Tenancy ultimatums being pursued

Press, 11 March 1983, Page 6

Tenancy ultimatums being pursued

Some State tenants in Christchurch have been asked to buy their houses or vacate them within 12 months. The ultimatum was issued by the Housing Corporation as part of its limited tenancy policy. Since October, 1976, when the scheme was introduced, all tenancy agreements have included a six-year review clause. After the sixth year of occupancy, tenants are means-tested to ensure that they still qualify for State housing. The corporation’s deputy manager in Christchurch. Mr C. E. C. Consedine, said that the limited tenancies were part of a new philosophy towards State housing which emphasised home-ownership as the final goal. “We are giving the tenants the opportunity of six years settled and secure housing in which to solve their longterm accommodation needs,’’ he said.

The corporation began the first oNts reviews in October last year and has now screened 105 tenancies in Christchurch. Of those, 17 will end because the tenants’ incomes are above the cor-

poration’s limit—s 244 gross a week plus $25 for each child. Mr Consedine said that most of those tenants who had had notice to buy or move out were earning $3OO to $4OO a week. “We are saying to them that they are in a better position to fend for themselves on the open market than the 900 people on our waiting list,” he said. Of the 17, five had opted to buy their houses and the rest had yet to make their plans known to the corporation. Ten had not replied. Mr Consedine said that the corporation had asked them to state their incomes, and had followed the letters up “a couple of times.” It had emphasised that a failure to reply would be interpreted as a failure to conform with the eligibility criteria. “That is why they have been given their marching orders,” he said. Asked whether there was any risk that tenants might be evicted because they did not understand or could not read the corporation’s letters, Mr Consedine said that the decision would be reversed “if it was found, even 12 months hence, that someone

had slipped through the net somehow.” The eviction requirement would also be lifted if the tenant’s circumstances deteriorated within the 12month period of notice, he said. There was a risk that tenants might deliberately drop their incomes in order to qualify for continued assistance. The corporation was alert to the possibility. Throughout New Zealand, 1130 tenancies have been reviewed and notice given in 92 cases. Mr Consedine said that at 18 per cent, the number of tenancies being discontinued in Christchurch was probably higher than the national average but the sample was too small to be meaningful. The figures for Ashburton and Timaru, included in the Christchurch office’s catchment, were not. available, he said. The tenants’ reaction to the notices had been good. Most had been aware that their tenancies would be reviewed after six years, and had used the time to organise a deposit to buy, Mr Consedine said,