A Napier woman agreed to live in an unsuitable home in the middle of a construction zone after being turned down for more than 40 private rentals.
Camille says living in a construction zone with four young children is not a safe option for Housing New Zealand tenants. Photo: RNZ/Anusha Bradley
The woman, who RNZ agreed to call Camille, took a three-bedroom Housing New Zealand home in Tamatea while caring for five family members escaping from drug and violence-filled homes.
She now has four children and two teenagers in her care.
Since moving in three months ago, her back yard has been transformed into mud due to a new build under construction, she said.
Although she had nowhere else to go, she regretted the move because the property was not suitable or safe for children.
"I've had health and safety issues right from the beginning. I slipped over outside and hurt my back and the day before I strangled one of the kids by grabbing her jacket as she slipped over," Camille said.
"There are holes in the ground, and there were no fences for some time so the kids could have run straight out on to another driveway," she said.
"Living here is horrible... I've been looking privately but that's my benefit gone and no one [is] going to give a single mum on a benefit a house."
She had to turn down three other HNZ properties prior because they were either too small or close to her children's relatives, who she wanted to stay away from.
She said the HNZ staff member she raised her concerns with had little sympathy.
"I questioned him: 'Why would you put people with little kids into a house that's going to be a construction site soon,' and he said 'that's just how it works'."
Camille says her back yard has been transformed into mud due to a new build under construction. Photo: RNZ/Anusha Bradley
Camille was matched with a house based on her requirements and her case was prioritised because she had an urgent need, an HNZ spokesperson said.
"We were mindful of the impact the new build may have had on Camille and our staff worked hard to resolve the issues she raised."
Construction on the neighbouring house was now complete and grass seeds had been sown in the mud, HNZ said.
Such construction was necessary given the huge demand for state homes in the region, it said.
Across the region, 499 families were in need of a home - an increase of 80 percent from a year ago.
There were also 66 families currently in state homes waiting to move to a new one, however no vacant homes were available in the region.
Salvation Army Napier Corps officer Samantha Millar said Camille's case was a story she heard all too often.
The organisation had put up 37 families in its transitional housing over the past year, but had only managed to find permanent homes for nine of them.
"It's really tough for people to find accommodation, particularly single people and large families," Ms Millar said.
Salvation Army had been helping two people a week with housing since April, she said.
"There just aren't the houses available for large families," Ms Millar said.
Single people could often not afford to rent their own place, or even a room, as the accommodation supplement did not stretch far enough, she said.
Ministry of Social Development, which managed Housing New Zealand's waiting list, said rent rises in Hawke's Bay meant it saw fewer tenants leave for private rentals or ownership.
The ministry provided 32 new transitional houses this winter to cater for demand.
TradeMe said the median price for a three or four-bedroom rental in Hawke's Bay increased $20 to $455 per week in May, compared with a year ago.