Thousands of late-paying state house tenants - some owing thousands of dollars in rent - are continuing to live in taxpayer-subsidised properties despite being nearly $2 million in debt.
Housing NZ figures show the amount owed in rent arrears has risen 56% - nearly $700,000 - to $1,916,659 in the past four years. More than 6300 current tenants owe $1,630,245. But bailiffs' were brought in to evict only 10 tenants last year.
One Auckland tenant is still living in a three-bedroom pr property despite owing $7178. The tenant is locked in a Tenancy Tribunal dispute with Housing g NZ, which says the tenant will be evicted if the dispute is not resolved.
A Housing NZ spokeswoman said eviction was always the last resort because of the corporation's social obligations. 'Due to the complex needs of many of our tenants, we always seek to resolve the issue with the tenant first, which is successful in most cases. If that fails, we seek action through the tribunal'.
'Staff would contact tenants as soon as payments were missed, and could provide budgeting assistance and other specialised services to help them catch up on payments.
`With a lot of these people, it's not them refusing to pay their rent - they're just failing to manage their finances properly.'
The amount of debt owed averaged $275 a tenant.
National's housing spokesman, Phil Heatley, said Housing NZ should take a harder line on defaulting tenants.
'The message should be quite clearly that there's a mutual obligation when it comes to renting taxpayer-funded housing,' he said.
'In the private rental market, tenants are held to account, so it should be no different in the social services rental market.
Housing NZ said more than 600 former tenants had made arrangements to pay $286,414.
But sums owed by many others from whom Housing NZ had not been able to recover money had been handed to debt collectors to chase, except where the cost was greater than the sum sought.Need help or
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