Since first publishing this, I’ve read several times in social media that this kind of eviction is not uncommon. In a recent post a woman said she has seen a family handed an eviction notice PRIOR to the grieving family’s arrangement of the tāngi of their loved one! This is about as low as one can go. This current post describes the delivery of an eviction notice … and the company has apologized since (having been caught out I suspect) however if there are more experiencing this then it clearly wasn’t a one-off blunder by rogue staff. Bear in mind also the information that’s come to light from Auckland’s anti corruption activist Penny Bright’s info about the Nats land banking state homes in Tamaki since 2012 to make way for private mansions. If anybody reading this has been similarly evicted, please feel free to add the info (anonymously or otherwise) in comments. Stay tuned as I’ll update this as I hear more.
A young Tamaki family of five aged 12 to 25 were issued an eviction notice with only three weeks to pack up their entire household. This came just three weeks after their mother passed away in their arms following a short illness. The family had lived in their home for ten years. The letter addressed to their mother (then deceased) and hand delivered to the children by the landlord’s employees of Tamaki Housing, who declined the invitation to come in and discuss the notice, is cold hearted and to the point, covering such ‘essentials’ as, leaving the property clean and tidy and emphasizing that other tenants needed the house.
Great stuff Nats. With the devolution of your once caring Housing NZ to this corporate entity, you can really bare your sharp teeth at the bereaved and vulnerable. Your other corporation WINZ is driving people to suicide. Quite a legacy you’re leaving us.
You can read the full story here:
The appalling treatment this family has received at the hands of this company contrasts somewhat from the profile presented on their website that promises to focus on:
“… delivering an innovative tenancy management approach based on supporting successful tenancies and being responsive to social housing tenants’ needs. THA works alongside Tamaki Regeneration Company (TRC) and other partners to make a positive difference to the lives of our tenants.”
You may be interested to know as per above quote, that Tamaki Housing in a Google search comes up alternatively as Tamaki Regeneration:
Contact Us | Tamaki Regeneration
Complaints. Formal complaints must be made in writing, and will be acknowledged within two working days of receipt. TRC will respond to complaints within 15 …
Tamaki Regeneration, Crown owned, featured recently here in an article supplied by Penny Bright, activist and independent candidate for Tamaki.
Tamaki Redevelopment Company Ltd’s Crown Shareholders Nick Smith & Bill English
Penny outlines the history of this company and its part in what she believes is the gentrification of Tamaki by property developers. She says in effect that Tamaki Regeneration is:
“… forcing poor people – ‘State tenants’ off prime real estate to make way for private mansions for the wealthy … “
In light of what has happened with this family, this appears correct. In her article she outlines the scam regarding the two companies known as Tamaki Redevelopment Company Ltd, and Tamaki Regeneration Ltd. A must read.
Read her article here:
You may also like to read Bryan Bruce’s take on this incident, who first drew my attention to this article. Below the RadioNZ article he posts (that featured here) several people have commented that this treatment of its tenants by Tamaki Housing is not unusual. A common occurrence apparently. They’ve since withdrawn the eviction … for now … cold comfort for these five young people who still have no guarantee they can stay.
In conclusion, all I can say is this is just about as low as any government could go. Remember they (rather the corporation/govt they work for) owns the said housing company. I figured the death of two homeless men in the cold of Auckland’s streets was bad enough … this adds further to the outright ugliness of neo-liberal economics and how it really works for the rich while screwing over the poor. Shame on you Nats.
EnvirowatchRangitikei
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