A Pacific health professional who lived in a boarding house for two years in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland says the Loafers Lodge tragedy could easily happen here.
After living in her Glen Innes bungalow for more than two decades, Sally* (not her real name), found herself unable to keep up with rising rents and resorted to living in a boarding house.
"I told the local politicians around here that Glen Innes has a real cheek to be so expensive – especially for families."
Currently the median rental house price in Glen Innes is $595 compared to seven years ago when it was just under $300.
Having checked out a number of boarding homes in the eastern suburbs before moving to a 16-bedroom lodge, she says the contrast between images advertising the house and the actual condition of the dwelling was stark.
"I just couldn’t believe it."
She described faulty alarms regularly sounding off, shabby and rundown interior and a leaking roof that almost caved in.
"It was nothing like the pictures; it was a death trap. It wasn’t safe at all."
The boarding house became just a place for Sally to sleep at night and her family pleaded with her to leave.
She says seeing the fire at Loafers Lodge in Wellington and the loss of so many lives has been a triggering experience for her.
"The entire time there, the place was never audited, there weren’t any inspections. We pointed out things that needed attention but nothing happened, except when the roof almost caved in. It was so bad, I thought about that when I learnt of the Wellington fire. It’s just a huge tragedy, it could easily happen here."
It was also a revelation meeting other residents in a similar situation.
"I thought I would be the only one with a full-time job, but there were several of us. Auckland’s a tough city to live in when you’re single."
The boarding house was well known to the authorities and she recalls the fire alarm constantly going off with police frequently visiting due to the behaviour of some residents.
"There were basically three groups; the workers, people with addictions and a group who struggled with their mental health. It wasn’t a good place to be long term, some [residents] were very unstable."
As a Pacific woman losing the ability to host her adult children and family back then was upsetting.
"I deliberately chose not to spend much time there, but I could do that, I was lucky in that respect."
Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland Central MP Chlöe Swarbrick’s call for stories from tenants, to inform tenancy law reform was timely says Sally; noting two-thirds of Pacific people live in rental accommodation.
"When you rent, things can change very quickly, when the landlord decides they might sell or move in with a family member. It’s so challenging for our people. The majority of Pasifika people rent – the law needs to give greater protection to our families. It’s important to have a sense of stability."
She also reflected on the vulnerable Pacific people living in low-budget accommodation such as boarding homes.
"Those are not healthy places at all – they need wraparound support. It’s not right that there is a lot of money being made from the vulnerable and the poor."
Craig Hobbs, Auckland Council Director of Regulatory Services, says it welcomed any review of regulatory or legislative settings from the Government to improve its processes and systems.
"We respond to complaints regarding potential illegally operated buildings as well as referrals from partner agencies such as Fire and Emergency NZ and Tenancy Services. These complaints are investigated using the legislative controls available to us under the Building Act and Resource Management Act. In addition to responding to complaints, we proactively visit known or suspected boarding houses as part of a Boarding House Inspection Programme.
"We are always looking at ways we can exercise the tools available to us to create safer environments for people to live, and we would welcome any review of regulatory or legislative settings from the Government that may assist us with improving our own processes and systems."
By Kim Meredith, Local Democracy Reporter
Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
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