'Left to rot': Auckland residents say Kainga Ora ghost homes attracting illegal dumping
Residents in Auckland are complaining about illegal dumping and urban decay surrounding vacant Kainga Ora housing sites. The properties have remained boarded up for years following a government-mandated project reset.
Why it matters
It highlights the tension between government housing policy shifts and the immediate impact on local community infrastructure and public health.
A resident on a central Auckland street say multiple boarded up houses and vacant lots have been "left to rot", after a major Kainga Ora project was stopped last year.
And a city councillor says the community feels "abandoned" after the government pulled the plug on the development, but the housing minister and Kainga Ora say some social homes are being planned.
Hundreds of homes were set to be built on O'Donnell Avenue, as part of the housing agency's Wesley West development.
Demolition began before the agency undertook a nationwide re-set last year.
Resident Stu Harwood said there were more than 30 empty Kainga Ora lots or houses on the street, and some had been fenced or boarded up for two years.
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