7 June 2022
Scott Cobbett
[FYI request #19250 email]
Dear Mr Cobbett
Thank you for your request of 2 May 2022 to Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities for
the following information under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act):
1. Total number of incidents of anti-social behaviour committed by tenants or a
person in the premises with the tenant’s permission reported to Kāinga Ora
between 3 February 2022 to 2 May 2022.
2. Total number of written notices Kāinga Ora has issued to tenants for anti-social
behaviour between 3 February 2022 to 2 May 2022.
Please find our response to your questions below:
1. Total number of incidents of anti-social behaviour committed by tenants or a
person on the premises with the tenant’s permission reported to Kāinga Ora
between 3 February 2022 to May 2022.
The vast majority of the nearly 200,000 people who live in Kāinga Ora homes are good
neighbours and members of their communities.
Kāinga Ora takes complaints very seriously and works hard with individuals and whānau
involved to come to a positive resolution. Most of the complaints we receive are for minor
grievances such as car noise, frequency of visitors or lawns not being mowed. It’s
important to keep in mind that these types of minor issues make up the significant majority
of the complaints we receive. Additionally, often complaints wil be withdrawn or are
unable to be verified.
Kāinga Ora does not specifically record incidents of disruptive behaviour that have been
committed with a tenant’s permission. Therefore, this part of your request is declined
under section 18(g)(i) of the Act, as the information requested does not exist.
2. Total number of written notices Kāinga Ora has issued to tenants for anti-
social behaviour between 3 February 2022 to 2 May 2022.
Kāinga Ora is committed to responding effectively to disruptive behaviour and, as you are
aware, recently made changes to support this. We introduced new tools to better respond
to serious events of disruptive behaviour. This included tools to support relocation using
provisions from the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) and an internal review group to
support our tenant facing teams to work through complex tenant circumstances.
Section 55A of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA) is a newer provision that Kāinga
Ora has put processes in place to utilise. This provision allows Kāinga Ora to apply to the
Tenancy Tribunal to end a tenancy, should there be at least three severe and/or persistent
disruptive behaviour incidents, that are evidenced and the customer is notified, within a 90
day period. While going through this process, we continue to work with the customer and
the community to try resolve the issues through other means.
Between 3 February 2022 and 2 May 2022, Kāinga Ora issued four notices as part of our
process under section 55A of the RTA.
Serving a notice provides Kāinga Ora the opportunity to address the behaviour, while also
providing the tenant with an opportunity to reflect on the situation, and to work on
changing their behaviour. As our guidance becomes more refined and our people more
confident using the tools, we anticipate an increase in the number of notices that wil be
issued.
Tenant relocations – agreed and required
In addition to issuing Section 55A warning notices, Kāinga Ora is also able to utilise tools
to support relocation where disruptive behaviour occurs, and the need to move is
identified as a necessary next step. Kāinga Ora fol ows one of two pathways:
• If the tenant is wiling to be relocated, Kāinga Ora is able to take steps as soon as
a suitable home is identified. Since January 2022 there have been
39 households
relocated for disruptive behaviour by agreement.
• Where the tenant has not been wil ing to work with Kāinga Ora, section 53B of the
RTA can be used to end a tenancy and transfer the tenant to another home. To
date,
three notices to relocate under Section 53B have been issued. Of these,
two
tenants have successfully been relocated, and
one remains in progress.
Whenever a customer is relocated we continue to work with them to ensure appropriate
support is in place for the customer and their whānau to settle well into the new
community.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this
response. Information about how to make a complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or Freephone 0800 802 602.
Please note that Kāinga Ora proactively releases our responses to official information
requests where possible. Our response to your request may be published at
https:/ kaingaora.govt.nz/publications/official-information-requests/ with your personal
information removed.
Yours sincerely
Nick Maling
General Manager National Services
