Housing NZ changes stance on drug use
WELLINGTON: In a complete turnaround in policy, Housing New Zealand is now not only tolerating illegal drug use in its properties, but referring tenants to addiction services and other agencies that will help them get their lives back on track.
Yesterday, Housing New Zealand (HNZ) chief executive Andrew McKenzie confirmed that where illegal drug use took place in its properties, the tenants would not be evicted or referred to police; it would instead help them to access the help they needed.
‘‘At the end of last year we’ve moved to a noeviction policy. The circumstances in which we will tell people they can’t live in a house are very rare.’’
Housing Minister Phil Twyford flagged the change in policy in December and it was now being finalised.
‘‘Housing New Zealand has stopped ending tenancies for methamphetamine contamination and not initiated any new action since November 2017 or ended a tenancy since January 2018,’’ Mr McKenzie said.
‘‘It’s a dramatically different approach. We’re a social housing landlord. Success for us is keeping somebody in a house and supporting all those other agencies who are trying to help people, that’s the change.
‘‘These tenants are part of society and the best thing that society can do is embrace them and work out how it can help them to be stable.’’
All the experts HNZ had consulted on the issue had said a stable home was critical to helping people with issues with mental health and drug use.
‘‘We’ll find the agencies that can support you to try to help you cope with it and move away from those issues if possible, rather than put you out with nowhere to live,’’ Mr McKenzie said.
HNZ was working with agencies such as the Ministry of Social Development, district health boards, addiction services, Oranga Tamariki, Corrections, Police and Women’s Refuge.
HNZ would still not tolerate drug manufacture.
‘‘We’d obviously refer that to police,’’ Mr McKenzie said.
Housing New Zealand has been in the spotlight since chief science adviser Sir Peter Gluckman released a report last week which showed meth residue in homes was not a danger to health.
HNZ’s previous zero tolerance approach resulted in about 300 state housing tenants being evicted in three years for methrelated reasons, with some forced to repay costs for methtesting and remediation.
Mr McKenzie apologised for that yesterday.
‘‘We certainly apologise to all those people who’ve had their lives disrupted as we’ve shifted them out of their homes.’’
Anyone who had been blacklisted from Housing New Zealand properties as a result of testing would have their names cleared.
‘‘Those who still owe us money, we’re not going to continue to pursue them for money, and where people have already paid us money we’ll be reporting back to the minister on what we think is the most fair and reasonable approach to take with those people,’’ he said. — NZME