Tenancy Services say it has opened an investigation into the property in Shamrock Park. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Tenancy Services say it has opened an investigation into the property in Shamrock Park. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Investigations have been launched by Auckland Council and Tenancy Services over claims that a residential house in East Auckland is being used to house about 30 people, who are mainly migrants holding Working Holiday visas.
The five-bedroom property in Shamrock Park has a rateable valuation of $2.975 million, and authoritiesare investigating whether the property is in breach of any laws or bylaws of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
A woman who responded to an advertisement offering “bed space for rent” at the property was told the home had 27 people living in it.
Instead of renting out rooms, people pay $160 per bed and for that price, the woman was told she would be sharing a room with three others.
A current tenant told the Herald people “come and go all the time”, so it was unclear how many were staying there at any one time. He believes the number often ranged between 20 to 30, and most of them are migrants who are here on temporary visas.
“Some only stay two nights, others a week but there are some who are staying longer term,” he said.
A tenant says between 20 to 30 tenants, mostly short term, occupy the house at any one time. Photo / Jason Oxenham
The man, who did not want to be named, said tenants did not have direct dealings with the landlord but only with a representative who is Malaysian.
After reports of the fatal fire at Wellington’s Loafers Lodge yesterday, he said the landlord sent workers to install smoke alarms in the bedrooms at the property.
Another tenant was also coy with the arrangements saying they did not have any tenancy agreements signed with the landlord and payments were made in cash.
The property is listed as being owned by MK Trustee, with Geumsoon Shim and Lian Seng Buen named as directors and also the shareholders of the trust.
The Herald has reached out to the landlord’s representative for comments.
Allan Galloway, head of tenancy at Tenancy Services, said has opened an investigation case for the property in Shamrock Park and was concerned about the allegations.
“We wouldn’t be able to confirm whether the specific property is in breach of any laws or bylaws... until Tenancy Services’ Compliance and Investigations team has progressed its investigation,” Galloway said.
He however encouraged tenants to find out about their renting rights and to get in touch with the investigations team if they thought there has been a serious ongoing breach.
They can call them for free on 0800 836 262 (0800 TENANCY) where translators are available, Galloway said.
Craig Hobbs, director of Auckland Council Regulatory Services, said also that its compliance investigators have opened an investigation and visited the property on Wednesday.
“We respond to complaints regarding potential illegally operated buildings as well as referrals from partner agencies such as Fire and Emergency NZ and Tenancy Services. These complaints are investigated using the legislative controls available to us under the Building Act and Resource Management Act,” he said.
“In addition to responding to complaints, we proactively visit known or suspected boarding houses as part of a Boarding House Inspection Programme. These are conducted with partner agencies from Tenancy Services, FENZ and Auckland Council’s Environmental Health department.”
The Council would not make any comments on this specific property as the investigation was ongoing.
“Where boarding houses are found to be non-compliant, we will generally work with building owners and our partner agencies to rectify any issues and bring the premises into compliance,” Hobbs said.
“We are always looking at ways we can exercise the tools available to us to create safer environments for people to live.
“The tragic fire at Wellington’s Loafers Lodge will provide valuable learning opportunities, and we would welcome any review of regulatory or legislative settings from the Government that may assist us with improving our own processes and systems.”
Hobbs said all boarding houses where six or more people sleep are required to display a Building Warrant of Fitness, an annual certificate that proves all building safety systems are functional and operating effectively, without any risk to health and safety.
Boarding house fire safety systems are dependent on the occupancy number, floor area size, and number of floors, and systems range from manual call points, smoke or heat detection, and fire sprinklers. Other safety systems can also include emergency lighting and illuminated exit signage.
“However, there is currently no legislative requirement for property owners or managers to register their property as a boarding house,” Hobbs said.
“This limits the council’s ability to legally gather or keep comprehensive records on boarding house ownership or use.”
