'This house fails' - Whangārei family say they're unable to get Govt to fix mouldy home

October 21, 2018

The tenants say they're getting sick and Land Information NZ isn't living up to government standards.

A Whangārei family say they're getting sick living in a damp, mouldy home and have been unable to get their Government landlord to fix it.

Tenant Dorothy Rollo told 1 NEWS she and her baby are now staying in a room where mould lines the roof.

Her five children are all asthmatic and she suffers from respiratory disease.

"The requirements is that it's supposed to be warm, dry, clean conditions, and this house fails all of those," Ms Rollo said.

The mould has not only affected Ms Rollo's curtains but her linen and clothing, too.

"It actually gets on my washing," she said.

The property is owned by Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) and is land banked for future Treaty settlements.

Ms Rollo has sent dozens of emails to the Land Information NZ asking for help.

"I've sent them pictures, I've sent them correspondence, I've asked them please fix it. I've even sent it all the way up the ladder."

She has also spent thousands of dollars trying to bring the property up to scratch - taking down mouldy wallpaper, putting up blinds and painting over mould in some rooms.

Visiting the home, National MP Shane Reti said Ms Rollo has "done everything she could do, before she came to my office, to make this place as warm and as dry as possible.

"Just imagine all these black spores being sucked into these children's lungs." 

LINZ said it has been a responsible landlord having spent tens of thousands of dollars on repairs.

"The place is in reasonable condition. It's not perfect and we will do whatever we need to do to make it better, but it is healthy and safe to live in," said Jerome Sheppard of LINZ.

However, an independent building report commissioned by Mr Reti found otherwise.

"It needs to be sorted out. The internal cladding needs to maybe be made weather tight. Ideally there would be some type of mechanical ventilation or some passive ventilation…it seriously needs some maintenance," property inspector Simon Watts said.

Despite the cold days in Whangārei, Ms Rollo still has to keep all the windows open for ventilation, but even then the smell of the mould is still present.

LINZ has now sent a representative to meet with her family.

SHARE ME

More Stories