'It's not habitable' - woman bailed to Auckland house so unhygienic she contracted scabies

November 29, 2018

The woman says the South Auckland property is uninhabitable.

A remand prisoner on electronic bail is hitting out at a social housing agency and the Department of Corrections over accommodation she says is so bad it should be shut down. 

Placed there by a court, the woman, Chanelle Sandilands, says the house is uninhabitable, rife with mould, damp and so unhygienic she has contracted scabies and head lice.

After six weeks in prison on remand, Ms Sandilands got a break when she was bailed to a South Auckland house. She was electronically monitored, but she didn't care.

"I was excited. I can contact my family. I am able to go outside and sit outside and breathe in the fresh air," she told 1 NEWS.

But a month on, what she's got to show for it is, "Scratching, itching, pain burning on my skin. I thought it would just be like mosquito bites."

A doctor delivered the unsavoury news to her.

"I actually had headlice and scabies."

The house is run by the Manukau Urban Maori Authority, known as MUMA. Contracted by Corrections, it's geared up to house five remand prisoners on electronic bail.

Ms Sandilands pays $210 a week rent. But she says from the start it was cold, smelly, riddled with mould and damp.

"It's not habitable. It should be closed down until it's actually fixed. Everything needs to be fixed," she said.

Her mattress is stained with mould and bodily fluids and she said she felt "disgusted" sleeping on it.

"I cried. I wanted to actually get a tent and go and sleep out on the back lawn. That's how I felt." 

Only two elements on the stove work and the bathroom smells of raw sewage. 

Ms Sandilands has repeatedly asked MUMA to make repairs, but to no avail.

"Am I just being ungrateful because I've been given a bed and a place to stay? But my question is would they live in this environment?" she said.

The other option they have is prison

—  Deirdre Nehua of the Manukau Urban Maori Authority |

Deirdre Nehua of the Manukau Urban Maori Authority says the alternative is prison.

"The option is they can stay in the home that we provide. And I do take umbrage that you think it's not a good house for them. It is. The other option they have is prison," she said.

Ms Sandilands was already on anxiety medication. Now there's much more medication to deal with the scabies and head lice.

"We don't accept that actually the house has got scabies in it. If it did have we would have heard from other tenants," Ms Nehua said.

But another woman, who moved into the house a week ago, says she has got scabies as well.

"It's pointless me taking the medication if someone else in the house has it," Ms Sandilands said.

MUMA admits repairs are necessary. 

Meanwhile Corrections says it has clear expectations that MUMA provides suitable living conditions as part of its contract. 

Since 1 NEWS notified the department of this story it has visited the house and agrees it needs more work and has sought assurances it'll be completed soon.

Ms Sandilands has moved into temporary accommodation until all repairs and cleaning are finished.

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