Anonymous note warns of neighbour
A note left in letterboxes warning residents that a person on ‘‘low income’’ may be moving in next door has angered those living in the area.
Residents of Brian Cowley Place, in the north Waikato town of Tu¯a¯kau, were appalled to receive a note alerting them that Housing NZ had purchased a property in their street.
The note told people to ‘‘be aware’’ as ‘‘whoever is moving into that house will be low income earner or WINZ clients’’.
It went on to tell people to: ‘‘Keep close eyes on anything you see happening that seems suspicious’’.
The letter was signed off from a ‘‘concerned neighbor [sic]’’.
Brian Cowley Place is a family friendly neighbourhood, with neatly mowed lawns.
Neighbours know one another, often stopping to say hello and chat.
The residents believe they are a welcoming lot, saying they are not concerned by the letter, labelling the note classist and discriminatory.
Mary Astle said she was shocked by the letter considering how accommodating the neighbourhood usually was.
‘‘It’s very discriminatory. ‘‘It’s out of place, most people here are very accepting here, we’ve got all sorts of people you know,’’ she said. ‘‘Who the heck is doing this?’’
Across the road, neighbour Shelly Els read the note with her husband. ‘‘We looked at it and thought: how ridiculous.’’
Another neighbour, who was ‘‘disgusted and horrified’’ by the letter, addressed the writer in an online post.
‘‘Without even knowing these people you have already made an assumption and decided to share with the rest of the neighbourhood your opinion, is this what is being ingrained in the next generation?’’ they wrote.
Tracey Kellett had been the property manager for the house.
She could not confirm who bought the property but said many Housing NZ renters made excellent tenants.
‘‘Of 200 tenants I’ve put in properties in the last two years, I’ve had problems with three and none of those three have been from Housing NZ.
A search of property records revealed Housing NZ purchased the four-bedroom property for $750,000.
A spokesperson for the Human Rights Commission said the letter qualified as discrimination.
Residents labelled the letter classist.