The Government must harden up its policy for managing abusive, anti-social state house tenants after revelations that an innocent pensioner couple are being forced to move home because Kāinga Ora refuses to evict their abusive neighbour, says National’s Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis.

“I was horrified to learn the story of a pensioner couple living state housing in Whangārei, feeling terrorised after their state house neighbour has subjected them to a ‘prolonged campaign of intimidation and fear’, including death threats.

“This is unacceptable. Why should law-abiding neighbours be the ones to pay the price? The abusive tenant should be evicted.

“There must be consequences for people who abuse their state tenancy and use it as a platform for victimising others in such a revolting way.

“It appears that under Labour, state tenants can get away with virtually anything, with little consequence. 

“Data I have obtained confirms the view that Labour has virtually banned evictions for state-house tenants. Even for the worst of the worst. 

“Answers to my Parliamentary Questions show that Kāinga Ora has not evicted any tenants since March 2018.

“The state landlord should be firm and fair. No tenant should think they can act without consequence or punishment. They must understand that the state is prepared to remove them from their house if they don’t meet basic standards of behaviour. Evictions should not be the first response but they must be a tool in the toolkit.

“The Minister for Public Housing, Poto Williams, must urgently revisit this naive and cruel policy which is resulting in the victimisation of innocent, law-abiding New Zealanders.”