Parnell's City Garden Lodge is seen the morning after it caught fire. Photo: RNZ / Jordan Dunn
Speculation continues to surround the details of occupants, the purpose, and the safety conditions of an Auckland backpackers that was destroyed by fire.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand said the investigation into the fire at the City Garden Lodge in Parnell on Sunday was still underway, and were yet to clarify whether the fire was being treated as suspicious.
Neighbours told RNZ police were regularly at the accommodation, and complaints had been sent to local Epsom MP David Seymour seeking some intervention. But they said no update had been received and no action had been taken by the politician.
Locals said the Chatley family transformed the accommodation into a form of emergency housing during the Covid-19 lockdowns but the owners had refused to comment and did not respond to RNZ's calls.
Multiple government agencies denied having any involvement with City Garden Lodge after residents and guests claimed it housed 501 deportees, former inmates, and the homeless.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) confirmed the lodge was one of 37 buildings it assessed, as part of an into boarding houses similar to Loafers Lodge which burned down last year - killing five people.
MBIE head of building system, delivery and assurance Simon Thomas said it had noted fire safety concerns when its teams visited in September last year, and had referred the issues to Auckland Council to follow up.
Auckland deputy mayor Desley Simpson, who visited the scene on Monday, refused to answer RNZ questions about whether or not the building was one of the 14 visited by MBIE in Auckland. Auckland Council has since confirmed it was.
It assured that the lodge had passed its August council audit after the owners made improvements to the external fire escape, but could not guarantee it still met safety standards at the time of the fire.
Council field surveying manager Jeff Fahrensohn said: "The stairs had been strengthened sufficiently for the BWoF (Building Warrant of Fitness) audit to be passed, with the owner agreeing to arrange a more permanent solution for strengthening the stairs.
"In relation to the City Garden Lodge Parnell, the council can only comment on whether the building was compliant at the time of the council's last audit in August 2023, which it was."
Fahrensohn said a new BWoF was issued on 28 November 2023 with an annual audit scheduled for Tuesday, 9 April.
"We cannot speculate on whether the building would have been found to be compliant had this gone ahead," Fahrensohn said.
David Seymour speaks to residents at the scene of the fire. Photo: RNZ / Finn Blackwell
Neighbours complain to Epsom MP David Seymour
Neighbour Andre May said St George's Bay Road, the street where City Garden Lodge was located and where he also lived, was not quite the place it once was.
"It's really gone from a family-based typical community environment where you feel safe on the streets," he said.
Ever since the owners seemed to transform it from being a backpackers to a form of emergency or temporary housing, the atmosphere shifted, May said.
"With the change, it was almost immediately. People are feeling pretty scared and intimidated in the street."
May said it all came to a head when he was confronted by a resident of the lodge in early March and sent an email to Seymour, his local MP, describing the situation.
"Since the repurposing, there have been ongoing, repeat and high frequency criminal incidents on this street and surrounding streets," May said in the 12 March email.
He mentioned how calling the police had become a "regular occurrence for many people on the street" and were "seeking [Seymour's] input and feedback" on the situation.
May received a generic email in response.
"On behalf of David Seymour I acknowledge your email. I shall pass it onto him when he is in the office later this week," it said, "I will put your name on the list for any local initiatives like the one you have suggested."
In response to questions posed to Seymour's office by RNZ, he said he was aware of issues at City Garden Lodge.
"My office has been aware of this issue for three years and worked extensively to provide information to and raise concerns with the relevant authorities," he said.
"For the past few months, my office has been supporting local residents on a daily basis and working with FENZ and police on a regular basis."
Police have been approached to provide figures on the number of callouts to the backpackers.
Benjamin Rees. Photo: RNZ / Jordan Dunn
Uncertainty around government department involvement at City Garden Lodge
Benjamin Rees was living in the lodge at the time of the fire and crawled out a window with his bags to safety.
He said Work and Income had helped him move into the accommodation.
"When they put me in here, the room had urine and faeces ... all over the carpet and everything," he said.
Despite the poor smell, Rees said he had to take the accommodation out of necessity because he was homeless at the time.
Rees later clarified the lodge was one of many on a list of potential accommodations provided to him when he went to a Work and Income office after a month of being homeless.
Rees said after organising to live at the lodge on his own, Work and Income paid for the accommodation directly to the business.
The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) responded to these claims and said City Garden Lodge "was not a supplier of emergency housing".
"The last time the City Garden Lodge was a supplier of emergency housing was in July 2022," a spokesperson said.
"The lodge has not applied for emergency housing opted-in supplier status."
A spokesperson for MSD said they could not comment on the specific case of the resident RNZ spoke to due to privacy.
The Ministry for Housing and Urban Development also said the lodge had no transitional housing.
The Department of Corrections, in response to claims it was used to house ex-convicts or those on bail, said, "no one subject to a Returning Offender Order (ROO) or electronic monitoring is currently residing at Parnell City Gardens Lodge".
Police have been approached for comment on claims 501 deportees were housed at the lodge.