Anxious wait taking its toll on Nelson council housing residents

Tuesday, 5 March 2019

Lea Bevin is waiting.

She's waiting for her health to improve. She's waiting for winter, when she says black mould appears on her walls. Above all, the 74-year-old is waiting, and wondering, about the fate of her home.

Bevin lives in community housing in Stoke, Nelson. Her modest, one-bedroom flat is one of 142 housing units currently for sale, and negotiations are still taking place between Nelson City Council, Housing New Zealand (HNZ), the Nelson Tasman Housing Trust (NTHT), and the newly-formed Ministry for Housing and Urban development.

Tenants were assured by the NCC that their homes are assured, but Bevin feels anything but secure.

'Once they're sold, it doesn't matter what sort of agreement they make with the new owner, we have no guarantee whatsoever of having a home.'

* Affordable housing out of reach in Nelson

Bevin has been told her tenancy is secure. However, she feels anything but while the ownership of her home hangs in the balance.

* Nelson Tasman Housing Trust hoping for injection of funds**

The NCC said last year that around half its community housing needed some kind of renovation. At an estimated cost of up to $20 million, it's a large burden for a new owner.

Her own home is rundown, Bevin said. Since moving in eight years ago, she's asked for help with draughty windows, a damp bedroom and a back door that she was unable to lock for six weeks after a botched repair.

Then there's the mould, which she says appears when the cold, damp weather sets in. Over the years in the property, Bevin's health has deteriorated. Her respiratory symptoms line up with mycotoxin poisoning, and last year Bevin took the NCC to the Tenancy Tribunal to seek costs to manage her condition.

However, tests failed to find a conclusive link between the mould and Bevin's symptoms, and the tribunal awarded her $224, to compensate for a period of time she had to move into the living room to escape a damp bedroom.

Bevin is convinced the mould will return. 'I'm absolutely certain the mould is still there.'

NTHT director Carrie Mozena sympathised with Bevin's sense of unease.

'I can understand how she would feel like that.'

Despite being older housing units, the properties where Bevin and her neighbours lived were 'maintainable,' she said.

She was confident the mould problem in Bevin's property had been addressed.

'There was a full specialist examination of the interiors, and mould was found in one small place in a cupboard.'

Since taking over the properties' management 18 months ago, the NTHT had caught up on a backlog of maintenance and secured extra council funding to upgrade heating and ventilation systems in each of the 142 homes.

'We've made very good progress,' Mozena said. 'We're enjoying the work and we know we're making a difference in people's lives.'

Nelson City Council communications adviser Ali Hamblin said there were no updates on the proposed sale.

'There's nothing new to report at this stage.'