27 May Housing RSE workers in converted homes puts pressure on Motueka’s accommodation shortage
Upset residents in a quiet Motueka street are blaming the lack of regional and national regulation for a neighbourhood home being used to house 21 workers from Vanuatu.
Teece Drive resident Trevor Rowse said the situation was not the RSE (Recognised Seasonal Employer) workers’ fault, nor was it a noise or litter issue.
He blamed Tasman District Council.
“It is just not appropriate to keep lobbing these big boarding houses into residential areas.”
The property is not unique. A number of Motueka homes, near Nelson, have been converted in recent years to house large numbers of RSE and migrant workers, many of who work in the horticulture industry
The council’s environment and planning manager Dennis Bush-King said to all intents and purposes the property was a house.
Helen Murdoch/Fairfax NZ
Horticultural contractor Byron Stephenson outside the rear of the Motueka home he converted to house 21 Pacific Island workers.
It had the look and character of a house, did not have a multitude of vehicles outside, there were no noise issues and no-one on site to collect money or oversee the tenants, he said.
“It might have a few more people, but it is just rental accommodation.”
He doubted the council would be able to able to regulate similar properties without capturing a mass of other rental houses, including holiday homes.
Helen Murdoch/Fairfax NZ
Resident Trevor Rowse on the road outside the Teece Drive property .
“But in terms of the way Teece Drive has been presented to us it is a rental property.”
Horticultural contractor Byron Stephenson, who bought and upgraded the home, agreed it was not in the best location. Teece Drive was too quiet and had a large number of elderly homeowners.
“I would have preferred to buy on the other side of town.”
He understood neighbours’ concerns, but said he had no choice.
A director/shareholder of Focus Central Ltd, Stephenson said he bought the house after a large orchard company, which employs “hundreds of RSE workers”, purchased a commercial backpackers in Motueka late last year where some of his workers live.
He paid $595,000 for the five bedroom, two bathroom property in December and has since added three more bedrooms and another bathroom.
“I went around the neighbours and told them 10 workers would be living here. Then the orchard predicted a bumper season and requested more workers, so the number rose to 21.”
Stephenson again door-knocked his neighbours to tell them of the change.
“I said the only thing they would notice would be two work vans not one.
“My hand was forced on this. I’m not here to make money out of the rents, we operate under RSE limits.”
The house stands out from the street because all the curtains are drawn. But the lawns are mowed, the property is tidy and the washing line’s full.
Inside it offers deep pile carpet, plenty of sun, views over the Motueka Golf Course, high ceilings, a big kitchen and chandeliers in the living area.
However a profusion of chairs, a pool table in the lounge, two fridges, seven slow cookers in the kitchen and a cleaning roster with 21 names taped to the wall indicate a higher than usual occupancy.
Two Labour inspectors visiting on Tuesday to check the house met RSE requirements only asked Stephenson to install more smoke alarms and a bathroom extractor fan.
Stephenson said he had asked the workers not to use the upstairs deck and keep the curtains pulled so neighbours maintained their privacy.
“I told them they are not allowed to change the ambience in this neighbourhood.”
The Islanders worked offshore under the Vanuatu Government’s strict no-alcohol rule, he said.
They attended church and were part of a recent Richmond Church of Christ fundraiser to raise money to repair a church destroyed in a recent cyclone.
For some, it was their first time in New Zealand. For others, it was their third year.
Stephenson had visited their villages and met their families.
“They are happy to be here and working so their children can be educated.
“We want to win the community over so they are seen as an asset. The boys would love to help out in the neighbourhood so they feel as one.
“Given time people will relax and it will be okay.”
However, Rowse said housing was a grower’s problem.
“Why should residents have to put up with the consequences.”
There appeared to be no legislation governing the housing of migrant and RSE workers in residential areas, he said.
“It’s time Tasman District Council instituted a bylaw to govern this, or a national working group is set up to manage it.”
Neighbours, some of who did not want to be named, said the quiet neighbourhood has been disrupted by a company making money.
“The workers are extremely quiet and at most times respectful,” said neighbour Meredith Rayner.
“But there are 21 people living in one house.
“Tasman District Council does not see it as a commercial venture. But I would like to see bylaws changed and accommodation for RSE workers looked at, because this will happen more.”
The council was criticised for not informing neighbours.
“It’s like living next to a boarding house,” said another. “We paid a lot of money to buy our house and now feel our values have been impacted.”
Others were concerned about the pressure put on council services and the impact of the occupants on the home’s toilet and kitchen facilities.
Grey Power Motueka has written to Tasman Mayor Richard Kempthorne expressing concern about the effect of similar property conversion on the value of elderly resident’s homes and called for council regulation.
“Affordable housing is a serious issue and allowing companies to make five times the market rent through ‘captive’ renters will tighten an already tight market,” the committee said.
Labour Inspectorate regional manager Kevin Finnegan said 1378 RSE workers were approved for the Nelson region for the 2016/17 season, up from 1173 staff the previous year.
Residential homes were predominantly used to house RSE workers nationwide with all deductions from workers’ wages, including rents, assessed. All new RSE worker accommodation was inspected and had to meet Residential Tenancies Act and WorkSafe guidelines, he said.
A report on the property will be part of Tasman District Council’s June 1 Environment and Planning Committee meeting.
– Stuff