Provide feedback or a complaint
We expect Kāinga Ora tenants to be good neighbours and the communities they live in to be enjoyable places to live – and most of them are.
But sometimes problems arise, and when this happens we act quickly to get a full picture of what has happened and take action when we need to.
There are a range of ways you can get in touch with us - you can find these under Contact us.
If you would like to make a complaint online you can use our Feedback and enquiries form, just select 'Complaint' under 'Type of enquiry'.
When you get in touch with us about a problem you’re experiencing, there are some key pieces of information we need so we can investigate. Please let us know:
- What the problem is and how it relates to Kāinga Ora
- If you’re getting in touch about a specific Kāinga Ora home, please let us know the address
- If you’re getting in touch about a specific event, please let us know:
- The date and approximate time the event occurred
- Who was involved
- Any other relevant information you think may help us resolve the problem.
We recommend that you also provide us with your name, address and contact details. This means that we can get back in touch with you to let you know what we’re doing about the situation or ask any further questions if needed. However, you can remain anonymous if you’d prefer.
We take complaints seriously and act quickly to get a full picture of what has happened to help resolve the situation. What we do depends on the circumstances, and we focus on ensuring a fair outcome.
Our tenants know what’s expected of them as both a tenant and a neighbour. If they do not meet these responsibilities, we will use tools available to us under the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) to drive behaviour change. The RTA enables landlords to take action make it clear that behaviour is unacceptable, move tenants and end tenancies.
When using the RTA, there’s a set process all landlords must follow. While this can take time, we must follow the proper process.
While we aim to keep you informed throughout this process, it’s important to keep in mind that we are limited in what we can share with you under the Privacy Act. This means that we can’t provide information about specific actions we may have taken or next steps.
We understand that this can be frustrating and can assure you that we do everything we can to resolve issues as quickly as possible. While the specific steps we take are unique to each situation, they could include:
- Having conversations with our tenants about the situation and what they can do to resolve it – often this is all it takes to resolve what’s going on.
- Providing practical support to customers to help address issues with rubbish or maintenance.
- Connecting tenants with support agencies to address the root cause of the problem.
- Using tools available under the Residential Tenancies Act when needed, including issuing breach or warning notices.
- When we receive a complaint, we aim to acknowledge it within two business days and keep in touch with you as we look into the situation.
If you’re waiting on an update, please get in touch with our Customer Support team on 0800 801 601 so we can follow-up with the local team.
There are some situations where it’s best to get in touch with another agency to help, before reaching out to Kāinga Ora. This includes:
- If you think someone is in immediate or physical danger, call police immediately on 111
- If you’re concerned about potential illegal activity, report it to the Police on 105
- If you’re having problems with noise, get in touch with the noise control office at your local Council
- If you’re having problems with dogs, call Animal Control at your local Council
- If you’re concerned about animal welfare or an abandoned pet, get in touch with the nearest SPCA.
Once you’ve reported your concern to one of these organisations, please get in touch with us to let us know what’s going and that you’ve connected with other authorities. This means we can not only look into your concerns, but reach out to the right agency to get more information if needed.
We’ve introduced a new approach to managing disruptive behaviour which is about being fair but firm, and making more effective use of the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) to drive behaviour change and provide a clear deterrent for disruptive behaviour.
We’re committed to being a good landlord. Part of this means getting the right balance between our responsibilities to our customers – some of whom experience a range of challenges – and ensuring the quiet enjoyment of others in the community. Our new approach is designed to strike this balance.
While we’ll always be understanding of our tenants’ situations and work hard to understand what’s driving behaviour, we are clear with our tenants that serious disruptive behaviour puts their tenancy at risk.
We’ve introduced an escalated approach for situations where a tenant’s behaviour creates a significant safety issue, or is disruptive and persistent, and they ignore our warnings. In these situations, we will apply to the Tenancy Tribunal to terminate the tenancy – and we will not provide them with another home.
These changes are focused on addressing serious disruptive behaviour. Most of the issues people get in touch with us about are minor things that are common issues between neighbours throughout the country, like noisy cars, lawns not being mowed regularly or how often visitors are calling at a home. We will continue to address these types of concerns through our existing processes.
Find out more about our approach to managing disruptive behaviour.
At Kāinga Ora we are committed to living by our values and standards of integrity and conduct. We know that there may be times when these are compromised, or situations occur that cause harm or distress to others and these need to be dealt with appropriately i.e. subletting our homes, financial products misuse, corruption, dishonesty, conflicts of interest
You can report any suspected fraud by our staff, tenants or contractors by
- calling: 0800 8355 469 – 24 hours, 7 days a week or
- emailing: integrityservices@kaingaora.govt.nz
Page updated: 12 July 2024