Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
Precious letters and photographs that survived the Loafer's Lodge fire will have to be dumped - but former tenants have won a legal battle to recover some of their property.
A man has been charged with five counts of murder and two of arson in the relation to the Wellington boarding house blaze on 16 May.
Community Law senior lawyer Oscar Upperton said a group of tenants asked for help after the property manager texted to say all their belongings were being binned due to contamination.
"Many of the tenants left the building with only the clothes on their backs, and the stuff of their lives still sits in their rooms nearly two months later," Upperton said.
"The tenants' belongings include very personal and precious items such as family photos, letters, statues, jewellery, and expensive items such as electronics and bikes."
Last month the High Court granted an interim injunction to stop the building being demolished.
A structural engineer and asbestos expert assessed the building 29 June and found widespread asbestos contamination and extensive water damage.
However, they determined that hard objects - including jewellery, bikes and computer hard drives - could be recovered for decontamination.
Porous items (including clothing, bedding and paper) cannot be recovered, because they cannot be decontaminated.
"The tenants of Loafers Lodge have gone through an unimaginably awful experience, and lost their housing overnight on 16 May. It is doubly hard to learn now that some belongings, including truly precious items such as letters and photographs, cannot be recovered," Upperton said.
Community Law is now working with the landlord to determine how to recover tenants' belongings from the building.
They will seek further orders of the court this week.