Faced with a large increase in rent for his family's state house, a Mosgiel man is accusing Housing New Zealand of being a "slum landlord".
The man, who lives in the house with his wife and two teenage children, said the rent would increase from $140 to $210 a week from mid-July "for a cold, damp state house".
"This increase makes Housing New Zealand look like a slum landlord," said the 42-year-old unemployed man, who did not want to be named.
With only an open fire for heating, several rotting windows, and condensation so bad the family had to replace curtains each year, the weatherboard house was not worth the increase, he said.
"I feel ripped off."
As state housing rents were determined on a household income, his wife would be forced to give up her part-time job so the family could afford to stay in the house, he said.
"To stay here and meet our rent my wife has to give up work."
Asked why the family did not move to another house, the man said at $140 a week the house was "affordable and it is home".
"We are happy where we are - just not at $210 a week."
The family had lived in the house, which has a capital value of $175,000, for two years.
Last year, the rent went up $20 to $140.
A Housing NZ spokesman said the market rent for the property was $220 a week, and the increase in rent, which is reviewed annually, reflected "that their income had risen significantly".
"As a result, we have recalculated their rent to ensure they are only receiving the rent subsidy they are entitled to," he said.
"We have to act in the best interest of the taxpayer."
The tenants were welcome to apply for a review, he said.
The tenants had not reported their concerns about the state of the property to their housing manager.
The home had been insulated as part of a Housing NZ retrofit programme and was last inspected in December 2008, with another inspection due next month.
Tenants Union spokesman Kevin Reilly, of Palmerston North, said the family could take their concerns over the rent increase to the Tenancy Tribunal, which charges a flat fee of $20.
