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Poverty advocate 'incredibly disappointed' Housing NZ satisfied dying woman, 78, living in mouldy South Auckland home

November 26, 2018

Ricardo Menendez March told Breakfast “this is not an isolated situation, it’s a structural issue HNZ have been facing for decades”.

Auckland Action Against Poverty say Housing New Zealand need to own up to their mistakes after saying they were ‘satisfied’ with a property riddled with mould that was home to a dying South Auckland woman.

78-year-old Makeleta Vahai was diagnosed with terminal cancer and her daughter has asked Housing New Zealand for a new property.

The Vahai family live in a leaky and mouldy three bedroom home. The backyard is also sodden, which the family claim is because of broken pipes.

Read more:  Family of woman dying from cancer pleads for her to moved from mould-ravaged state house - 'It's not her choice to be sick'

But the state landlord claims it was “satisfied” with the conditions and “has generally been in reasonable order”.

Auckland Action Against Poverty's Ricardo Menendez March told TVNZ’s Breakfast hers was a sad case.

"It is not an isolated situation. This is a structural issue that Housing New Zealand has been facing for decades.”

The Auckland woman's home is full of mould and is leaking, while the section is flooding.

Neither Housing New Zealand or Housing Minister Phil Twyford  would speak to Breakfast about the situation.

Mr Menendez March says this is a product of Government underfunding the state housing sector and causing their homes to get old and mouldy.

“It was incredibly disappointing to see Housing New Zealand not acknowledging this, it's not okay, to say this is not of reasonable state speaks of the inaction.”

Housing New Zealand have a responsibility to keep properties in decent condition, but so do the tenants.

However Mr Menendez March said “most state housing tenants take reasonable measures to take care of their homes.”

He says tenants can only do so much because, ultimately, if the house is rotten at its core there is nothing they can do.

The poverty advocate says he doesn’t believe the current Government is going to be building enough new state homes so these families can transfer into healthy warm homes in the future.

He says not many state houses in New Zealand actually pass requirements under the Residential Tenancy Act.

“The problem is the legislation that should be enforced on our countries largest landlord is often not enforced.  Often tenants do not have access to the means to advocate for themselves.

“Without access to advocacy for these tenants it is really difficult for them to successfully take HNZ to a tribunal to fight against the condition of the houses.”

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