Finding a home problematic for staunch activist
Brian Borland admits that after a lifetime of actively protesting what he sees as ‘‘bullshit’’ cannabis laws, he is now having a hard time finding somewhere to live that meets his needs as he gets older.
According to Age Concern, the 66-year-old is not the only one – half of pensioners are expected to be in private rentals within 20 years.
Borland went to prison for four years after he was sentenced in 2017 for growing and supplying cannabis to ‘‘The Daktory’’ cannabis club in Whangārei.
Since he was released late last year, he’s had a difficult time finding a landlord who will agree to rent him an accessible, affordable home.
‘‘My history has made things difficult for me. People look me up online and applications fall through.’’
He said he had looked at a boarding house in Whangārei, ‘‘but I was too hot for them’’.
‘‘It’s incredibly hard not knowing what the future holds. I slept in a car for a month before buying a caravan. I just didn’t know what to do.’’
Borland hasn’t always made it easy for himself, refusing to cooperate with the system. When he was released in September he was told that he was not allowed to possess cannabis.
‘‘I found that intolerable. I put half a joint on the table and said, ‘What are you going to do about it’?’’
Borland is completely open about his beliefs when he makes posts online looking for a rental, stating he is a ‘‘cannabis activist’’.
He said his difficulties on the private market may be caused by his ‘‘honest approach’’, but he believes it’s better to be straight up from the start.
‘‘I’m aware I rub some people the wrong way, but I cannot abide dishonesty ... I have to stick to my principles.’’
Borland considered applying for state housing but knows there’s a long wait list and believes there are people more in need than him.
‘‘I can actually take care of myself. I have fallen back on the system before, but I like to be independent, and I think I’ve got a lot to offer.’’
Borland is an engineer by trade and is hoping he can subsidise his rent by doing jobs on a landlord’s property, as the pension is his only income.
Age Concern chief executive Karen Billings-jensen said that superannuation had not kept up with market rents at a time when over-65s were increasingly renting.
‘‘Anything that makes you more marginalised, whether that’s a conviction or a disability, narrows your options down even more.’’
Billings-jensen said that