A south Auckland mother has told Newshub she's packing up and leaving her Kāinga Ora home because of abusive neighbours.
That's despite the Government instructing the housing agency two months ago to take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants.
The 28-year-old woman, who asked not to be named, has been living next door to another Kāinga Ora property, with tenants she says use illegal drugs and can be abusive towards her.
In a video the woman filmed on her phone during an altercation at her front door, her neighbour can be heard shouting: "You need to start minding your own business, you bitch!"
The mother is now packing up and leaving her home, after complaining about her neighbours to the police and Kāinga Ora.
"They just don't give a shit, to be honest. Excuse my language everyone, but that's the truth. They don't look after good tenants," the woman told Newshub.
"He assaulted me, the partner; they're now trespassed, she's had a warning."
But when the woman submitted photo evidence to Kāinga Ora, she was told to "refrain from taking any pictures or videos of your neighbours home without their consent".
The woman decided to move to a private rental, even though it'll cost her hundreds of dollars more a week in rent. She said she'll have to sacrifice food.
"So basically, after all my bills go out, I'm going to have about $130 for food, gas and anything else we need every week."
Housing Minister Chris Bishop instructed Kāinga Ora in March to "take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants".
Kāinga Ora told Newshub it will be "accelerating our investigative and decision-making processes for customers whose behaviour is severe or persistent".
Angela Pearce, Regional Director, Counties Manukau at Kāinga Ora, said in the year to May, nine tenancies were ended due to disruptive behaviour.
"In one of these cases, we needed to seek a bailiff to gain vacant possession of the home."
But the woman's neighbours have not been evicted.
"This is a challenging situation between neighbours, where there are no independent witnesses to the alleged events. However, it is clear that some of the behaviour that has been reported is unacceptable and falls short of what we expect," Pearce said.
"For privacy reasons we are limited in what we can tell you about this situation. However, we can confirm we have spoken to the neighbour about how the behaviour in their home is impacting on their neighbours. We have also warned them that they will be putting their tenancy at risk if that behaviour continues."
The woman had a message for Kāinga Ora: "You're protecting violent, drug-using people that are smashing up these brand-new houses you've put us in, with no respect for anyone."
The woman had hoped for a stronger response, because she has been a victim of domestic violence in the past, and in a letter written by her doctor, it said her symptoms of PTSD and chronic anxiety "have worsened" due to the environment she's living in.
Bishop told Newshub cases like the woman's were "precisely why the Government has instructed Kāinga Ora to strengthen their approach to disruptive tenants".
"People should not have to live in fear. At a time when there are over 24,000 people on the social housing wait list, Kāinga Ora should not be prioritising tenants who abuse their home or their neighbours above families who are anxiously waiting for a home."
