Auckland, NZ – An elderly Tongan woman who says she lived in “constant fear” of her neighbours, including facing machete threats and an alleged attempt to run down her grandson, has been awarded $5000 after the Tenancy Tribunal found Kāinga Ora failed to protect her.
The woman, who has name suppression due to safety concerns, has lived at her Kāinga Ora home since 2019, the New Zealand Herald reported.
For years, she said, she endured escalating violence, harassment and intimidation from the family living next door at another Kāinga Ora property.
According to the Tribunal’s findings, the elderly Tongan woman and her family endured relentless intimidation from their neighbours, including racially‑charged abuse shouted over the fence and rubbish regularly thrown into their yard.
Loud music was blasted late into the night, rocks were hurled at the family, and they faced repeated threats of violence — several involving a machete.
Despite reporting the incidents numerous times, the woman said Kāinga Ora’s only advice was for her family to “keep to themselves” and avoid any engagement with the neighbours.
Machete threats and near‑miss with a vehicle
Police were called to three separate incidents involving the male partner of the neighbour, who lives at the property with the primary female tenant and their children.
In one incident in March 2024, the man stood at the elderly woman’s front gate holding a machete while shouting threats.
In the most serious situation, on 10 June 2024, the man allegedly threatened to kill the woman’s son while armed with both a shovel and a machete. He was later charged, though convicted of a lesser weapon‑related offence.
Another frightening moment occurred when the woman’s 14‑year‑old grandson was walking home from school. The neighbour allegedly chased the teenager with his car, driving onto the grass verge. The boy escaped only by hiding behind a parked boat.
The Tongan elder told the Tribunal the ongoing violence left her afraid to go outside. She suffered major health issues during this period, including a recent stroke.
At times, she was so fearful she stayed with her daughter instead of sleeping in her own home.
She initially hoped Kāinga Ora would remove the neighbours, but her declining health meant she eventually asked to leave the property altogether.
Kāinga Ora response criticised
Kāinga Ora acknowledged it had been notified about police call‑outs, noise problems and abuse.
However, it told the Tribunal the situation was “complex”, claiming there had been aggression “on both sides” after an altercation between the male neighbour and the Tongan woman’s son.
The agency also argued it could not terminate the neighbour’s tenancy because the man making the threats was not a listed tenant.
Tribunal adjudicator Melissa Allan was not satisfied with that explanation.
She ruled that Kāinga Ora should have applied to end the neighbours’ tenancy, saying the standard of proof required was civil, not criminal.
“The landlord only needed to prove that the tenant has been interfering with the reasonable peace, comfort and privacy of the neighbouring tenant,” she said.
“The tenant has not felt free to move about her property and has been subjected to unreasonable levels of noise, rubbish being thrown, screaming, yelling and threats.”
By failing to act, Allan found, Kāinga Ora breached its responsibilities as a landlord.
The Tribunal ordered Kāinga Ora to pay the Tongan grandmother $5000 in compensation. The agency is now working to transfer her to a home that better matches her health and safety needs.
For the woman and her family, the ruling marks a long‑awaited acknowledgement of years of fear.
