Final few tenants in notorious social housing complex told they must go

Friday, 26 January 2024

The remaining tenants at the Dixon St flats have been given an end of tenancy notice, dated for April 30.

The remaining tenants at the notorious Dixon St flats have been given a 100-day end of tenancy notice – a year after the complex’s supposed closure and despite still waiting for alternative accommodation.

The letter from government social housing agency Kāinga Ora came as a shock to those affected, as they had been expecting meetings with staff about their “housing situation”.

“We didn’t know what we were walking in on when we went to the appointment … maybe an assurance, but we weren’t expecting an [end of tenancy] notice,” one tenant said.

“Everyone is really on edge and anxious about it.”

The tenant, who asked not to be identified, is among 32 remaining in the central Wellington flats – simultaneously a slice of modernist heritage and a crime-plagued eyesore. More than 100 lived there before the homes were deemed “old and no longer fit for purpose” in December 2022.

Demolition and a rebuild of Kāinga Ora's Dixon St Flats has been deemed too hard due to its heritage status. (First published June 2022)

The tenant said they had only been offered one accommodation alternative, which was unsuitable due to their mobility issues.

The Kāinga Ora staff member at their door said there was a possibility the end of tenancy notice, dated as April 30, could be extended, but it was not mentioned in the letter seen by The Post.

If tenants refused to leave, “we may need to apply to the Tenancy Tribunal to get possession of the property”, it read.

“We will keep giving you options for a move to another home but if these are not accepted then you will need to move out and make your own arrangements.”

Kāinga Ora would not confirm whether they had issued notices to remaining tenants or whether they could be extended.

The remaining tenants would be relocated to new homes in the final stages of construction, Kāinga Ora Greater Wellington regional director Vicki McLaren said.

Many had been promised a place at a new Kāinga Ora site on Rolleston St, Mount Cook, but it was recently revealed this would not open until the second quarter of 2024.

The future of the Kāinga Ora's Dixon St Flats is still uncertain but the remaining 32 tenants have been given until the end of April to move out.

“We are working closely with all the remaining customers to offer them suitable alternative homes and are confident that we will be able to do that by April,” McLaren said.

A decision on the future of the Dixon St building was still being worked through, McLaren said.

In the meantime, the tenant said maintenance issues had gone ignored. Thieves had started stealing copper fixtures and the flats – already known for bodily fluids in public areas and antisocial behaviour – were “slowly falling apart”.

Wellington Central Green MP Tamatha Paul said she would be meeting with tenants to understand the situation and support them through the process of moving which could be traumatic for some.

Squatters, who had moved into unused flats in the tower block, had been moved on by police last Friday, the tenant said.

“I just want a place I can settle down in,” the tenant said.

Wellington Central Green MP Tamatha Paul, a former city councillor, said moving could be traumatic and difficult, particularly for the many vulnerable people living in Kāinga Ora housing.

“Even regardless of the quality of the housing, they’ve set up homes and raised families … and to be told you’ve got 90 days, get out, is really quite cruel.”

She would be meeting with tenants to provide advocacy and support, Paul said.