A Northland mother is fighting an order to move and the threat of bailiffs from Kāinga Ora, saying the alternative house being offered is not suitable for her five children, who are highly traumatised from an abusive ex-neighbour.
But the state landlord says the mother and her children need to move out of their apartment so it can be upgraded to meet healthy homes standards.
The Advocate has agreed not to identify the mother because of ongoing safety fears she and her children have over the former neighbour, who has gang affiliations.
The woman has eight children, including five aged 4 to 16 who live with her in a small three-bedroom Kāinga Ora apartment in central Whangārei.
When they moved into the apartment in 2016, she was told it was a temporary solution so they did not have to stay in a motel.
Almost immediately they claimed to have started experiencing antisocial and threatening behaviour from a Kāinga Ora neighbour, including swearing, drugs being smoked in their shared driveway, theft, vandalism, and the neighbour’s son being instructed to throw stones and dirty nappies at the family.
“No-one’s children should suffer the way my children have,” the mother said.
Over this time, the mother repeatedly asked to be moved to a house within walking distance of schools, activities and therapy - as she does not drive - but Kāinga Ora could not offer anything suitable.
The situation escalated when the neighbour wrongly believed the whānau were responsible for her being arrested for drug-dealing, the mother claimed.
The neighbour and her friends reportedly blocked in the apartment, banged on the windows and threatened to kill the children, including an alleged threat to burn down the apartment with them inside. The mother claimed she was punched in the shoulder but stood her ground, before reporting the incident to police.
After these threats, the mother and her children could not move out to let maintenance be done on the apartment because the neighbours were reportedly threatening friends who drove down the shared drive and allegedly stole or vandalised any belongings left outside.
The neighbour was eventually moved elsewhere in 2021 but the abuse had a lasting impact on the whānau.
One child, now aged 9, has such severe anxiety and post-traumatic stress it manifested in selective mutism, leaving him unable to talk to most people.
His older brother, now aged 16, also has depression and anxiety, and is being treated by child mental health service Te Roopu Kimiora.
The mother said she is doing everything she can to help her children, including taking her 9-year-old to a range of activities where he is starting to flourish and supporting her 16-year-old with school and a part-time job.
Now the abusive neighbour has moved on, the whānau are finding their feet in their neighbourhood, with a couple of neighbours acting as surrogate grannies and another family offering friendship.
The mother said she is heartbroken Kāinga Ora has issued her a 90-day termination notice and is now trying to move the whānau into a house further away from school and activities, which would involved crossing the busy Hatea Drive - something impossible for the severely anxious children.
The house is also unfenced on two sides and right next to a neighbour’s driveway, the mother said.
The mother said the way Kāinga Ora have dealt with her and her high-needs children has been highly stressful - including a tenancy manager telling her that bailiff police would physically remove her children from their current home and her children’s mental health conditions were all in the past.
“The children are starting to turn a corner for the best and Kāinga Ora are ripping that away,” she said. “There seems to be a high gap in understanding of how broken my children are and how hard their lives are.”
But Kāinga Ora said the whānau are being relocated so work can be done on the apartment to bring it up to healthy homes standards, as required by law before July 1, 2024.
Northland regional director Jeff Murray said the team has worked extensively with the mother since 2020 to access her apartment for this work to be done.
“Contractors have attended 20 scheduled bookings to carry out works over this time, none of which resulted in access to the home. We have also done our best to communicate both in person and in writing, to convey the importance of this work and the compliance deadline of July 1.”
The whānau have been offered a number of alternative homes but all have been declined, Murray said.
“Subsequently she was issued a 90-day notice which expired in January, leaving us with no choice but to proceed with a Tenancy Tribunal order to gain possession of the property. A hearing date has now been set for early April.”
Murray said the mother has since provided access for scoping work, which was carried out on Friday, and Kāinga Ora is now waiting for the assessment report which will set out what work needs to be done.
“We remain hopeful she will accept the large family home offered to her in her preferred location, so the necessary works can be carried out on her current home,” he said.
“We appreciate moving can be stressful and for some does feel overwhelming, however, we will continue to support her throughout this process.”
The mother disputes not making her home accessible to trades, saying they would often not make an appointment or would show up at around 9am or 3pm when she was walking her children to or from school.
She has even gone so far as to arrange for a friend to accommodate them, over the school holidays, while work is done. But with more school holidays coming up, she is disappointed nothing has been agreed or put in place.
A Tenancy Tribunal hearing is due to be held on April 3.
Denise Piper is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.