Kāinga Ora residents shaken after ‘death threats’
Down a residential street in Hamilton’s Frankton suburb, pristine houses line the road along with trimmed lawns and modest gardens mimicked at each property.
The street is quiet while the odd car drives in and out.
But for the past month, 68-year-old Maria Barrett has kept herself locked inside her home, never tempted to leave a window or door unlocked.
She and other residents on the street have been left shaken after a neighbouring tenant had drawn a knife, sworn and threatened to murder them.
‘‘He spotted me sitting in the garage, and he said ‘‘what are you looking at you f ..... g c..., I’ll stab you and all your family’’ and he was just going off. I just closed the garage.
‘‘I was shaking ... Once he’s off you don’t know what’s going to happen.’’
‘‘It makes me feel really unsafe . . . why am I afraid to stay in my own home,’’ said Barrett.
Barrett has lived in her property for the past six years and said she has never faced anything like this before.
The tenant in question was arrested and charged with threatening to kill. He appeared in the Hamilton District Court, and was convicted and sentenced.
Residents in the neighbourhood have repeatedly called on landlord Kā inga Ora, which manages the properties, to remove the tenant and introduce tighter actions when screening tenants, but they say nothing has been done.
Kā inga Ora said it had 200,000 people living in its homes and the wellbeing of those residents was important to it.
In a statement it said complaints related to this incident had been made since November last year and it was working with police while introducing new measures that could result in the removal of tenants if they were disruptive.
But it did not disclose if it would remove the tenant in question or when it would happen, if so.
Regional director Mark Rawson said: ‘‘Last year, changes to the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) were put into effect, providing landlords with more tools to respond to disruptive behaviour.
‘‘The latest change is the use of a notification or warnings process for serious disruptive behaviour that can result in ending a tenancy under s.55A.
‘‘Where there is illegal behaviour, we support the involvement of police. In other cases, we work with whā nau, often alongside specialist agencies, to address what can be complex social needs.’’
Several other residents Waikato Times spoke to voiced the same concerns for their safety and had resorted to staying indoors.
Rosemary Lowe, 61, who lives directly across from the tenant in question has faced verbal abuse and threats for over a year. She said something should have been done a long time ago.
‘‘I can’t open my window or door . . . he’ll stand out there and try and intimidate me ... It’s very hard. At one point there I couldn’t even open my curtains,’’ Lowe said. ‘‘It feels like I’m imprisoned in my own house . . . He’s already threatened to stab me, he’s threatened to shoot me.
‘‘Nobody needs to live like this . . . It’s scary . . . Something needs to be done.’’
When situations with the tenant have arisen, residents say the response time from police has been delayed with one instance taking up to four hours before help arrived.
Inspector Andrea McBeth, Area Commander for Hamilton City said police wanted the community to feel safe, and all matters reported were handled based on ‘urgency’ and ‘risk to safety’.
‘‘If police are not able to attend a report immediately, we will make further enquiries and – where we have the necessary information and evidence that will help identify people or vehicles of interest – will look to make arrests and put matters before the court,’’ McBeth said.
As a nanny to 23 mokopuna, Barrett has become more worried about children in the area coming in contact with the tenant.
She now feels being transferred elsewhere is the only option. ‘‘You see all these instances where elderly are being beaten up in their own home. I said to [Kā inga Ora], look if nothing is going to happen I’d like to have a transfer because I just don’t feel safe here any more and nor do the other neighbours.’’
‘‘Nobody needs to live like this . . . It’s scary . . . Something needs to be done.’’
Rosemary Lowe
Terrified resident