Empty state homes where people were believed to be squatting while they sat vacantly. Photo / George Novak
Thieves have been stripping vacant state homes of heat pumps and hot water cylinders, a worried neighbour claims.
And Kāinga Ora, the Government department responsible for the homes, has erected security and safety fences around the properties after receiving reports that people might have been entering some of the houses.
Nine houses on Haukore St in Hairini are empty and a 10th house is about to be vacated to make way for 21 new state homes. The existing homes will either be relocated or demolished.
Residents in the street are concerned about the length of time the homes - some of which have had cladding removed - have been left unoccupied as well as subsequent vandalism to the properties and Kāinga Ora's plans.
One resident said she has seen people stealing appliances - such as heat pumps and hot water cylinders - from the vacant homes.
Kāinga Ora confirmed it had been informed that people might have been entering some of the vacant older houses and it had erected the fencing as a result.
When the Bay of Plenty Times visited last week, one of the properties had a shed filled with rubbish, broken appliances could be seen on the overgrown lawn, a cord was hanging out of a back window, and a room was filled with rubbish.
Three of the empty houses, which are adjacent to each other, had security and safety fences erected with warning signs of asbestos.
Across the road and further down the street was a similar sight - security fences and empty houses with windows boarded.
A woman who lived on the street, who did not want to be named, said the newly proposed state houses were "a bit scary".
"A lot of the people that actually have been in the homes previously are a bit of trouble," she said.
"I'm thinking if we have a lot of gangsters and all the rest, it's going to get worse down the street."
She remembered a "horrible" shooting at one of the homes, which is now vacant and fenced off. A mother and her three children, who have since moved out, were believed to be inside at the time.
She was also concerned that the state homes had been empty for "a very long time" - some since before lockdown last year.
The woman's nephew and his family needed a home, and she said they kept thinking "what the hell" as they looked at the empty houses.
She had noticed some movement at one of the houses before the security fence was up.
"I have noticed that sometimes the curtains close and open randomly," she said.
"I think I can see a fridge in there too. There might be someone staying in there, but I'm not 100 per cent sure, I try and keep my nose out of other people's business."
She said she had heard that some things had been taken out of the houses soon after the people moved out.
Another woman said the uncertainty about who would end up in the houses worried her, and while they could be good people, she also remembered the shooting.
"There's a lot of kids down here... you want, when they get older, [them] to be able to walk down the street alone."
Another woman who lived on Haukore St, who only wanted to be identified as Lilly, said all but one of the empty houses had been vandalised. The cladding had been removed from some of the properties.
"All the doors have been broken into, the heat pumps were taken within a week of them being empty," she said.
"Pretty much anything that wasn't nailed down - even things that were nailed down, like hot water cylinders."
She said after the first week of the now fenced-off houses being empty, she and another person noticed the door had been opened and they went to have a look.
"I only got as far as the kitchen. We're cleaners and I wanted a hazmat suit." She said this was the only house in this condition and believed it was a result of how the tenants left it.
She said people - who she understood were managing the properties - were in and out of the fenced houses, but she had not seen any squatters.
Lilly said the proposed Kāinga Ora properties looked "nice".
Kāinga Ora had delivered pamphlets to neighbours this month which explained the new homes would be a mix of one to four bedrooms - with a parking space, full insulation, double-glazing, and fitted with carpets and curtains.
It would consult with neighbours this week and planned to lodge a resource consent with Tauranga City Council.
Subject to consents, work was said to begin early-mid 2022 with the new homes finished in 2023.
Kāinga Ora regional director Bay of Plenty Darren Toy said the team had heard secondhand that people "may be accessing some of our vacant older houses in Haukore St".
He said it was difficult to know what may have been taken as the houses were boarded up with fencing, but salvageable kitchen and bathroom items were the most likely to be stolen.
These were estimated to be of low value given they are older houses and fittings.
Toy said security fencing would be installed at all properties as a result, and all the houses were boarded up to prevent access.
He said the agency has been working with Ngai Te Ahi hapū.
Toy said Kāinga Ora was looking to reuse and recycle materials and items from the houses, and at possible relocation of some houses.
This was expected to happen in the coming weeks and the rest would be demolished.
Kāinga Ora would match the new homes to families on the housing register with the houses able to fit small and large families.
The number of applications on the Tauranga housing register as of June was 675 - an increase of 316 per cent in five years. (June 2016 = 162)
He said the project had taken a "little longer" than expected but Kāinga Ora planned for work to start on site from early-mid next year.
Kāinga Ora has 17 vacant and 232 occupied state houses in Tauranga and the Western Bay of Plenty according to its latest data in June.
More than half of those 17 houses can be found on Haukore St.
Most of the public housing in Tauranga is managed by Accessible Properties with 1177 properties in the city - three of which were vacant.
General manager Vicki McLaren said these were going through a void maintenance process which was preparing the houses to be re-let once they become vacant.
Earlier this month tangata whenua representative Te Pio Kawe expressed concern during a Tauranga City Council meeting about the city's housing crisis that people were building without permits, living in overcrowded houses, and squatters were staying in Kāinga Ora state houses.
People aged 60-plus accounted for 55% of all house fire deaths over the past 5 years.