PHOTO: Years of underinvestment has seen a lot of maintenance done on Ōpōtiki’s Peria House flats with a corresponding rent rise of $25 per week. Photo: Whakatāne Beacon / Troy Baker
Pensioners living in Ōpōtiki’s Peria House flats say a $25 a week rise in rent will be a struggle to pay and will result in them having to go without.
However, the society that owns the flats says although it is unfortunate, it is inevitable following years of underinvestment by previous owners.
The 20 pensioner flats at Peria House were originally owned by the Ōpōtiki District Council and have since been managed by several charitable trusts. They were designed to be an affordable option for those on a fixed income but now house people in paid employment too.
The flats are now under management of Peria Society Incorporated, formerly the Ōpōtiki Old People’s Home Society, which also owns the Peria Village retirement village.
Most of those living in the flats said it would be a struggle to pay rent, however, none wanted to be named as they were worried they would be forced to leave and there is nowhere for them to go.
One pensioner said he had lived in his car for six months before a flat became available at Peria House. If he lost the flat, he would be back in his car. He said the rent rise was a “hell of a shock”.
“They’ve wacked the rent up $25 a week, that’s $100 a month, well, my pension hasn’t gone up to match that,” he said.
“They told me to go see WINZ, but I doubt they’ll give me the full $25; I’ll be lucky to get an extra $5 from them. Life is a struggle anyway.”
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