The 99 Lake Rd address. Photo / Andrew Warner
Cockroach infestations, cold showers, a leaky roof and sleeping with a hammer for safety are some of the conditions people at a Rotorua rental complex claim they have been living in.
Five tenants at 99 Lake Rd - formerly Utuhina Hot Springs Fishing Lodge and now sublet by Visions of a Helping Hand - have hit out over their living conditions, describing them as "unfair and unacceptable".
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment tenancy compliance and investigations team is opening an investigation into their claims.
J C Realty, as Central City Rentals, manages the complex on behalf of the owner. J C Realty owner Paul Carter said it had a tenancy agreement with Visions of a Helping Hand.
Visions of a Helping Hand is not contracted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development to run the property and it is not one of the properties contracted by the ministry for Emergency Housing.
Tenants, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Rotorua Daily Post Weekend they had been left with no hot water for days last month.
The problem lasted for about six days in the first instance, and then again later in May for about 24 hours. This issue had since been resolved.
During this time, they said they were told they could shower free at Rotorua Aquatic Centre. One tenant said they paid $350 a week in rent.
One tenant, who had been living at the property for about six months, worked night shifts at a Bay kiwifruit packhouse.
She spoke to the Rotorua Daily Post Weekend on May 18 when the hot water was not working.
"We are getting hoha [annoyed] because half of us work. We don't want to come home in the early hours of the morning while working on night shift just to have a cold shower. We need our hot showers," she said.
"Some of us finish early hours of the morning. The last thing we want is to go down there [Rotorua Aquatic Centre] and have a shower."
Like other tenants, she said she was experiencing ongoing problems with cockroaches and feeling unsafe.
"There are cockroaches in our houses. I wake up sometimes and they are crawling over my bed."
Another woman, living at the property since August 2020, said "we seem to be the forgotten people".
She cared for her adult daughter who lived with a disability and bathing her proved difficult when the hot water stopped working.
She said she was burgled over Christmas when she was away - with a laptop and items of clothing stolen. She said there had also been gang fights.
"We can't live like this."
Signs at the property stated there was 24/7 surveillance but the woman said when she requested to see footage after the burglary she was told there were no cameras onsite.
The woman raised concerns about a wooden telephone pole on the property that was leaning over and being supported by a small piece of wood.
Chorus spokesman Steve Pettigrew said a technician who attended the site described the pole as "dangerous". He confirmed it was not Chorus owned.
Pettigrew said Chorus was offering to help remove the pole if the property owner engaged an electrician to remove the cable and any private cabling.
Another mother, living there for 19 months with her 2-year-old, said her unit was "infested" with cockroaches and ants, and had a leaky roof.
"I have tried baits and fumigating my house repeatedly since discovering them to no avail."
She alleged Visions had made no attempts to help her with the pest problem.
She said the roof was repaired in November. But problems returned again two months later.
There was "quite severe water damage".
"I have continuously complained that because of the leak there could be black mould in my ceiling. I am constantly worried our ceiling could potentially collapse on top of us yet still nothing has been done apart from a few nails here and there."
While the mum was grateful to have a roof over her head, she said the living conditions were, in her view, "unfair and unacceptable".
She said, in her opinion: "Visions of a Helping Hand do not care about us. They leave us in unhealthy homes and our complaints get brushed aside like dust on their shoulders. I have voiced my concerns far too many times it is ridiculous and quite frankly, tiring.
"They would not like to live the way they have left us to."
A fourth tenant, who has just moved out, said she used to sleep with a hammer next to her bed out of concern for her safety.
She echoed concerns about hot water and pests, expressing frustration about the length of time it took for some issues to be addressed.
She said she contacted police many times, saying people continuously tried to break into her unit.
When she was living there, she told the Daily Post: "I don't even feel safe in my own house that is how bad it is. I am sitting here with a hammer.
"I can't even wash. I go to work every day and come home and I can't have a shower. I can't even have one - it's frozen. You may as well hop under the tap outside.
"This place is full of cockroaches.''
A grandmother living at the property said Visions was helping prevent homelessness, but she believed tenants - including herself - needed more support.
In her view: "Visions do good things, and they are lacking on a lot of things. They are helping us with all the motels, and yes they are helping us from being homeless. There are excellent points about them, but there are some stupid points [such as the hot water issues]. As residents we want assistance, we want help.
"I have got mokos that live with me. We can't shower - I just have to wash their face and change their clothes."
Central City Rentals owner Paul Carter said issues needed to be directed to property managers, and tenants could apply for mediation with Visions to the Tenancy Tribunal.
Asked to respond to hot water issues, Carter said: "This is a thermal site, the hot water has been reinstated, the bore had now been redrilled twice."
He said the water was being drawn using a compressor which "should ensure the supply".
Concerns about pests were addressed last year in the units where it was advised there were issues, he said.
He would be "discussing options" with pest control, however, said: "The tenancy is 18 months old now, and some responsibility is on the tenants."
The old telephone pole was not a cause for concern because it was "in a fenced-off area at the site which has been secured and is deemed to be safe", he said.
Visions chief executive Tiny Deane said tenants' complaints could be directed to the Tenancy Tribunal.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment tenancy compliance and investigations team had not received any complaints or undertaken proactive work at the 99 Lake Rd complex.
But acting national manager Dan Herlihy said the team had opened an investigation at this address.
The investigation would determine whether all or some housing was within the scope of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
It had powers to undertake "proactive and reactive assessments" as well as investigations of residential tenancies, including boarding house tenancies.
He said in the first instance tenants were encouraged to talk with their landlord about health, safety or building concerns and agree on a solution to resolve maintenance or repair issues.
If problems were not addressed, tenants could also take action through the Tenancy Tribunal or complain to the team.
Housing Minister Megan Woods and Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni were approached for comment.
She repurposes op-shop gowns to highlight her creative skills and sustainable fashion.