Kāinga Ora evictions increase amid crackdown on unruly tenants

Kainga Ora housing in Blenheim.
photo: Life Home

Housing Minister Chris Bishop said he expected state housing provider Kāinga Ora to evict more and more unruly tenants as word spread before it started to taper off.

The government ordered the housing authorities Sustainable Tenancy Framework ends in March And strengthen the management of disruptive tenants.

In the past three months, 14 leases have been terminated due to misconduct or persistent rent arrears, while a total of eight leases have been terminated in all of 2023.

Housing Minister Chris Bishop said families who didn’t follow the rules had to be punished.

“For too long, a small number of Kāinga Ora tenants have been treating their neighbours badly because, under Kāinga Ora’s previous Sustainable Tenancy Framework, people knew they would not face any punishment for threatening, abusive or disruptive behaviour.”

New disruptive behaviour policy allows for quicker termination of tenancies.

The number of formal warning notices issued under section 55A against tenants for disorderly behaviour has increased, with 80 issued in the past three months, compared to 13 in the same period last year.

“I think there has to be a penalty for bad behaviour. There simply wasn’t one in the past. Kāinga Ora didn’t use the tools that were available under the Residential Tenancies Act and its own policies, and now they are starting to implement different policies and use the tools that are available under the Residential Tenancies Act, which is a good thing.”

Chris Bishop
photo: RNZ/Nick Munro

Ms Bishop said with about 24,000 whānau on the social housing waiting list and more than 2000 in emergency housing motels, the government would not turn a blind eye when people abused the privilege of living in social housing.

“The message to Kāinga Ora tenants is clear: if your actions cause your neighbours to live in fear and misery, your time is up. Change your behaviour now or face the consequences…

“(People on the waiting list) should also have the opportunity to own their own home. I would just say if you continue to abuse your neighbours and the house you live in, then at some point you have to give up the home you got through Kāinga Ora. There are many who won’t give up.”

The Citizens Advice Bureau says there has been an increase in the number of people seeking advice on eviction-related issues in Kāinga Ora.

“In comparison, looking back at a similar three-month period between last year and this year, eviction-related enquiries with Kāinga Ora jumped from 8 per cent to 24 per cent,” national counsel Sacha Green said.

Sasha Green
photo: supply

She said the issue wasn’t always that simple.

“What is considered problem behaviour can also be linked to a number of complex underlying factors and systemic issues – so be aware that often mental health issues, addiction issues and poverty also need to be considered.”

Green said some of the dismissals may be related to healthy homes standards.

Bishop expects the eviction rate to decline over time.

“I think once people realise Kāinga Ora is not going to be soft on disruptive tenants anymore, we’ll probably see these numbers continue to increase for a while before maybe peaking and starting to decline.

“We’ll just have to wait and see how people react, but that’s certainly the intention of the policy.”

The country’s Election promise to crack down on unruly Kāinga Ora tenantsand tightening eligibility for emergency housing.

Green Party Criticized as “cruel”while supporters say the biggest beneficiaries of the policy will be other Kāinga Ora tenants who live near the worst offenders. I expressed my doubts to RNZ.

Bishop said in March that the government had finally had to say enough was enough – social housing was a privilege that could be taken away if it was abused.