Housing dilemma Sell-off ‘nightmare’
The Papadopoulos family have seen both sides of the state homes sell-off coin.
Mother of seven Maria Papadopoulos bought her Gear Tce home 20 years ago in a state house selloff after living in it for 30 years.
It is looked after, clean and painted – the textbook example of how well a sell-off can go.
However, just beyond the Papadopoulos’ groomed garden is a set of former state-owned units owned by a landlord who has let them rot until they are merely a slum.
The grass is uncut, water leaks down the building and windows are cracked.
Another house across the road is causing even more concern.
It is a state house, empty since before Christmas.
After the last tenants moved out, leaving half their belongings on the lawn, nearby residents have taken to using the property as their personal rubbish tip.
Maria’s daughter, Christina, said most of the state houses in the street were boarded up or in disrepair.
She said the Government really did need to get out of housing.
‘‘Every year it’s got worse. It has been a nightmare for us living in this street,’’ she said.
‘‘It’s not good for Porirua. It’s really bad.’’
Christina said times had changed and while 30 years ago there were the resources for the Government to send out inspectors every month, today there was not.
‘‘ They have done their time. They are incapable of running it any more.
‘‘There needs to be a sell-off, but there needs to be visibility around who [the Government] sells them to and that those people are not already established in Porirua as slum landlords.’’
Prime Minister John Key announced last month 1000 to 2000 homes would be sold off in the next year to community housing providers.
He said community housing providers who buy state houses would not be able to sell them on without government permission.
But concern is deep in Porirua, where previous state home selloffs have resulted in private slum landlords preying on desperate people – as the Papadopoulos family have seen.
‘‘This street is a perfect example of it.
‘‘We can see what has happened in previous sell-offs and we can foresee what will happen with another one,’’ Christina said.
‘‘The Government hasn’t done enough to reassure me there wouldn’t be another set of slum landlords taking advantage of the most vulnerable people in society,’’ Christina said.
Labour Housing spokesman Phil Twyford said the Government had no way of ensuring the state houses were not sold on to private landlords.
‘‘The Prime Minister vaguely says community housing providers will be bound by contract not to on-sell the houses without the Government’s permission,’’ Twyford said.
‘‘That’s not worth the paper it’s written on.
‘‘ If these groups make poor financial decisions and end up in debt, or the Auckland housing bubble bursts, leaving the groups in negative equity, the banks would foreclose and sell the houses.
’’ The Government would not have a leg to stand on.’’