House dangerous and urine stained – tenant
Every time Wayne Smith walks down his hallway, he can’t help but wonder if the ceiling will fall in.
The Housing New Zealand tenant moved with his family from their home in Tawa to a property in Elsdon on March 7.
He said the tenancy manager showed him around the twostorey property ‘‘like it was a show home’’.
There was new carpet, the walls were freshly painted and, at first glance, it was bright and presented well, Smith said.
However, within days the tenants could see through the $26,000 upgrade and the flaws were noticeable.
There was an over-use of plaster on walls, blistering paint, door jambs were not painted properly, rotten wood was showing through elsewhere, light fixtures were loose, rubbish was poking through the lawn in the backyard and the bedroom carpets were not in a good state.
‘‘My bedroom gets a lot of sun and when it’s hot, you can smell the urine wafting off the carpet,’’ Smith said.
‘‘It’s the same in the other [bedrooms].
‘‘I don’t want kids staying in there. As a Housing New Zealand tenant you’re not supposed to say anything, and there will be people who say, ‘You should be grateful’, but I need to speak out.’’
Smith is also worried about putting items in the pantry because of a hole in the ceiling above it.
The most worrying problem is in the hallway.
A large block of concrete is resting on a beam in the ceiling. Smith said a contractor told him it could come through the roof at any time.
Housing New Zealand’s national manager maintenance delivery, Robert Galvin, said the home went through a monthlong upgrade to get it to a lettable standard.
‘‘There is some outstanding work scheduled on the property and we apologise for any inconvenience,’’ he said.
‘‘The outstanding work includes the removal of a header tank, the installation of new carpet and the pantry repair.’’
Galvin said a visit would be made to Smith soon.
‘‘We expect our contractors to complete work to a high standard.’’