standards. All boarding houses, Kāinga Ora houses and registered community housing provider houses must already comply with the healthy homes standards,' Lyons-Montgomery said. 'Landlords who do not meet their obligations under the standards are in breach of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 – and may face consequences, like financial penalties.' Sarina Gibbon, general manager of the Auckland Property Investors Association, said she had been talking to colleagues about the lack of awareness about how the deadline applied. 'The situation appears to be split across experience lines. Seasoned landlords and property managers who have had the standards drummed into them since 2019 have largely adapted and developed the right muscle memory. 'You'll recall that in 2022 when the government extended the deadline out by two years so that Kainga Ora could have more runway [it] went down like a lead balloon for the private sector. That said, the already generous compliance timeline should mean that there is no excuse for rental properties to not comply. We are finally getting to a point in the rental sector where we can stop negotiating on tenants' wellbeing.' But she said she was still seeing things that concerned her. 'Many less experienced landlords and property managers seem unaware that, from July 1, there's no grace period – properties must be fully compliant, period. So none of that 90 or 120 day runway from the start of the tenancy. That's fine because the TCIT can clean that up. What worries me the most is that the knowledge gap extends to tenants too. Many don't realise they will have the right to a fully Healthy Homes compliant home from 1 July. This is potentially harmful for vulnerable renters in non-compliant houses. ' She said if landlords did not treat compliance as a priority, it was reasonable to expect the Tenancy Tribunal and TCIT to 'come down hard on them'. 'The industry has had way too long to get our heads around the standards, let's get on with it already.' Some property managers are understood to be preparing to drop clients who are not willing to make changes to comply with the rules. But MBIE is likely to monitor bond forms for a change of landlord from a property manager to a private arrangement, then audit those properties. Matt Ball, spokesperson for the NZ Property Investors Federation, said his organisation's members tended to be well prepared. But he said there could be some 'accidental landlords' who had decided to rent a property rather than sell it who might not have considered it properly. He said he had heard from tradespeople that there had been an increase in inquiry from property owners needing work done to comply. 'There might be some people rushing at the last minute to get everything done.'
