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A Dunedin state house which this month became a crime scene linked to a murder inquiry has been blessed and may soon host a new tenant.

Meanwhile, flowers have been placed under a tree beside a gravel road north of Waitati where a body was discovered last week.

Police and forensic experts converged on the Housing New Zealand flat in Lock St, in St Clair, on Sunday last week after neighbours discovered what they said was a grisly crime scene inside.

The next day, the body of Brent Andrew Bacon (45) was discovered beside Steep Hill Rd, a gravel road leading inland off State Highway 1 about 30km north of Dunedin.

The Otago Daily Times understands the body was discovered under a tree by a member of the public.

Yesterday, a single bouquet of flowers lay under the tree.

A 37-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman appeared in the Rotorua District Court on Thursday afternoon charged in relation to the death.

Housing New Zealand (HNZ) area manager Gill Brown said staff had been working closely with tenants and neighbours in Lock St following the ''tragic incident''.

A block of houses in the southeast end of the street belong to HNZ.

One of its tenants in Lock St had expressed a wish to move out in the wake of the incident, and HNZ hoped to be able to offer them another property soon, Ms Brown said.

Two neighbours told the ODT they discovered a bloody crime scene inside 47 Lock St after which forensic experts spent much of last week working inside the cordoned-off flat.

Ms Brown said the property had been blessed and would shortly undergo ''routine maintenance'' before the next tenant moved in.

''As soon as it is ready and we have made a suitable placement, it will be available for the next tenant.''

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a long-time resident of the street said yesterday they had experienced increasing problems with tenants in the HNZ properties over the past year, but since last week they had been unusually quiet.

Among the tenants were pensioners, sickness beneficiaries and people serving home detention sentences.

The long-time resident said last week they were considering moving out because of increasing criminality across the road which yielded regular visits by police.

They reaffirmed that stance yesterday.

''While [HNZ] use that side of the street as a halfway house, that's always a consideration.''

Ms Brown acknowledged the concerns of residents but said they were not HNZ's problem alone.

''The other matters raised are community-wide issues that need to be owned by the wider community, as well as police and other appropriate organisations.

''Housing New Zealand, as a partner in this community, continues to play an active role working with these groups.''

george.block@odt.co.nz