Warning: Images used in this story may offend some people.
A woman stuck in Auckland with no permanent address during the COVID-19 lockdown says her stay at an emergency accommodation facility was cut short because she couldn't stand the motel room's filthy condition.
Jess* and her partner were horrified to find dried blood, a light bulb that appeared to have been used as drug paraphernalia, hair under the toilet seat and fecal matter on the ground inside the motel room - allocated by Work and Income after another temporary arrangement she had made fell through.
The Hamilton couple were looking for a new home after Jess' partner got a job in Auckland when they got "caught out", not realising how long the lockdown would last.
Three weeks into alert level four, they found they had nowhere to go, so approached Work and Income (WINZ) for assistance and were assigned emergency accommodation at the Manukay City Lodge for one week.
But after arriving, she says the environment was difficult to handle and the cleanliness was unacceptable.
As well as concerning hygiene standards, she says there were holes in the wall, and alleges there were "scary men" running around the property making her feel unsafe - and a blue bandana left in the room made her feel uneasy.
"I wasn't happy. I felt like I'd rather sleep in my car," she told Newshub. "They came gave me the key, showed me the room, and then left. At first glance, no problem… once I went in with my bags, I noticed everything.
"It was awful. It was scary with the people staying.
"Two or three different cars smashed up. There were people yelling and screaming until at least 2am, running up and down stairs all night long.
"Work and Income should stop using horrible places like this," she says.
Jess says she tried to talk to the owners about her concerns but they had "no interest" in talking to her.
Feeling forced into a corner, she contacted her aunty and pleaded for her to come and stay there, but in level 4 lockdown at the time, felt terrible about the idea of breaking her bubble.
"In a level 4 lockdown, I would expect the place to be cleaned. My niece could have caught COVID just from entering this room," Jess' aunty told Newshub.
"They only stayed with me temporarily and found a more permanent place to ride out this lockdown and went there as my place was too small."
She says her niece shouldn't have been put in that situation.
The Manukau City Lodge manager told Newshub he was very sorry to hear Jess had a bad experience but claims he told her the room was still being in the process of being cleaned.
He confirmed Jess only stayed one night out of the seven days she was booked in for.
"WINZ paid for her for a week and we refunded the money to WINZ."
He says it wasn't until he wasn't contacted by Newshub he understood entirely why Jess had been unhappy with the room.
Jess says she tried to make the Manukau City Lodge motel owner understand the issue but he wouldn't listen.
"I also went to give the key back and explain that I wasn't staying in that room and tried to explain why and they kept saying 'okay, okay goodbye.' They didn't even ask for the key back."
Because emergency housing providers are private businesses, the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) is not involved in day-to-day operations however were concerned to learn of Jess' experience.
Mark Goldsmith, MSD's regional commissioner, told Newshub the accommodation had been inspected in July and not had any concerns raised since 2019 with this particular provider.
"But in light of this information, we have contacted them to reiterate our expectations about the quality of service," Goldsmith says.
"We expect our clients to get the same quality of service as any other guest. Motels that supply accommodation to our clients are expected to meet all the relevant standards imposed by regulatory authorities, including local councils."
He says when concerns are raised about the quality of service of emergency accommodation, MSD will follow up with the supplier to resolve these issues.
"Where these issues cannot be resolved in a timely way, and to our mutual satisfaction, we will find suitable alternative accommodation for our clients. We would encourage anyone who has concerns about their emergency housing to discuss it with their case manager so a solution can be found.
"We understand motels are not an ideal solution, but it is extremely important to us that people are not left to sleep rough or in cars, particularly during the recent alert level 4 in Auckland."
*Name changed to protect identity.
