Kāinga Ora implements new tools to manage disruptive behaviour

The public housing agency is implementing a suite of new tools for its teams to better manage sustained and serious cases of disruptive behaviour that cause distress to surrounding neighbours and communities.

General Manager National Services Nick Maling says new provisions within the Residential Tenancies Act provide more scope to address disruptive behaviour, enabling Kāinga Ora to move disruptive customers out of communities more easily.

“While we have always moved people where necessary, now where warranted, the Act will help us better respond to different levels of disruptive behaviour and enforce a move in extreme situations,” Nick Maling says.

“One of the provisions in particular will enable Kāinga Ora to implement a warnings process, allowing us to apply to the Tenancy Tribunal to end a tenancy should there be three separate, and evidenced, incidents of a serious nature within a 90 day period.

“Of course, it is important to note that this course of action will only be used for the very small number of cases where severe and persistent disruptive behaviour is apparent.

“We also do not want to make a customer homeless; we will move them to another Kāinga Ora home and continue to provide them with the intensive support they need to address the causes behind their behaviour. Making people and whānau homeless creates a revolving door for housing which only sees problems compound and perpetuate.”

Kāinga Ora has also recently put in place an internal review group, set up to provide advice and guidance to escalate tenancy issues, and endorse action when needed.

“Our review group is comprised of specialists from throughout Kāinga Ora, providing a different lens through which to support and advise our people when dealing with the most challenging of cases,” says Nick Maling.

“The review group will also be able to review issues at a national level, picking up opportunities for change or solutions that may have been overlooked when working in a local region.”

The strengthened approach to managing disruptive behaviour is being implemented through the new Kāinga Ora Customer Programme, a comprehensive initiative introducing a new service delivery model, resources, and ways of working. The Programme was launched in 2021 after extensive research to understand the needs of Kāinga Ora customers.

“The Customer Programme has a strong focus on the wellbeing of our customers and the communities living around them,” says Nick Maling.

“It is looking at the way we support our customers and bringing in new tools and processes to help our teams engage with our customers at a deeper level. It is also increasing capacity in our frontline teams, reducing the number of homes our people look after.

“This means our most experienced and proven teams can spend the time needed to work even more intensively with a smaller group of people where complex needs exist, and ensure they engage with any specialist support needed.”

Nick Maling says these measures will significantly help Kāinga Ora to address the difficult and complex behaviours that can impact on neighbours and communities more effectively.

“We continue to look for ways to improve the support we provide our customers, and the communities they live in, and will continue to make improvements to our processes where required.

“However, it is also key to remember these disruptive behaviour cases are a tiny minority and do not reflect the overwhelming majority of the almost 200,000 people living in Kāinga Ora homes who are good neighbours and members of their communities”, Nick Maling says.