The Same Old Story: People Or Profits ?

by Roger Steele

Blythswood Flats on the corner of Willis and Aro Streets is an impressive old block of 30 flats, Each flat has two or three tenants in it, making a total of about 60 people in the block. And all of them have just received notice to leave by September 24.

While some of the tenants are young and have only been in the block for a short while, others are elderly and have been living there for up to 30 years. They have paid their rent on time and have made improvements like repainting, repapering and laying new carpets. They don't intend to take their eviction lying down, and last Saturday held a planning meeting at the flats. It was attended by half the tenants and several members of the Wellington Tenants Protection Association.

Blysthwood flats are on the extreme edge of the Island Bay electorate so MP Gerald O'Brien turned up too. He immediately showed his sympathy for the tenants and his confidence: "It will be a fight but I think we will achieve something in the long run. We've got to convince the government of the urgency of the matter. He also got to the root of the trouble in quick time: "I'm going to start a ferment within my party because this is a perfect case of people being manipulated by speculators. And I'm going to look into getting laws changed so it doesn't happen again."

The speculators are at it again, all right. The property was formerly owned by the Druids Grand Lodge. Apparently they are a so-called 'friendly society' so selling it to Waitangi Trading Co. for $360,000 seems a bit out of character. The new owners intend to boot the present tenants out, slap a bit of paint over the cracks in the building, and hock the flats off at about $26,000 each. Nett profit? — a cool two hundred thousand or so.

Amanda Russell of the TPA said at the meeting that the older people should have the right to stay in the flats for as long as they like. "They can't easily adjust to a new environment and shouldn't be expected to." The tenants themselves echoed this. Their flats are handy to buses, taxis, and shops. Making a shift, particularly in Wellington would be considerably inconvenient if not impossible.

Not that the flats are perfect by any means. They are made of concrete, and cracks in the roof have let water in, with disastrous consequences for some ceilings. The Druids have been far from perfect landlords. For four years they have promised repairs and have not done them. One tenant said that once the Druids' lawyer, Mr Blake-Palmer, rang her to say that he had a cheque to pay for repairs to her ceiling. But months later the work has yet to be done and flaking paint and rot still drops into her food.

Another tenant has cooked all his meals out of an electric frypan for six months because his gas stove has never been repaired, despite repeated requests, elderly couple spent a considerable amount carpeting and painting their flat, but the whole effect was marred by a mildewed ceiling black with rot.

These, however, are the exceptions, and almost all tenants want to hang on to their flats. They have formed a committee to get advice on their rights and to disseminate it. And they are working out tactics for when the crunch comes. Support is coming in from many quarters, including some unions.

In the light of Labour's plansto crack down on speculators it was a bit incongruous to see a member of the government helping to organise tenants against speculators. But his sentiments were not misplaced "Let's make this issue one about which we can bring about a crisis," said Gerald O'Brien. "I would like to see the situation where housing was taken out of the area of private investment." This was greeted by a round of applause from the meeting.

Just before going to press the major shareholder of the aptly named Waitangi Trading Company, Mr J. R. Hastings was contacted on the telephone. Asked whether his company had bought the Blyths wood property for $360,000, he said "I don't know whether I should talk to you, you can get in touch with the company solicitor." But he did admit that the price was in that order.

When asked about the fate of the tenants, he referred the question back with "you know the legal position and thats all there is to it." He mentioned that a few of the tenants who were in the flat before 1961 are protected under the Tenancy Act whereby new accommodation must be found for them if evicted.

Mr Hastings said he could not say what the company's plans for the building were. It was too early to estimate how much the done up own-your-own' flats would sell for. But he did say that the company intended to spend a 'six-figure sum' on renovations. "The present services are obsolete," said Mr Hastings. Pity the present tenants don't agree.