Phil Heatley MP
National Party Housing Spokesman

16 April 2007

HNZ lets tenant debt soar

Reporters Note: Regional Figures Attached

National Party Housing spokesman Phil Heatley says Housing New Zealand is putting tenants with low incomes in a terrible position by allowing debt to snowball.

“Everyone understands that when you’re on a low income it becomes even harder to catch up when you fall behind. When low income tenants owe thousands upon thousands of dollars it’s incredibly difficult to clear.”

Mr Heatley is releasing regional breakdowns of the debts owed by tenants to Housing New Zealand, including money owed for back rent, and money owed for damage and vandalism.

Nationwide, total debt (back rent and damage) is up from $3.65 million at end of last financial year to $4.37 million today.

“That’s a 20% increase in eight months.”

In Auckland the total debt is up 8% to $2.5 million, in Christchurch it’s up 15% and in Wellington it’s up by 25% to $760,000.

“Fifteen per cent of HNZ tenants are in debt to their landlord. Of those 9,514 in debt, 6,311 are on a repayment scheme.”

Mr Heatley says the highest debt by a current Housing New Zealand tenant was $11,639 in Auckland. All of that was owed for damage and vandalism.

"With more than 11,000 families on the waiting list, tenants who deliberately, repeatedly and unashamedly damage taxpayer-owned state houses can’t expect to be excused responsibility forever.”

ENDS

Attached: Regional Breakdowns Of Housing New Zealand Debt – 4 pages.
http://img.scoop.co.nz/media/pdfs/0704/HNZCTenantDebt0207.PDF
http://img.scoop.co.nz/media/pdfs/0704/Heatley__3056_Tenant_debt_by_NU_906_to_207.pdf

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