Living in sheds as rents rise

[muppet]

Living in sheds as rents rise

A growing number of people are living illegally in storage lockups as the cost of renting increases.

The Dominion Post has uncovered evidence of sheds being transformed into makeshift homes.

At least two people are living in a small cluster of lockups in the Lower Hutt suburb of Taita, and fire safety officers say the problem is growing.

Living in lockups is illegal because of poor sanitation and the risk of floods and fires.

Tucked away behind light industrial buildings, the double row of sheds is home to Ross - who would not give his full name for fear of being evicted by the council - his dog Kaiser and a cat.

Ross has lived there for three years since his home was sold after the end of a relationship.

The dingy lockup, which has only one door and no windows, is kitted out with an oven, television and stereo. He pays about $100 a week.

He spends two or three nights a week at his partner's house, where he washes and uses the toilet.

Otherwise he uses nearby sports facilities.

Now living on a benefit, Ross takes life "day by day ... I would not like to be here forever".

Fire safety officer Tony Nightingale said lockups normally had no sprinklers or alarms.

"A lot of hazardous substances are stored in them. Heaven forbid if firefighters are called to a fire and are unaware people are living there. It is a huge risk."

It was difficult to catch lockup dwellers because the council had to give notice of an inspection, giving residents time to shift out.

Hutt City Council communications manager Don Carson confirmed problems of people living in substandard conditions.

"Quite frequently, extended family members arrive and are put up in anything with a roof."

Regional Public Health officer Steve Palmer said vermin and lack of drinking water and sanitary facilities were a recipe for disease.

"If people are living in lockups because the rents are affordable, they should contact Work and Income. There are alternatives."

Wellington Housing Trust said high market rents hit many people in the pocket.

Trust coordinator Alison Cadman was not surprised to hear some low-income earners were resorting to living in garages.

Median rents for a one-bedroom flat in Wellington range from $132 in Taita to $220 in Newtown.

The national average is $185.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4246993a10.html

[Glenn]

I get really angry and frustrated when I read articles like this and have all the do gooders pontificate on them. This person like many others are not living there because of high rents or lack of affordability.
I am personally aware of a number of people doing this sort of thing in Nelson. They are all living in these conditions because the tenants choose to do so. I have visited a number of these tenants for a variety of reasons.
In almost every case the "sheds" are either professionally provided storage facilities or industrial properties that can not find an industrial tenant. To suggest that because the properties are unsafe because they do not have sprinklers is absurb. Sprinklers are not a feature of residential properties in NZ.
To suggest that there is vermin there is again stupid. I have seen a lot more vermin around normal houses than any industrial property. Has the the vermin pointer not visited those residential properties located near to bush and streams.

These industrial live in properties are ideal for those tenants that want to make loud noises with their music machines. They are ideal for those types that like living with animals like dogs and other filthy things.
They are ideal for those that want to live in squalor and manufacture or grow drugs on the site.

Come on lets get a life. There are heaps of "people" that are not fit to live in normal houses. What is society supposed to do to these sub species of our community.

[SuperDad]

Come on lets get a life. There are heaps of "people" that are not fit to live in normal houses. What is society supposed to do to these sub species of our community.

Maybe those who are concerned should set up a website, offering rooms for board in their houses.

www.bleadingheartliberal.co.nz

[srv]

Ross has lived there for three years since his home was sold after the end of a relationship.

This is how the story should be titled "Man looses plot after being divorced by wife, now lives in shed"

Or

"Living in sheds... after government cuts mental health spending"

[Julian]

We used to live in caves. More recently the New Zealand government sent its finest young men to Europe to live in trenches and be shot at. Sheds are a huge improvement, and we should be grateful.
Julian

[SuperDad]

I feel a Monty Python sketch coming on...

[Davo36]

I used to sell/lease commercial/industrial property in South Auckland.

Some of the places... Glen and others are right. It's not that these people can't afford a house. They don't want to and no one would have them as tenants anyway. They choose to live in squalour. They actually see nothing wrong with it.

I've taken people thru industrial buildings where there's been dogs crapping on the floor (inside) while we try and walk thru. Kids get brought up in these places too. Very sad.

They are often rabbit warrens where there's say 8 people living in a 1000 sq ft factory unit. They've boarded up a little area (adding mezzanine floors and the like) to make little bedrooms. Beer cans/bottles, porno mags, food and rubbish everywhere.

Stereos going, no lights, weed being grown. The whole enchilada.

[freezinhot]

Truely sad when kids are brought into the mix.

FH

[Perry]

Where-oh-where are all the do-gooder, socialist TT
tenant-advocate Adjudicators? Shouldn't they be
issuing ex-parte orders on all such evil acts?

[Davo36]

Yes obviously the landlords of these places force the tenants to live in abject squalour. And those landlords should have to therefore pay in some way.

Fleas in the carpet? Must be the landlord's fault.
Cockroaches in the discarded takeaways? Poor people can't/don't know how to cook. Perhaps if they didn't have to pay so much rent they could afford decent food and sanitation.
Pets defacating on the floor? Greedy landlord hasn't provided an outdoor area with their factory unit.

I think someone needs to set up a new political party in this country. It could be called the "Reason and Accountability Party". It's manifesto would be a) to get people to use commonsense in everyday life and b) to get as many people as possible to take responsibility for themselves and their lot in life. This surely must be at least 90% of all NZers. The rest (the very young, the old, the severly disabled etc.) would be looked after by the 90%.

I imagine it's around 60/40 at the moment with most of the 40% able to look after themselves but bludging off of society.

This will of course never happen. Who want to be sensible and take responsibility for themselves when the government will so willingly do it for us?

[Glenn]

Goodness Davo has seen it too.
I thought I was in some sort of fourth diamension where I saw what was going on and no one else could see, smell, or feel what was going on.
I must confess that I have an insulated shipping container that I converted to a site office. It has windows, side door, and ventilation along with lights and power outlet. For a long time I rented it out for $40 per week. My tenants loved it. Wonderful cheap rent. That was located on an industrial site. Then the rotten city council found it and I had to give the tenant notice. Being forever resourceful after a decent amount of time had passed I moved it to another site hidden from the street and called it a sleepout. Bearing in mind that it only cost me $1000 it has been a wonderful investment.

[Perry]

Fourth dimension to ground control:
come in ground control, come in.

Tut, tut, Glenn, wot wud the TT say?

[Perry]

I think someone needs to set up a new political party in this
country. It could be called the "Reason and Accountability
Party." It's manifesto would be to get:
a) people to use common sense in everyday life, and
b) as many people as possible to take responsibility for
themselves and their lot in life.

And just how many members do you think you'd get?

[Glenn]

Fourth dimension to ground control:
come in ground control, come in.

Tut, tut, Glenn, wot wud the TT say?

Did I not mention.
My all my tenants love me. Why on earth would anyone complain to the TT if they were getting cheap rent. Those containers are wonderful.
You can not punch holes in the walls. To clean up I just open the big double doors and hose the s**t out.
Sure I have had a couple of windows broken and was tempted at one stage to put sheet steel instead of glass back in.
They are wonderfully sound proof, Great for people to practice their drums and other noisy things that people do. If it is an industrial area the only nieghbours around it are hiding from the authorites also so they will never complain. No agitated call in the night.
Oh this is landlords bliss.
Dont you love it.

[Perry]

Davo36

I suggest Glenn as Leader of your yet-to-be-formed
Common Sense party. (He can have the housing port-
folio, too, methinks!)

Instead of Dear Leader, as the North Kimmies have it,
he could be Great Guru Glenn.

All hail.

Containerite could be his weakness, perhaps?