HNZ seem to think they are above the law

On the 8th September 2010 I requested a copy of all information HNZ have on file about me/us under the Privacy Act 1993, The request had to be either fulfilled or reasons why the information was not going to be supplied had to be outlined within 21 working days.

After this time on the 6th October 2010 I contacted HNZ's privacy officer Karaka Tuhakaraina who stated he would look in to the matter.

The reason we need this information is that we are due in court 9th of November 2010 regarding HNZ's breach in the tenancy act and the appeal process.

Today being the 22 October 2010 we received a letter from Karaka Tuhakaraina denying us this information under section 29 (ia) of The Privacy Act 1993.

• (ia) the request is made by a defendant or a defendant's agent and is
• (i) for information that could be sought by the defendant under the Criminal Disclosure Act 2008; or
• (ii) for information that could be sought by the defendant under that Act and that has been disclosed to, or withheld from, the defendant under that Act;

It should be noted that HNZ only filed their claim on the 4th October 2010 and from memory we were not served with any proceedings until the 7th October 2010 (actually this is the date on the video when I recorded both Debbie and I being served).

Now I am not a lawyer but I'm pretty sure that retrospectively denying access to information is a little unfair and given that we will not have this information for our hearing against HNZ on the 9th of November really goes to show what dirty tricks these guys are playing.

HNZ Boasting over 100 cases before the courts

A colleague of mine has watched the events unfold and had been contacted by investigators. He was a little alarmed given the comments of the investigator that seemed to him to be somewhat inappropriate given the situation. Out of concern he contacted HNZ investigation team and asked them a few questions but found himself dealing with overly paranoid people who were not very helpful at all. The manager kept stating the phone was quite hollow and that he thought the conversation was being recorded but the fact that my colleague was calling from a cell phone would have been the reason for this quality of the call. It was clear to my collegue that with the level of paranoia displayed they seemed to have something to hide.

The manager was also asked in relation to their investigations "Have you ever got it wrong" to which after a long period of silence he asked if that was a question. My colleague then said of course and its a fair question but the investigations manager refused to answer.

A recent publication put our by HNZ called Close to Home dated September 2010 has HNZ posting they have freed up 114 homes for needy families and indicating that there are over 100 cases before the courts. Given the actions that have been taken against us and the fact that we have never been given the opportunity to review any evidence, it appears to me that quite a number of them are likely to be an abuse of process. Given the fact that it appears tenants have no rights as well as many people who are in a position such as ours would be on very low income, this makes proving your innocence pretty darn awkward.

In New Zealand you are supposed to be Innocent until Proven Guilty and the benefit of the doubt must always go to the accused however HNZ do not seem to hold the same views. They act by throwing all they can at you then you and don't even provide the information to you that would allow you to challenge their findings.

Based on what is clearly an erroneous investigations we have been evicted, had our rental assessment revoked and backdated resulting in us owing HNZ a considerable amount over the last 7 or so years and are facing criminal charges. All this has happened before there have been any checks done on the information and before it gets heard by an impartial authority.

Housing New Zealands Customer Promise

Last week we received a glossy printed 12 page news letter from HNZ called Close To Home, this was Issue 27 September 2010. On page 7 I found two articles that were somewhat related to our situation the first being information about their Customer Promise.

The document is and Information Copyright Housing New Zealand Corporation 2010 and I have included the relevant extracts as reference material.

It is all very well HNZ making a customer promise but when this promise is breached who is held accountable. In our situation it is clear that this promise has been breached by Housing New Zealand on not just one account but all of them.

• be honest fair and objective.Clearly this is not the case in relation to our requests for repairs of the retaliatory nature of the events after we were forced to take action via Tenancy Services. Further by their own statements they have used the GROSS TURNOVER of the business and assessed that as by income not taking in to account the operational expenses and have at no stage provided us with either any reports or fulfilled their obligations under the privacy act.
• have the right skills and knowledge.This applies to more than one issue and the fact that we have for 7 years been trying to get HNZ to repair various house related problems and that there is the continuous growth of rot and black mold in the house shows that the skill set required to resolve these problems are not there. Further the contractors who were to repair the issues have taken shortcuts or not been able to complete the repairs due to their lack of skills.
• do what we say we will do.
  In court HNZ stated that all exterior walls in the bedrooms were going to be relined and insulation was going to be inserted, they have since decided not to do this. Further for 7 years we have been informed that the repair work of the flooding under the house was a priority and it still has not been repaired. Granted they did finally replace the cupboards in the kitchen but the fact that they are falling off the hinges and have not fixed them only goes to further show the lack of skill involved with their contractors.
• listen and understand your individual circumstances.We have had several meeting with HNZ and highlighted the fact that the community wireless network is struggling after any hope of funding was pulled and that the income only just coves the expenses. The fact the network is still in place is only because I do not have the heart to pull the plug on the only form of broadband in the area and send them all back to dial up.
  If we were bringing in the money that is being claimed I can tell you now that my wife would not be working insane hours for minimum wage.
  Further they did not seem to care about the dangers of their repairs or damage that was caused by their contractors to our car.
  
  When we moved in to the house there was ample storage under the house but were told to move our stuff our from under the house so the flooding could be repaired and not given any alternative for storage. The attempt to repair the flooding was done from outside the house not under it.
• provide you with the right information at the right time.Only 2 to 3 years ago we were investigated by HNZ and i provided information to HNZ's investigator regarding the network and our situation. Surely if there was an issue or a perceived issue this would have been up to the investigator to inform us. Our circumstance have not really changed since then.
• make it easy for you to communicate with us.Communications are a two way street, We have contacted HNZ many times and been promised that they would call us back with a resolution but we never received a call back and the matter just got ignored. I even have recorded conversations with the Panmure manager stating he would call me back over the damage and theft of property by their contractors but he failed to call back with a resolution.

I do understand that we have responsibilities as well and so as to be fair I will also publish these regardless of the fact that HNZ have laid criminal complaints against us.

• provide us with the right information at the right time.We have always provided relevant information to HNZ and contrary to their claims have informed them about the business. When the fence was damaged by us accidentally reversing in to it we provided the relevant insurance details however HNZ chose to ignore this and demand that we pay for this ourselves.
• keep any agreement with us.We have allowed access whenever it was requested and contrary to their claims have never denied access for anting that was pre arranged. Recently HNZ claimed we had done so (again) but it turns out that our tenancy manager sent us a letter with the wrong date listed. An earlier claim was refuted by the builder who was supposed to have been denied access.
• tell us if your situation changes.HNZ have allways known that the network existed and it was with their blessing that part of the business was situated here. Allthough slightly out of my field I had helped a previous tennancey manager with his computer problems.
• treat us like you like to be treated.We have always treated and welcomed HNZ however as observed by independent witnesses during some interaction with both our tenancy manager and her boss it was stated by the independents on two separate occasions that they seem to have it in for us. I suffer from chronic depression and their actions have only ever been confrontational and abusive.

On the same page as this there is also an article about 114 needy families housed claiming there are over 100 cases of tenant dishonesty before the courts. I will post about this in my next blog as its OK for a large government organisation with an unlimited budget to make claims against people who are just trying to make ends meet but the fact is that in their investigations HNZ seem to be ignoring their own responsibility and victimising people.

More Flooding under the house

As HNZ have evicted us this is not going to be our problem for much longer but even after 7 years and despite us paying for an independent expert to take a look at the problem HNZ and the courts ordering HNZ to fix the problem they have still failed to do so.

Last night it rained and although it sounded pretty heavy this morning I took a look at one of the local weather sites. I have also put a call in to NIWA so as to get the official records.

The second to last photo shows the water is nearly 20mm deep.

In the last photo the orange paint was put there by the builders who came in to put some cement around the foundations as water had been tracking under them. The area to the right had been excavated and used to fill up with water so HNZ told the builders to just fill it with dirt. You can see that the dirt is becoming pretty damp and the discolouration of the paint is being caused by the water underneath.

Simplified Events

I have received quite a number of comments from people who are a little confused about the situation so have decided to simplify and clarify what is going on. Dates unfortunately are to the best of my recollection as we did not keep records of these events and HNZ have not provided us a copy of our file so we can state an accurate timeline. I asked for this file over 4 weeks ago under the official information act but still nothing is being released to us not even the investigators report. So much for open and transparent government information even when it pertains to our own housing records that by the way is being used against us to evict us.

Some time around 2000/2001 Debbie, Myself and our two boys aged 8yrs and 3yrs were renting a very nice place in Pakuranga however for the safety of our sons we had to move quickly as as the neighbour was going to court over serious charges that unfortunately we did not want to be anywhere near. It was a reluctant move as we had been there for about 3 years.

We were put into emergency accommodation by Raymond Fitsmanu from Housing New Zealand and over the next few years we had a great relationship as our Tenancy Manager, Raymond was aware that I was working from home and even had me help him out with computer problems. It’s a pity  no one from Housing NZ nor its investigative team has been able to locate nor talk to Raymond. Which is very useful in their current persecution of the our family.  Its interesting the the HNZ investigative team states they have the powers to find all sorts of things but cannot find a ex HNZ employee of <6 years ago. Obviously just not in the brief to persecute and get our family out of this HNZ house.

The first winter after moving in 10 years ago in we found there were several flooding issues which were mostly resolved by Raymond and HNZ, however the persistent flooding under the house was never resolved. The house continued to have considerable mould growth appearing on the inside and outside walls and ceiling of the house. Inside the house was always damp despite us using a heater and burning a considerable amount of power trying to keep the place warm.

At this stage I was not working full time and the income from my radio networks and online business was rather sporadic, thus I volunteered some of my time to community organisations and new business indicatives for building community broadband in the under served communities of Tokaroa and Auckland areas.
Anyone will tell you I am a computer / radio techhead hence not all of my time was charged for and I will always admit that I am not all about commercial gain verses doing what others cannot because I could which isn’t always good for direct commercial results or record keeping. We have always helped others regardless our situation and around 2004 we helped a family get out their feet who had some over from South Africa and ended up with no where to stay. We managed to get a caravan down the back yard for the family of four where they stayed for about a month while they got on their feet.

In 2003/2004 I approached Raymond our HNZ Tenancy manager and explained to him how I wanted to try and build a community wireless broadband network in the area and had his permission to erect an 11m mast on the property that became the foundation for the community wireless network and the development of a unique communications system.  HNZ are now prosecuting our family for running this business form the property.

This was reported by the Herald.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/telecommunications/news/article.cfm?c_id=93&objectid=3556244

HNZ was all good until Raymond left HNZ Panmure and went to work at another HNZ office and subsequently left HNZ around 2007/2008.
At this stage the new HNZ tenancy manager ordered us to remove the 11mtr mast claiming we did not have permission to put it there and we provided proof of us notifying them and what we believed to be HNZ approval and once again outlined how it was being used for our Wireless network business around Auckland.

Once again tried to get other issues resolved with the house such as leaking plumbing, leaking toilet, leaking cistern, flooding under the house, windows that don't close and leak when it rains, the ranch slider that opens out to a 1.2m drop and will not close correctly, excessive mould and rot in the house leaking guttering and the roof as well as many other more minor problems.

In or around 2006 A more immediate problem arose when the hot water cylinder located under the house began to squirt water from the high pressure cold side. This took HNZ some time to resolve despite the leak squirting water over the power outlet located under the house. This outlet however this was not replaced when the cylinder was replaced and to add my safety concerns the side panel on the hot water cylinder had not been installed leaving the electrical contacts exposed.

Some of these problems have been ongoing over the last 7 years and due to the lack of repair have resulted to damage to our own property and loss of things like personal records, clothing and family health issues. Some of the repairs completed by the HNZ cowboy contractors resulted in damage to our property including the splattering cement on my car and a glazier who replaced a window left shards of glass that ended up in one of my kids feet.

Out of frustration in 2010 we tried to get HNZ's management involved and then felt that the only way we were going to get any resolve and that was to take it to the tenancy tribunal. Shortly after filing the applications we got a call from a number of customers from the community wireless network stating they had been contacted by a fraud investigator and that we were being investigated for operating a business from a Housing New Zealand house as well as not declaring income from our business operating from the property.

We fully co-operated with the HNZ investigator having nothing to hide and provided all of the available information we had to them and attended their interviews.
The investigation was apparently concluded as the first we saw was a letter from the Tenancy manager stating the income related rental assessment was being reversed and a arrears invoice for $81,000 and sign here.

We have at no stage been given the opportunity to look at their investigation results nor review nor correct the information they claim to have however in conversation with one of the manager it turns out that the undeclared income is the gross turnover of the business and there seems to be little regard in their figures to the operational costs of the business. I advised the investigator that we were preparing the audited Accounts of the business which would be available to them as soon as they were completed.

Instead The HNZ actions indicates they are using the report to;

1. Evict us from our home.
2. Revoke our income related rent, and backdate the revocation from what we can see to when we moved in and bill us for the difference $81k.
3. Pass the information to the crown and file charges against both my wife and myself with imprisonment terms of 7 years each. Without the right to see and address the information they obtained nor even obtain a copy of our tenancy file so we can show where HNZ was aware of and approved the operation of the business form the property.

Where is the fair and reasonable right of reply to their claims gone in our case?

As for the fairness please keep in mind that at no stage other than being intimidated in to giving a statement and even applying for information under the privacy act as well as HNZ's claim that due process would have seen us having been given a copy of the investigation results so we could correct any problems have we ever seen any information from them.

We have been honest and forthcoming with information to the HNZ investigator however this information seems to have been ignored and this is clear by some of HNZ's claims being made.

Intimidation and Persecution by representatives of a Government agency

Housing New Zealand tonight at around 10PM served us with documents with the effective statement that if we did not accept them an arrest warrant would be drawn up for us.

It is prety clear to us that Housing New Zealand want us out that that even the statements of witnesses who have been here and seen first hand the interaction have stated that Housing New Zealand really have it in for you.

We have been here for around 10 years and have been asking for the same repairs to be done for 7 years however instead of compleating these repairs the highly motivated government agencey has laid criminal charges against us on what can only be described as a poorly conducted and flawed income audit.

they have been informed that their information is not correct but continue to persue this matter via criminal action.

So much for getting a fair go in this country and being innocent until prooven guilty.

Information Obtained by HNZ

We have fully fully co-operated with the HNZ investigator Ricardo Fyn as he seemed to want to ascertain a clear position on our elegability status and even seemed to be able to get backdated information out of our banks that even we are still unable to extract ourselves as the account holder (the power of a government department eh) may have something to do with him wearing a New Zealand Police Lanyard (holding his HNZ ID) around his neck in full view.

During the stress of the last four years we have neglected to keep good accounting records to table for his audit of income accessment hence NOT be able to refute their claims. We have been trying to get the bank details going back 4 years for our accountant to complete an audit of the books to provide HNZ.

We don’t mind being under the microscope but now the accessed $$ value of our alleged income over the last 3years since the last Audit is becoming  a major issue as how the heck can we pay the incorrectly accessed $81,000 in arrears let alone correct some of what must be very erroneous information he has come up with based upon $$ amounts of a bank statement without allocation to the costs of the business verses the pittance in drawings we have taken out.

Questions being:

-          Co-operation is a 2 way street, seems the only time we get to correct / refute incorrect information is during prosecution now.

-          How can every unallocated withdrawl from my business account or wifes bank account be ever be used as Personnal Drawings thus accessed as 100% Income.  

Hardly audited books but this enables HNZ to Labeled us as Fraud.

-          How and when can we get the same information for our accountant

-          The best government motivation is to Slap a big fine and then you refute it seems to be the norm BUT HNZ takes this one step further through intimidation of Sign our accessment and just pay us the money over time makes HNZ judge jury and persector in the same agency without providing the information. Power of the government.

Human Rights - ICESCR - The obligation to protect housing rights includes:

From my previous posts it is quite clear we are getting a pretty raw deal and this morning after reading some of the information under the Human Rights Act and from http://www.hrc.co.nz/report/chapters/chapter13/housing01.html

I gave the Human Rights Commission a call and layed a complaint however were told pretty much that there was nothing they could do for us and they have no jurisdiction.

This seems to me to be a bit of a contradiction as to what is published in Chapter13.

The obligation to protect housing rights includes:

The commitment by the State and its agencies to prevent the violation of any individual’s rights to housing. The State must provide access to judicial redress if these rights have been violated.

The State must ensure effective protective measures against forced evictions, racial or other discrimination, harassment, and the withdrawal of services.

But then as was pointed out by the person I was speaking to, I'm probably taking it out of context.

After a second discussion with these guys they inform me that this is an international treaty signed by NZ and that they have no powers to do anything about this. The conversation took place over some 50 minutes as was pointed out to the chap on the other end of the phone albeit in somewhat of a condescending manner.

He has made it very clear that these matters can only be heard in court and that this is the only avenue available for us. He also informed me that it is up to us in essence to prove out complaint. I agreed but also informed him that this is a double edged sword and that HNZ have not proven anything and only speculated and bullied us in to giving statements. Even what little information we have been provide with has not been corrected after we informed them that it was not correct.

Market Rent

We have been informed that our rent is going to change and that we will be paying market rent for this place until we move out. Unlike a private rental house when you move in to an HNZ house up until recently the house is pretty bare. There are no curtains, netting or even tracks and hooks to put them on. There are no light bulbs in the house at all and in our case sure there was a splash of paint thrown over some parts of the house but the handover condition was not great.

As we are currently looking for a private rental we are getting the opportunity to see what is out there and condition as well as a good idea as to what the rental market is like. It seems that a freshly redecorated house in this area can fetch between $370.00 to $410.00 per week. These houses have brand new carpet, new wall paper and are fully insulated. This seems to be in line with tenancy services estimations and figures.

What I would like to know is where HNZ gets off charging what I can only describe as above market rates for their houses. OK many people who are in these houses get rental assistance and have the rent reduced to an affordable level BUT as far as I can tell HNZ claims the difference and is paid the difference between what the tenant is paying and the the market rent.

Given many of the houses are in such a poor state of repair and that in commercial terms they are not let as a complete house one has to wonder where the money is going.

One thing that is very clear is that Contractors getting more than their fair share as from our experience they arrive and do a half arsed job and get paid for it only to be called back within a short time to revisit the repair. In once such instance we have seen a contractor revisit repairs more than what was really required and while the contractor was on the job he spent more time texting than actually doing the job.

However my point is not the fact the contractors are in my view ripping off the system but HNZ are them selves creating their own false economy and may fraudulently be handing on a bill to the government that is well above what it should be.

If a private landlord can maintain his investment to such a standard while charging what seems to be a lower rent than HNZ and even get a return on his investment then why can HNZ not do this? Are the people who are running the show that incompetent and if so then why are they on such high salaries?

Meeting with Labors HNZ Spokesperson

Last Thursday we has a rather productive meting with Moana Mackey who is the Labour Housing New Zealand Spokes Person. As far as I could tell she was somewhat shocked by the problems we have encountered however was not surprised and stated that of late this type of thing seems to be the norm.

There seems to be little to no protection for the tenants of Housing New Zealand houses and and increasing number of unfair and unjust rulings from the Tenancy Tribunal most likely caused by the close association built between HNZ and the tribunal/adjudicators.

There was some agreement that the problems for us may not be resolvable but our situation could be used as a key example of a government organisation how seems intent on rewriting their own mandate and not following the one laid out by the government in the first place.

Our hope was to be able to move to a privately owned house however due to our financial situation and the claim from HNZ that we now owe over $81k such a move is not viable and we can not find a house what is within our limited budget.

At present it clearly looks like we will become homeless along with out 3 kids in December as a result of the ongoing issues. Certainly comments made by our tenancy manager to an agent who was assisting us with an application for at least one house resulted in what i feel in not being accepted. She stated that there were no issues with our rent and that the place was all ways tidy bit that we had a personality conflict thus making us out to be difficult tenants.