Ngai Te Rangi chief executive Paora Stanley says he’s sick of people on both sides of the equation rorting emergency housing.
On one hand there are landlords who’ve bought up motels and then offer substandard services.
On the other hand there’s what he estimates as between 15 and 20 percent of clients who look to turn a profit from social services,
He says the iwi has invested about $9 million in social and emergency housing around Tauranga, and the majority of tenants respond well to wraparound services, getting some education and perhaps a full driver’s licence and a job before they move on to more permanent housing.
“The other lot, they’ll leave in the middle of the night taking the queen-sized bed you put in for them. They’re hooking into all this gear and walking out with it and that’s a tragedy in itself,” Stanley says.
He’s witnessed similar problems with other first nations groups around the world, where organisations struggle to collect rent on reservation housing.
- Waatea News