Ministry of Social Development provide the tenant and promise to be guarantor.

[ReelBuzz]

Advice please. I have been approached by MSD to provide emergency housing for 'approved care givers' and uplifted, at risk children. Max of 2 caregivers as the tenants for 2 years looking after 2 children between ages of 5 & 10 years old. Children only stay one to 4 weeks then by law, must leave. Then new children are given te emergency housing as the ones before.

MSD want the care givers to be the tenants on a typical tenancy agreement. MSD covers all costs, rent, power, water, lawns and put any damage right.

Should MDS pay market rent or should this be a lease agreement?
Could anyone recommend good wording to use to cover the 'MSD as guarantor' promises/arrangement.
Could anyone already involved in this MSD arrangement let me know how well it worked out- pit falls or problems.
Does this arrangement come under the RTA or should it be a commercial lease or something like that?
Who should pay the insurance, & rates (about 3k).
Would you consider this arrangement to be Social Housing?
If for example market rent was $500 per week for the Median Quartile for the area, Tenancy Services Bond data median quartile market rents be the right way to come up with a rent figure or should i be using a different way to calculate an annual rent?
Thank you

[Don't believe the Hype]

Given my experiences with government departments providing certainty that your asset will not get damaged then walking away when it was I’d say... Run Forrest!!

Let uncle Phil and auntie J house then in the hundreds of new HNZ houses being built all over the country.

[Keys]

^^^ Agreed.

[Memphis Turnkey Property]

I've been involved in this process a few years ago. The "children" can be FAS, or on meth and have major social issues. We had a 14 year old the size of front rower do thousands of dollars of damage in one day once when his sexually abusive grandfather dropped in to "visit" the family. Your house will get DESTROYED OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN. Don't do it.

[Wayne]

I've been involved in this process a few years ago. The "children" can be FAS, or on meth and have major social issues. We had a 14 year old the size of front rower do thousands of dollars of damage in one day once when his sexually abusive grandfather dropped in to "visit" the family. Your house will get DESTROYED OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN. Don't do it.

Children between 5 & 10 on meth?

[Memphis Turnkey Property]

Unlikely Wayne but the ages can change once you have them in there. It's just not worth risking a private rental. Our worst one cost 34K to renovate.

[erinak]

RealBuzz,

I simply cannot believe the MSD would approach anyone to ask in the first place, unless you had put your hand up? And have you put your questions to them to get their response, before you ask here? Its the first place I'd go to.

[ReelBuzz]

Mmm. Well staff from the local MSD office answered my ad on TradeMe. Apparently this is a pilot trial for the nation where by caregivers are paid to live in a nice house and recieve uplifted at risk children for between one week & one month. The child/children are then assessed before going to a more permanent home or back to their family once appropriate supports are in place. So the caregivers have to be 'qualified', police checked etc to take responsibility for the little kids. Am I naive to think that the care givers would be decent people.? I realise the kids could be quite troubled, could easily have personal care issues to put it politely. The place is bound to need new carpet after the two year span, walls are painted. I'm thinking that the caregivers probably would be a bit more responsible than the low life Hnz tenants we often hear about.

Im thinking that rather than ha e a tenancy agreement with the care giver, that the tenant should be MSD Oranga Tamariki, the bill payer. What would you do.

[Memphis Turnkey Property]

I'm thinking that the caregivers probably would be a bit more responsible than the low life Hnz tenants we often hear about.

No guarantee of that. Unless you live in a town where you can't get good tenants don't do it.

[Wayne]

Unlikely Wayne but the ages can change once you have them in there. It's just not worth risking a private rental. Our worst one cost 34K to renovate.

Did you read what was written - they stay 1 to 4 weeks then, by law, have to move on.
So they may be up to 4 weeks older than the 5 to 10 they started at.

[Memphis Turnkey Property]

No I didn't mean that. I mean the terms stated and what occurs can change. Our foster home was only allowed certain ages for example but then we got kids up to 5 years either side of the stated clientele. And they have brothers, aunts, uncles etc. I'm just warning the OP about all this. One of my best friends is doing exactly this right now in Drury for a government related trust. She's had to call police etc., got attacked by a relative with a knife. It's a real zoo these days that's why they can't get staff or houses. Why expose a perfectly good rental to that sort of nonsense unless you are wanting to be involved in a social programme??

[Davo36]

It's terrible isn't it? Us property investors would like to help, but the tenants will trash the place, there'd be endless hassles and the government would be useless to deal with.

So we have to be hard nosed and say no.

[erinak]

ReelBuzz

If MSD made contact and unless they are willing to accept all responsibility, what's your problem? Talk to them about your qualms.

However, I struggle to relate to your claim that an agency replied to an ad on TradeMe.

Something is off- centre here.

[ripeka]

nothing “off centre” here. MSD have been using Trade Me to advertise for what they need - they got into trouble recently because of an ad they placed. They are desperate to house people. They are using all means possible.

[erinak]

nothing “off centre” here. MSD have been using Trade Me to advertise for what they need - they got into trouble recently because of an ad they placed. They are desperate to house people. They are using all means possible.

Ripeka.
By your own admission, MSD got "into trouble". Will leave it at that. It's a Don't-Go-There- from me.