An Auckland man says his time living at a social housing unit was a "nightmare" that had him fearing for his own safety so much he's now abandoned his flat and is sleeping in his van.
Bobby Wells says all-day alcohol drinking, drug use and violence at the complex was constant and feels the provider Tāmaki Housing, which manages thousands of government units, failed to act quickly enough to stop it.
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Wells' entire life is now inside his van including a few possessions, a mattress, blanket and his pet dog, Rose, who he calls his "best friend".
He feels safer living in the van than he did in his unit in a housing complex in Point England.
"It was horrible, just horrific. Congested with partygoers - if you can imagine a night club, it's like that," he told Newshub.
Wells waited years to get a unit and when he finally got one, was greeted by visitors congregating and drinking next door with loud music which started early and carried on late into the night.
He says he witnessed fights, drug taking and drug dealing. Rubbish, including empty beer bottles, often littered the premises; parts of the complex were damaged and windows were smashed in.
Police confirmed to Newshub they were aware of problems at the complex.
"Doors getting kicked in, yelling and screaming and fights breaking out," Wells told Newshub.
"Nothing worse than waking up in the morning and seeing a whole lot of people sitting outside passing the pipe around smoking crack."
He said some tenants and their visitors had no respect for the properties.
"They shouldn't have even been there in the first place because there are people out there like myself. I waited three years just for a little box across the road to actually get off the street."
Wells made complaints but says Tāmaki Housing failed to act. The housing provider, however, disputes this.
Tāmaki Housing told Newshub staff took immediate action to resolve the complaints, but noted the law says that three breach notices have to be issued within a 90-day period before an application can be made to terminate a tenancy.
Tāmaki Housing general manager of housing Juliet Erihe said terminating tenancies can be complex.
"Substantiating antisocial behaviour and responding under the Residential Tenancies Act can be time consuming and we acknowledge this would have been frustrating for neighbours," she said.
Wells says he was threatened with violence - a breach that can lead to immediate termination.
Two tenants have since been kicked out. But Wells says intervention should have happened sooner.
"They failed doing that, and as a result, I'm back on the street," he said.
Housing Minister Chris Bishop described the situation as unacceptable.
"I don't want to see anyone subjected to that sort of behaviour," he said.
"We expect Kāinga Ora to take action against anti-social tenants, and that expectation applies equally to community housing providers and Tāmaki Regeneration as well."
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development told Newshub there are several ways landlords can take action against unruly tenants. Where a tenant assaults or threatens a landlord or neighbour, applications can be made to terminate the tenancy without notice.
A spokesperson reiterated that when there are incidents of antisocial behaviour, three complaints within a 90-day period are required before action can be taken.
For example, three incidents over a 12-month period would not be sufficient.
But a tweak to the rules is set to change this.
"The Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill, introduced under the current Government, proposes to reinstate 90-day no cause terminations for periodic tenancies to make it easier for landlords to manage their tenancies," the spokesperson said.
