Salvation Army transitional housing exit leaves young Whangārei mum stranded

With nowhere else to go, they stayed until contractors arrived on December 8 and started putting their belongings outside.

“If my grandmother had not taken us in, we’d be on the streets,” the woman said.

Her grandmother did so reluctantly as her house was already overcrowded, and she believed the problem was for the Salvation Army or Housing New Zealand to solve.

The mother said problems at the property included:

mould.an old textured ceiling coating (of a type known to commonly contain asbestos) that crumbled in hot weather.a gap in a front yard fence.an insecure exterior door.faulty electrics that often left a side of the house without power.exposed interior breeze block wall.a stove that didn’t work when she moved in.

Other issues she identified included draughty windows, water leaking from a shower wall and pooling in the bathroom doorway, and no underlay between carpet and concrete flooring, resulting in a cold and unforgivingly hard surface for her children.

The Salvation Army confirmed it was engaged in mediation for the case through Fairway Dispute Resolution, after which it would provide more details.

For now, it could not comment on individual cases due to privacy reasons.

“We can confirm that our team has acted in accordance with our internal processes as well as the guidance outlined in the Transitional Housing Code of Practice.

“We have worked closely with the person in question, offering support to find alternative housing and navigate this process.

“Every effort has been made to identify alternative solutions, and a planned exit from our housing is always a last resort,” a Salvation Army spokesperson said.

Mould is present throughout the property, and ceiling coatings are an old textured type known to contain asbestos. In hot weather, bits crumble onto the floor, creating a hazard for young children.

The mother disputed receiving help and said she believed another provider declined assistance due to comments made by the Salvation Army.

Te Tūāpapa Kura Kāinga – Ministry of Housing and Urban Development oversees transitional housing providers, such as the Salvation Army, and established a Transitional Housing Code of Practice, which sets minimum standards for housing quality, tenancy management, and dispute resolution.

Providers must ensure properties meet Healthy Homes Standards, including adequate heating, insulation, and ventilation, and respond promptly to maintenance issues.

They are also required to support tenants in finding alternative housing and make planned exits a last resort.

A leaking shower wall left water in the bathroom doorway.

The Salvation Army said it worked with the landlords who supplied its transitional housing properties to remedy concerns when maintenance issues were identified.

The mother claimed an exterior ranch slider door remained unlockable for most of her tenancy despite her protestations.

She said she also had to fix a gap in the fence to keep dogs out and prevent her children from straying onto the road.

She had not received paperwork for the first alleged tenancy breach, believed to relate to rubbish strewn by a dog that got in through the gap in the fence last October.

She was issued two further breaches, and believed they were in retaliation for ongoing maintenance concerns she and her grandmother raised at a meeting with the Salvation Army’s transitional housing manager on November 3.

The mother questioned whether the latter two breaches would stand up to scrutiny.

The first was a glass drug bong found on top of a kitchen cupboard – the mother says it is not hers.

A gap in a fence line made the front yard unsafe for children to play and allowed roaming dogs to get into rubbish bags.

She accepted the Salvation Army’s rules forbade drug use, but rejected the bong’s presence was proof of it.

The other breach was for refusing a further inspection eight days later (November 14), the woman claimed the schedule was fortnightly.

The woman said she was disappointed not to have been provided permanent housing after so long in transitional housing, and was still awaiting a mediation date.

Sarah Curtis is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on a wide range of issues. She has nearly 20 years’ experience in journalism, most of which she spent court reporting in Gisborne and on the East Coast.