08-12-2021, 11:46 AM
(This post was last modified: 08-12-2021, 11:48 AM by Oh_hunnihunni.)
Quick reply to one of the above list - I live in social housing, an ex council pensioner housing unit where management was transferred to a ppp in order to access the government subsidy.
Under the council, rents were the same for all tenants, on the basis of their units being the same, services the same, need level the same - etc. When the change came in all legacy tenants were promised rent rises would be limited to ten dollars pa until the new maximum of 30% of gross primary income was reached. (The HNZ formula is 25% of net primary income...) But, the promises have been broken for many tenants, using a 'change of circumstance' excuse to cover anything the private corporate provider can come up with. So my rent doubled when I turned 65, while my already 65+ neighbours retained their previous rent amounts. Another tenant saved up her super to pay for ongoing private breast cancer treatment and her savings hit the maximum allowable. and her rent was doubled. The promises made to us were simply ignored, and these days tenants living side by side in matching units are paying a range of different rents.
And while the corporate is subsidised by the taxpayers to bring their rental income up to market levels, the duty of care implied by that subsidy no longer exists. We have community managers who used to look out for tenants with special needs, blind, wheelchair bound, non English speakers, dementia patients etc, these days we are told 'we are landlords, social work is not our remit'. Have concerns about a neighbour? Call the Police, or ambulance, not our community managers. It is very different from the days when our council staff managed the units. Their attitudes were completely different.
So, even in the social housing area, there are good landlords and bad ones. This is why we have serious situations arising in pensioner housing. From serious security and violence issues, to rip off tenants, destruction of property, and even tenants dying in their units and lying undiscovered for days. It is very sad the way things have changed, but it is part of the political drive to ensure a return on social investment - that lovely neo liberal mantra.
And the strange thing is, we need more social housing, much more investment in the area, but - we need it done with the kind of motivation that inspired the taxpayer and ratepayer investment in the first place. We need the 'social' put back into social housing, and we need that to permeate through all rental housing, to provide homes for everyone who needs one, and the safety and security that comes with that good roof over our heads. That is after all, what a caring community means for all of us.
Under the council, rents were the same for all tenants, on the basis of their units being the same, services the same, need level the same - etc. When the change came in all legacy tenants were promised rent rises would be limited to ten dollars pa until the new maximum of 30% of gross primary income was reached. (The HNZ formula is 25% of net primary income...) But, the promises have been broken for many tenants, using a 'change of circumstance' excuse to cover anything the private corporate provider can come up with. So my rent doubled when I turned 65, while my already 65+ neighbours retained their previous rent amounts. Another tenant saved up her super to pay for ongoing private breast cancer treatment and her savings hit the maximum allowable. and her rent was doubled. The promises made to us were simply ignored, and these days tenants living side by side in matching units are paying a range of different rents.
And while the corporate is subsidised by the taxpayers to bring their rental income up to market levels, the duty of care implied by that subsidy no longer exists. We have community managers who used to look out for tenants with special needs, blind, wheelchair bound, non English speakers, dementia patients etc, these days we are told 'we are landlords, social work is not our remit'. Have concerns about a neighbour? Call the Police, or ambulance, not our community managers. It is very different from the days when our council staff managed the units. Their attitudes were completely different.
So, even in the social housing area, there are good landlords and bad ones. This is why we have serious situations arising in pensioner housing. From serious security and violence issues, to rip off tenants, destruction of property, and even tenants dying in their units and lying undiscovered for days. It is very sad the way things have changed, but it is part of the political drive to ensure a return on social investment - that lovely neo liberal mantra.
And the strange thing is, we need more social housing, much more investment in the area, but - we need it done with the kind of motivation that inspired the taxpayer and ratepayer investment in the first place. We need the 'social' put back into social housing, and we need that to permeate through all rental housing, to provide homes for everyone who needs one, and the safety and security that comes with that good roof over our heads. That is after all, what a caring community means for all of us.