WARNING - Do not support refugee program placements

[Don't believe the Hype]

We recently fully renovated a 4 bedroom unit, new carpet, ceiling insulation (no underfloor access), heat pumps upgraded bathroom and new carpet through out. We advertised as we normally would with huge demand and many potentially good tenants. One of those that applied was a new refugee family with full support from the Red Cross and the department of immigration documenting they had been through their official integration programs to set them up for living in NZ.

We decided to support the refugee placement efforts as our attempt to ‘help’

Six weeks later my PM visited the property to find that they had pretty much destroyed the place. Our first call was to the Red Cross they simply shrugged their shoulders saying they were only a support service, the govt document not worth the paper it was written on

The support services will run for cover and you as the landlord will be left carrying all the risk.

[Keithw]

Such a shame that you do the "Right Thing" & this is how you / we are treated.
Much the same with some of the undesirables that WINZ throws out of public housing and expects private landlords to house them.

As usual the socialists say we will take these people in but "YOU" are going to pay for them and deal with them. The immigrants get a quick briefing then some Govt dept ticks a box & says their job is done.

I'm picking there will many more difficulties in housing the difficult ones & one day the Govt is going to have to stump up & build more state housing or convince the do gooder agencies to take responsibility for them.

The real sad part is that there are many good immigrants / refugees whose only desire is to make a better life in their new country, and just need a little education as to how things work and what they are expected to do.
I know this because my place in Melbourne is in the middle of Refugee / immigrant central and I am surrounded by loads of genuine and hard working people, and no violence & crime like there is in areas containing multi generational Aussies who on the dole and expecting the world owes them everything.

[Sharon]

Thanks for the thread. As supply tightens happy to refer to it next time approached by those organisations about giving consideration to such groups.

[Davo36]

So what have you been able to do about this DBH?

And why did they do it? Was it intentional? Or they just don't know how to live in a NZ house?

[Don't believe the Hype]

Davo36 - nothing at the moment. I’m overseas so my PM and insurance are handling. Will report back when I have more info.

[AlFa]

So what have you been able to do about this DBH?

And why did they do it? Was it intentional? Or they just don't know how to live in a NZ house?

Don't need to guess - it was innocent accident

[Nick G]

Crap, sorry to hear that. Very disappointing.

[Don't believe the Hype]

Thanks Nick but we manage our business for these sorts of risks. We have insurance that should cover the costs, but you’re right, very disappointing. We will be out of pocket but we’ll scrape by. Maybe I should set up a give a little page for a poor landlord who’s place got damaged. You think there would be public support? 😂

We produced a product that was high spec for the area we invest in and these people have no respect for the property. What’s worse is when we saw the tenants move in they had new fridge, new washing machine new kitchen appliances - pretty much new everything that the Red Cross had sourced for them. They were set up better than many of the hard working locals that we rent other properties to. There is simply no excuse for this behavior

[Davo36]

DBTH, did you make the Red Cross aware of this?

And where have these people gone? Can you publicise their names etc. so other landlords don't get caught out?

[Courham]

Unfortunately the reality is that refugees often come from places with very different attitudes/experiences towards property than the NZ norms. Where I am living (Kiribati) most people don't have access to running water or a toilet- going to the toilet in the ocean or lagoon is how many people do it. Indoor plumbing for water? Forget about it. You've a well. Most people live in dirt floored shacks.

We run a hospitality course, training local girls to be able to be cleaning staff/hospitality workers at resorts in Australia. The head of the PTE was returning from overseas so the tutor took the class of girls (20+ of them) to clean his house for him- a good learning experience. It was the first time ever that many of them had been in Western style accommodation (i.e a typical western house as you would know it)!

One of my workmates told me a story of some of the locals who went on one of those short term migrant workers programmes to NZ and lit a fire in the oven at their accommodation. None of them had ever used an electric oven, out here you light a fire to cook on- people don't have ovens as western houses do so it was an alien concept to them.

So, I'm sorry your house was trashed and it has been a learning curve for you. However, the organisations working with the migrants should be teaching them about how to live in NZ houses and the many, many things we take for granted or think are common practice.

Craig