RSA played me, disabled ex-navy retiree says
Last year, Alan Smith was left fearing for his future after being served an eviction notice from the Whanganui property he lives in.
The disabled ex-navy retiree was told his $120-a-week tenancy would come to an end as the unit on Harrison St, which was owned by the Whanganui RSA, required extensive renovations.
But last month, Property Brokers sent him a letter saying it had been instructed by RSA to withdraw the notice.
“They pushed me to the limit,” Smith said.
He has had an eventful life. He enlisted in the Royal New Zealand Navy when he was 18 years old and served from 1974 to 1980.
Smith, who went by the name Boris when he was in the navy, also worked in the oil industry for 10 years, then became a boat builder and in his late 50s founded an online business, Ouchie Powder, in 2017.
The following year, he went to Whanganui Hospital for an ingrown toenail. After a two-month odyssey consisting of eight visits to the hospital, he had his lower left leg amputated.
He is now fitted with a prosthetic leg and
Alan Smith went to the Whanganui Hospital for an ingrown toenail in 2018. After a twomonth odyssey consisting of eight visits to the hospital, he had his lower left leg amputated.
is receiving help from a carer three times per week.
As a result of a stroke he suffered in 2022, Smith also lost the use of his right hand and had difficulties talking and writing – a disorder called aphasia.
So, receiving an eviction notice from his landlord was another stressful event he wished he did not have to deal with, he said.
Smith claimed his relationship with the RSA changed after he reported to the police that a man from the organisation broke into his house and stole an item from him while he was in hospital.
He said the RSA bought a replacement item for him, but his relationship with the RSA never went back to what it was before.
Last year, the RSA refused to pay for the installation of a heat pump, Smith said, so he decided to pay for it and then applied to the Tenancy Tribunal to receive a reimbursement.
A mediator from the office of the Tenancy Tribunal instructed the Whanganui RSA Welfare Trust, which owned the property, to pay Smith for the heat pump.
As a former naval officer, he was entitled to RSA welfare services, but the charity refused to talk to him, he said.
The 90-day vacation notice said the property needed extensive renovations and it would not be safe for someone to live in.
Because Smith refused to leave the unit, Property Brokers on behalf of the landlord applied to the Tenancy Tribunal for a possession order.
The hearing was supposed to take place at the Whanganui District Court on April 5.
However, on March 28, an email by Property Brokers was sent out.
“We have been instructed to withdraw the application to the Tenancy Tribunal. The renovations have been postponed until further notice and the notice to terminate the tenancy has been withdrawn,” it said.
Smith said he felt played by RSA, as they first told him his house was sub-standard but then they would let him live in it. “It’s a contradiction,” he said. Property Brokers general manager of property management David Faulkner said the eviction notice had been dropped after careful consideration.
“I’ve spoken with the RSA personally and I’ve said: ‘Can the renovations wait?’ Because this could be a lengthy process.”
He said substantial renovations were needed for Smith’s home.
“If another property became available, it may be a case where he would have to move into one of those other properties.
“And then, if there is an opportunity to renovate at a practical time, we would do that or the RSA would do that,” he said.