The move was aimed at reducing the cost to the general ratepayer and improving the quality of pensioner housing, much of which has become rundown.<\/p>\n
Under the partnership, residents will be required to sign a new tenancy agreement with Emerge, which includes raising their rent to market rates from February. <\/p>\n
An August council statement announcing the \u201cpositive changes\u201d said this would allow \u201cmany tenants\u201d to access more government assistance.<\/p>\n
Emerge would help ensure tenants received the full benefits they were entitled to, and the council would ensure tenants solely dependent on superannuation were \u201cno worse off financially\u201d for two years, likely by contributing to utility bills.<\/p>\n
Neil Evans said he faced the prospect of weekly rent for his Lucas Place bedsit rising from roughly $122 to $320-$420. Despite assurances he would not be left out of pocket, Evans struggled to see how the difference would be covered. <\/p>\n
He said the process had left him \u201con the brink of collapse\u201d. <\/p>\n
Lucas Place resident Neil Evans. Photo \/ Mathew Nash<\/p>\n
The pensioner blocks were a \u201clast resort\u201d for many of the tenants, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve all worked, most over 50 years, and now we\u2019re struggling,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Evans estimated he would be left with just $200 a fortnight from his superannuation to cover living costs. He believed the increase would lead some residents back into homelessness.<\/p>\n
He said most agreed they \u201cwould not be signing anything\u201d until they had it \u201cguaranteed\u201d they would not be financially worse off. <\/p>\n
Evans agreed to be named for this article. Several other tenants Local Democracy Reporting spoke to at Lucas Place and Kahikatea St shared his views, but did not want to be named.<\/p>\n
This included concerns around their treatment during the changeover process.<\/p>\n
Lucas Place residents are disappointed with how a new housing partnership has played out. Photo \/ Mathew Nash<\/p>\n
Residents were invited to a drop-in session on September 4, where they were told the change would be taking place on October 1. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was all very sudden indeed,\u201d said Evans. \u201cIt felt like enforcement, not consultation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evans and other tenants said it felt like \u201cdivide and conquer\u201d tactics, as residents were separated on to different tables. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey did not treat us with the respect we deserved,\u201d said Evans, who said he had been reduced to tears during the process.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey don\u2019t seem to understand,\u201d another person said of the engagement. \u201cThey made me feel like I didn\u2019t matter.\u201d <\/p>\n
Rotorua Lakes Council said the partnership was \u201cdesigned to protect and strengthen\u201d Rotorua\u2019s pensioner housing.<\/p>\n
\u201cContinuing to rely on $1 million of ratepayer funding subsidy, which is expected to increase, each year to cover actual costs is not sustainable or fair to the general ratepayer,\u201d said infrastructure and assets general manager Stavros Michael.<\/p>\n
Rotorua Lakes Council infrastructure and environment deputy chief executive Stavros Michael. Photo \/ Laura Smith<\/p>\n
\u201cBy making the portfolio financially viable, we can maintain quality homes and look to increase the supply of pensioner housing in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael said the amount the council would contribute towards utility bills was \u201cnot known\u201d, as it will be different for everyone.<\/p>\n
Despite tenants being provided with a new rent estimate from Emerge Aotearoa, Michael said work by an independent valuer to assess market rates was \u201dnot yet complete\u201d. <\/p>\n
Emerge Aotearoa will receive 8.5% of the rent for each tenanted unit to carry out property services duties such as sign-ups, collection, inspections and maintenance. <\/p>\n
The October 1 start date has been pushed back. The council said a changeover will be confirmed once \u201cfinal physical assessments\u201d of the units are completed. <\/p>\n
The council and Emerge Aotearoa had held \u201cwell-received\u201d community information and one-on-one sessions with residents.<\/p>\n
Grey Power Aotearoa secretary Christine Bavister said she understood this might be \u201cdistressing\u201d and \u201ccause anxiety\u201d for residents. The group hoped Emerge and the council would work with all relevant bodies to restrict the cost increase on tenants.<\/p>\n
They said many of the units had become \u201crundown\u201d and Emerge could improve the quality of the housing provided. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe expect Emerge Aotearoa will offer units that are warm, dry and affordable. <\/p>\n
\u201cLikewise, this housing will be available to pensioners at a reasonable and affordable rental rate to enable seniors to live in dignity enjoying a comfortable and sustainable quality of life.\u201d<\/p>\n
When approached for comment, Emerge said Rotorua Lakes Council was \u201cbest placed\u201d to answer questions. <\/p>\n
Mathew Nash is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based at the Rotorua Daily Post. He has previously written for SunLive, been a regular contributor to RNZ and was a football reporter in the UK for eight years.<\/p>\n
\u2013 LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The move was aimed at reducing the cost to the general ratepayer and improving the quality of pensioner…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":58430,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[16390,48614,46330,7558,3339,21325,117,111,43,139,69,1523,4753,19525,7565,22429,530,1327,38715,48613,22400,8229,48612,698,1533,102],"class_list":["post-58429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-agreements","tag-assurances","tag-blocks","tag-councils","tag-housing","tag-increases","tag-new","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-over","tag-partnership","tag-pensioner","tag-receive","tag-rental","tag-residents","tag-rotorua","tag-rotoruas","tag-signing","tag-tenancy","tag-they","tag-unhappy","tag-until","tag-will","tag-with"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58429\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}