Disabled woman facing homelessness after being evicted from family home following dispute with landlord

A disabled woman and her family are facing homelessness after being evicted from her rental home so repairs could be carried out.

The years-long battle to have issues with the family home fixed came to a head recently when their landlord gave them notice to move out, and now they are desperately searching for a new home. 

The issue is any new home would need to be modified to suit a person in a wheelchair,  

and despite ACC paying for the modifications, they're struggling to find a landlord who is willing to accommodate the changes. 

A lack of accessible rental homes in Masterton is making the situation worse. 

Robert Lendrum and Kirsty Searle moved into their Masterton home in December 2017. Kirsty has a traumatic brain injury and uses a wheelchair. Robert is her full-time carer and also looks after the couple's three children. 

The rental home, which is owned by Trust House, was modified when they moved in to suit Kirsty's needs as part of a collaboration between the company and ACC. 

The house was meant to be made fully accessible with ACC spending $149,782 for its provider Enable New Zealand to carry out the modifications. 

Robert told Newshub when he and Kirsty moved in they were under the impression this would be their forever home. 

But right from the beginning there were issues with the modifications, including doorways not being wide enough, non-wheelchair-safe flooring and issues with the accessible bathroom. He said as a result the house is extremely difficult for his partner to navigate. 

Robert said despite mentioning the issues from the very start they weren't fixed. He said within two weeks of moving in faeces were flooding the backyard because of blockage issues. And things just went from bad to worse when other issues emerged including black mould and draughty windows. 

One of the worst issues was the shower floors which were built sloping the wrong way when they were refitted for a wheelchair. This resulted in water flooding into the other rooms, causing issues with the flooring and making it difficult for Kirsty to move around the house. 

"They were supposed to put down proper wheelchair flooring for my partner but they put down lino flooring that only lasted about six months and now it's just all ripped up and it has catapulted my partner out of a wheelchair twice and put her in hospital twice," Robert told Newshub. 

"[In the bathroom] the shower runs into her disabled bedroom… through the house. When we first moved in there was no hot water pressure in the kitchen whatsoever. The hot water cylinder was leaking, the house was absolutely chocka in black mould, the roof leaks, all the windowsills are perished, all the aluminium around the windows has holes in it."

Trust House agrees extensive repairs are needed and due to struggles getting access to the house they've issued the family with an eviction notice. Robert and Kirsty have to be out of their home by the end of November. 

But finding another rental is proving a challenge due to a lack of accessible homes in the area. 

Robert told Newhsub he's been turned down from 200 rental properties because they aren't accessible. And he's worried if he doesn't find another property he will lose his wife, home and income all in one. 

"I've got to tell you, it's the worst thing… My whole family is f***ed, we just don't know what to do," he told Newshub. 

He's worried if he's unable to find an appropriate house, Kirsty will be put in residential care while he is left to care for his children. But he said he doesn't want to be split up from his wife and also won't be able to find a home if she's in care because he's her full-time carer and will have no source of income. 

The experience is taking a toll on Kirsty as well, he said. 

"She's on antidepressants and she can't relate to anybody and she's just crying all the time…I'm just beside myself."

Tenancy Tribunal decision 

The eviction comes after a years-long battle for the couple to get the issues in their home fixed - which eventually turned into a messy dispute between the Trust House and the family. The dispute made its way to the Tenancy Tribunal in 2021 with the Trust requesting to evict them. 

In the Tenancy Tribunal decision, which has been seen by Newshub, Trust House claimed Robert had assaulted an employee after a property inspection and wanted permission to evict the family. 

The Tenancy Tribunal ruled it couldn't find any evidence Robert assaulted anyone and ordered Trust House to pay them $2450 and fix the issues with the house. 

Kirsty and her family have to find another home by the end of November.
Kirsty and her family have to find another home by the end of November. Photo credit: Supplied.

It also noted the Trust had taken a hands-off approach to repairs leaving the tenants to deal with ACC for most things. 

But it also said Robert had been "undermining the efforts of Trust House to attend to maintenance issues" from the very start. 

"He has been angry about the state of the house and the inadequacy of the modifications. As a result, he has often elected not to advise Trust House of issues directly, communicating instead with the Council or his local MP," the decision noted. 

Complete relationship breakdown 

After the hearing, there was a "complete breakdown" in the relationship, according to Trust House general manager of housing and facilities Patrick Kay. 

Kay said the Trust tried to fix the issues after the Tenancy Tribunal decision but struggled to get access to the property to do so.

He said as a result the company issued the couple with a notice they must give them access to make the repairs in May 2022.

Robert said the couple were happy to let them do the work - but the alternative accommodation the Trust offered was completely unsuitable for Kirsty. 

"Kirsty has a severe brain injury… a traumatic brain injury, leg injury, full-time wheelchair. She has anxiety problems around strangers and… she'll scream and yell if she gets too overwhelmed by a lot of people, which you can't blame her," he told Newshub. 

"They offered us a two-bedroom hotel room with a beer fridge and a microwave for five people, not including Kirsty's companion dog which she's had for 10 years because we weren't allowed to have it in the hotel. Five people had to live there for six weeks with a microwave and a beer fridge. 

"There was no hospital bed for Kirsty, nothing like that. No medical gear, no medical help at all for Kirsty. 

"So I turned the accommodation down, we had to, there was no way we were going to put the kids in a hotel room for five weeks like that."

Kay told Newshub the Trust offered the family two adjoining rooms at the Copthorne Hotel for the 21 days it would take to fix the house. 

He said the rooms had an interconnecting door and one of the rooms was equipped with a fully accessible toilet and shower facilities. Wheelchair parking was also available "directly outside of the room" which contained "a fridge, kettle and a microwave can be provided on request". 

Kay said the Trust sent another email detailing their offer of alternative accommodation but when this was declined, they issued the family with an eviction notice so they could carry out the necessary repairs. 

He said the Trust has extended the original September eviction date to give the family more time to find alternative accommodation - a task that is proving difficult. 

The family were offered two rooms at the Copthorne Solway Hotel in Masterton while the repairs were carried out.
The family were offered two rooms at the Copthorne Solway Hotel in Masterton while the repairs were carried out. Photo credit: Supplied.

Robert said he's frustrated he's being booted out of his family's home simply because the original modifications weren't up to scratch. 

And it seems there is no disagreement over issues with the original modifications, with Kay conceding water draining into the hall was "less than ideal". 

"There is no dispute by Trust House that the work completed on behalf of ACC – in particular the quality of workmanship carried out during the instal of a wet floor shower was less than ideal and we accept there have been ongoing drainage issues which need addressing," Kay said. 

"The property was built in 1970 and at that time, it was not designed to accommodate motorised wheelchairs or be fully accessible. Due to the floor plan and position of structural internal walls this property does not realistically lend itself to the level of modification that is required to suit the tenant's needs and would require very significant modifications to make this home suitable.

"At the time Trust House provided this property to the tenant, Trust House had no accessible homes to offer, and this home seems to have been offered in good faith as the best available at the time."

He said Trust House still doesn't have any fully accessible homes and accepts there is a real need for such accommodation. 

"Trust House appreciate this situation is far from ideal and feel we have genuinely made every effort to try and resolve the issue with the tenants before making the difficult decision to serve the 90-day notice to vacate in order for us to fulfil our obligations as a landlord to provide decent quality affordable rental housing," he said. 

ACC apologises 

ACC deputy chief executive for service delivery Amanda Malu acknowledged and apologised for the delays in getting issues with the modifications fixed. 

"We acknowledge the delays Robert and Kirsty have experienced in having modifications made to their home, and we have apologised to them for the length of time it has taken to resolve these issues," Malu said. 

"We are committed to working with them in a much more timely and supportive way as they move to new housing. This includes committing to pre-approving a housing assessment for when they move into their new property."

She said the modifications were given a code of compliance certificate and signed off by the Masterton District Council when they were completed in 2017. 

"Concerns were later raised by Kirsty and Robert about some of these modifications – especially those relating to the shower floor. These have been the subject of various assessments by ACC and other building assessors."

Malu said ACC recently agreed on the work needed with the couple but the work was unable to be completed. 

"A scope of work was recently approved by ACC, in agreement with Kirsty and Robert, that addresses injury-related issues. Trust House has agreed to attend to other issues which are property owner related.

"Unfortunately, this work was unable to begin because the property's landlord, Trust House, required the work to be completed at the same time as separate work it has been ordered to be undertaken by the Tenancy Tribunal," she said. 

The main issues surrounded the modifications to make the bathroom accessible.
The main issues surrounded the modifications to make the bathroom accessible. Photo credit: Supplied

Enable NZ chief executive Michelle Riwai told Newshub the modifications were completed by Enable NZ contractors in 2017. 

Riwai said after concerns were raised about the modifications several assessments and reviews were undertaken by ACC and the landlord. 

As a result an occupational therapist did a review which found the house needed significant subsequent modifications to meet Kirsty's needs. 

"Consequently, a new scope of works was submitted by Enable New Zealand to ACC and was approved in March earlier this year," Riwai said. 

"Unfortunately, this work has been unable to proceed as landlord consent to carry out the works has not yet been received. We have been advised the landlord needs vacant possession of the home to complete some remedial works before our contractors can start work on the recommended modifications.

"We remain committed to ensuring the property is fit for purpose and that it meets the needs of Kirsty and await further instruction from the landlord as to when we can proceed with the works." 

The family is currently on the waitlist for social housing but is deeply concerned about what their future holds.