A rat hole not worth a dollar: The Auckland motel 'profiting' off the housing crisis

Friday, 15 February 2019

An Ōtāhuhu motel is housing WINZ clients for up to $1500 a week, but the tenants say they're getting a raw deal (video first published February, 2019).

An Auckland motel given $3.1 million in Government funding to provide emergency housing to some of society's most vulnerable has been urgently investigated after a Stuff investigation revealed it was never signed off as compliant with the building code.

The Auckland Astro Motel in Ōtāhuhu has been described as a 'rat hole not worth a dollar'. But it's a tax-dollar goldmine, receiving $1m more than any other emergency housing accommodation provider in the country between October 2016 and June 2018.

Auckland Council building inspectors swooped on the property on Friday to conduct urgent safety checks after Stuff's inquiries brought to its attention that the Astro never had a Code Compliance Certificate – an offence under the Building Act.

Bravewin Faumuina says that when he used the toilet at Auckland Astro Motel, the smell wafted up the pipe and into his room. There was no grate over the shower in his room.

The ministry's decision to pay for so many people to stay at the Astro has been criticised by Auckland Action Against Poverty, which said questions had been raised about the motel's 'sanitary standards', as well as its smell, noise, and the 'generally poor condition' of the rooms.

* Motels become band-aid solution to housing crisis acutely felt in Hawke's Bay

* Govt spent record $12m on emergency housing in motels over last three months**

The 30-unit motel, which is owned by Emergency Services Limited, has been accused of profiting from the country's housing crisis. Emergency Services Limited was registered under Syed Family Limited in November 2016 – just four months after the Government introduced the emergency housing special needs grant (SNG).

The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) confirmed it also received and resolved 'several complaints' about the Astro last year, but said it would probe the latest issues uncovered by Stuff.

Persistent attempts to obtain a response to the allegations of poor conditions at the motel have largely been ignored by its owners.

Auckland Astro Motel has been providing emergency housing since 2016, but has been doing so without a Code Compliance Certificate - an offence under the Building Act.

'A RAT HOLE NOT WORTH A DOLLAR'

When you hear $1250 a week for a room, you may envisage an opulent master suite in a glitzy inner-city Auckland apartment.

Bravewin Faumuina believes the construction work at Auckland Astro Motel is sub-standard and the shower drain is plumbed into the toilet's waste pipe, causing his shower to smell.

But this is far from Bravewin Faumuina's reality. His $1250 Government grant gets him a dingy one-bedroom box at the Astro.

The carpet is riddled with stains, flies make themselves at home and his sheets haven't been changed in three weeks.

Then there's the stench – a grate over the shower drain is missing and Faumuina said the smell of human waste wafts up the pipe after using the toilet.

From left, Leaaepeni, baby Male and Yumi Fakatele say the Ministry of Social Development is paying Auckland Astro Motel $1500 a week for their emergency housing.

'I have to buy a lot of sprays to spray here so I can eat.'

That eating takes place on Faumuina's bed or on the floor, because the room does not have a table.

Images on the Facebook page for the Auckland Astro Motel provide a significantly different impression of the property than images obtained by Stuff.

The shower defect has never been fixed and, up until recently, the hole punched in Faumuina's closet door hadn't been tended to either.

'It's not comparable to the value that we pay from the Government,' he says.

Yumi Fakatele, 18, who has stayed at the Astro with his wife and 1-year-old child said his first impression of his room was not good.

'The fridge, it had like maggots and cockroaches in [it] when I opened it up,' he said.

'I had to clean the room myself. If you're offering accommodation, you've got to at least clean the room yourself.'

Auckland Action Against Poverty coordinator Ricardo Mernendez March says moteliers are 'profiting' from the country's housing crisis.

Fakatele criticised Work and Income and MSD for not inspecting the property.

'They don't know what we're basically living in at the moment. They don't come and see with their own eyes to understand,' he said.

The front page of Auckland Astro Motel's website where it claims to be able to declare itself 'one of the best service provider[s] in Auckland' as a result of customer feedback. It also goes on to say that guests' satisfaction 'has always been of paramount importance'.

'I'm stuck with the same sheets from the first week I was here, which was three weeks ago. I told them to change them, but they wouldn't.

'If we go to health and safety, they're f…ed. The state of this place is not worth $1500 a week. They've got four people living in a one-bedroom room, in a king-sized bed.'

'CLEARLY UNSUITABLE' ACCOMMODATION

Auckland Action Against Poverty (AAAP) coordinator Ricardo Mernendez March said his organisation had received numerous complaints about the Astro.

The property was 'clearly unsuitable' as a place to live, he said.

'We have had complaints about it being unsafe, cramped conditions. People with substance abuse issues, as well as mental health issues, don't receive any wraparound support that they desperately need.'

AAAP clients were 'frustrated' by the 'unsanitary' conditions at the Astro, which fell short of expectation given the 'thousands of dollars MSD are paying each week' for them to be there.

'A motel is simply not an [emergency] accommodation provider … it is no surprise when we hear people having real difficulties being able to stay in that place,' he said.

'MSD is also not creating standards or measures to ensure that the motels they are contracting are safe for individuals.'

The standard of accommodation used for individuals and families in need of desperate help at the Astro has also been blasted in a series of online reviews.

It has been labelled as filthy, with stained bedding, overflowing rubbish bins, blocked showers and an offensive odour.

Others complained about cigarette-burned sheets, stained carpets and unprofessional service. It has communal kitchens but no oven.

BUILDING NEVER GOT SIGN-OFF

On Friday, Auckland Council confirmed it was unable to issue the final code compliance certificate (CCC) for the Astro to operate as a 'boarding house' despite it passing two on-site inspections in late 2016 and October 2017.

Ian McCormick, the council's general manager of building consents, said that was because the agency never received the documentation needed to show building work was compliant.

'Council requested the outstanding information which, to date, hasn't been forthcoming. It is the owners' responsibility under the Building Act to ensure that either a CCC or a Certificate for Public Use (CPU) is in place prior to use of the building … we are following up directly with the owner.'

A decision on whether the council would prosecute was still to be made, but the Astro would be able to apply for a CPU in the interim.

A CCC is legally required for buildings that are open and accessible by members of the public, McCormick said.

'It also depends on the degree to which the occupants are transient, i.e likely to be unfamiliar with the building layout and safety systems.'

He said whether the building required a CCC was up to the discretion of Auckland Council and was decided on a 'case by case' basis.

McCormick said Friday's visit to the premises found no issues with the safety or sanitation of the premises.

Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni has asked her ministry to carry out a 'stocktake' of emergency housing in light of the findings of a Stuff investigation.

MSD regional commissioner Mark Goldsmith said on Friday that it was not previously aware the Astro did not meet the building code.

'However, now we know, we will be talking to the regulatory agency about what the actual issues are and what is being done to resolve them.'

The Auckland Astro Motel is being used to provide a roof over the heads of vulnerable Government clients, despite a raft of online complaints about unsanitary conditions and poor service.

The agency was dealing with significant housing demand in Auckland, and its clients did not always have the choice of accommodation they wanted because of that demand, he said.

'Clients make the decisions about where they will live. We are in contact with our clients every week to resolve any issues about the accommodation they choose.'

Goldsmith confirmed the agency received 'several' complaints about the Astro last year, including complaints about the quality of bed linen.

Auckland Action Against Poverty's Ricardo Mernendez March says motels were never set up to deal with issues associated with homelessness. (File photo)

'As a result, we raised those complaints with the motel and asked them to fix those issues,' he said.

'We were satisfied with the action they took at the time. We will raise these issues with the motel now that additional issues have been brought to our attention.'

The welfare of MSD clients was 'very important' and it took all complaints seriously.

'We want our clients to live in warm, dry, safe, clean accommodation. No one should have to have to live in a place that is unsanitary or overcrowded.'

The Auckland Astro Motel has been approached repeatedly for comment.

A spokeswoman for Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni said the issues raised about the Astro were 'concerning' and MSD was investigating.

It was 'not appropriate' for Sepuloni to comment further until she had received a briefing from MSD, she said.

Stuff approached Auckland Astro in early February with the concerns of MSD clients, as well as the string of online complaints, but was asked to email a list of questions because the owner was offshore.

After submitting written questions, Stuff received a brief response saying the premises was cleaned 'as per standard' and the motel had three 'big fully-equipped kitchens'.

Stuff has not received a response to several other questions despite multiple requests.

A woman who answered the phone at the Astro on Thursday, but would not give her name, said every room in the motel got clean sheets every week, with sheets being washed after seven days.

'The sheets are always clean, even re-cleaned after a week.'

She was 'pretty sure' the sheets were always clean and did not know why guests would say otherwise.

'We always tell them when you renew [your stay] please give us your sheets, but some of them are not listening.'

She declined to comment on the negative reviews, saying they were before her time. But she confirmed there were no tables in the motel's rooms.

'Yeah, there's no table in their rooms. When I joined there were no tables, so I don't know about that.'

PROFITING OFF THE HOUSING CRISIS

Emergency housing special needs grants were created to help people in urgent need where alternative accommodation options were inadequate or unsuitable, and when transitional housing places were full.

Assistance was generally given for up to seven days, but can be extended on a case-by-case basis. It covers the full cost of accommodation – money which is paid by the Government directly to the provider.

But the system has drawn heavy criticism from Mernendez March.

'Moteliers have profited from our homelessness crisis and the Government is enabling this by continuing to pour thousands of dollars per person, per week while failing to build enough public housing,' he said.

'If things continue as they are, we're going to continue subsidising a very profitable industry that is not providing a social service for our most vulnerable. And we're going to continue seeing social housing waiting lists spiral out of control.'

PUZZLING ONLINE PRESENCE

Crisp white bed linen, luxurious pillows, freshly-baked croissants on china, sumptuous leather recliners and more than enough room to swing a cat in.

The website's blurb declares the Auckland Astro Motel as 'one of the best service provider[s] in Auckland' as a result of customer feedback.

But the images posted on the motel's official Facebook and Twitter accounts, which feature the Emergency Services Limited logo, are a far cry from what greets guests behind its Ōtāhuhu gates.

While its website mentions the street address, it excludes a reference to Ōtāhuhu, with the Google Map pointing to a Northcote address with the same street name and number.

Stuff visited the North Shore location, only to find it was a private residential property.

A woman who answered the phone at the Astro on Wednesday refused to confirm which suburb the motel was in.

When pressed, she said the property was 'booked out tonight' and then in response to an inquiry about accommodation at a later date, she claimed the property was 'fully booked' and that she 'couldn't help'.

She then ended the call.

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