Rotorua Lakes Council is exploring options to redevelop the city’s largest pensioner housing complex.
By Mathew Nash, Local Democracy Reporter
A resident of the Lucas Pl site in Fenton Park said some tenants did not want to move and feared they would be “homeless by Christmas”.
The council said tenants would be taken care of and housed if a redevelopment went ahead, and that no decisions have yet been made.
Meanwhile, any future development could be complicated by a piece of legislation from more than 60 years ago.
With 66 units, Lucas Pl was the biggest of the council's six elder housing sites.
Only 38 of its units were currently occupied, with 28 vacant.
Council infrastructure and assets manager Stavros Michael confirmed the council was investigating options for redeveloping the site.
"Tenants who may be impacted have been informally advised that redevelopment of the site is being explored."
He said Emerge Aotearoa, which managed the council's pensioner housing, began engaging with tenants individually late last year.
“As things progress, tenants would be advised, and any public announcements would follow.”
Michael said units could be vacant for a range of reasons, including changes in tenant circumstances, health-related matters or because renovations were needed to meet Healthy Homes standards.
Emerge Aotearoa took over managing the 152-unit pensioner housing portfolio in March.
It followed a bumpy transition process after the council approved the new partnership in mid-2025.
The council said at the time that the change aimed to reduce reliance on ratepayer funding for the portfolio, and that no one would be left without housing.
Rents would rise to market rates, but “many tenants” would be able to access Government housing assistance to help cover the increase.
The council promised a two-year “top-up” contribution to ensure those solely dependent on superannuation were “no worse off financially”.
It later emerged that the Ministry of Social Development did not support the council’s idea to contribute the “top up” to tenants’ utility bills. The ministry said this income would reduce other allowances, making the support ineffective.
The council has since set a reduced rent for many tenants.
Some continue to rally against the pensioner housing changes.
The council confirmed seven tenants had applied to the Tenancy Tribunal for a hearing.
Neither the council nor the Ministry of Justice would say which sites these related to, citing privacy.
It came after Rāwhiti pensioner block resident Mary Smith won her tribunal case in March, enforcing a 40% reduction in proposed rent rises. The council has appealed against the decision.
Reluctant to leave
Lucas Place resident Neil Evans said he was one of the tenants waiting for the tribunal to hear his case.
He had been told he could be required to move from his unit before the end of the year, with homes on his side of the street to be “bulldozed” as part of a redevelopment.
"We are all afraid we will be homeless by Christmas."
Evans, who has lived at Lucas Pl for 11 years, said he always believed it would be his final home unless he breached his tenancy agreement or chose to leave.
Over the past decade, he has transformed the property and was reluctant to leave.
"I've planted three feijoa trees, a lime tree, strawberries, raspberries, rhubarb and blueberries. I get a lot of food out of that."
He was “going nowhere”, and the prospect of relocating was particularly difficult for many elderly residents, he said. Several lived with significant health conditions.
“We were under the impression we would never have to leave.
"Some of us won't be able to cope with this."
Michael said the council would ensure "nobody will be homeless" throughout any works, and there were "sufficient vacant units available" to manage this. for those who would be impacted.
“Tenants will be taken care of, any redevelopment would be staged, and we would encourage tenants who do have concerns to contact Emerge Aotearoa."
The future of Lucas Pl is also complicated by the legal status of the land. The site was originally set aside for airport purposes by the Reserves and Other Lands Disposal Act 1962.
Any sale or transfer of the land would need approval from the Minister of Conservation, with proceeds of any sale then being shared between the Government, the council and the airport.
Asked about the legal status of the land, Michael said the council understood it might be subject to the 1962 act and it was in the "early stages" of assessing any implications.
"No decisions have been made," Michael said, adding there was currently no timeline for any decision on the future of Lucas Pl.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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