The state housing properties in Blundell and Albertson Aves have undergone something of a construction boom in recent weeks.
Hedges have been ripped out, large wooden fences put up, and concrete-pad driveways put in.
But Kathryn Dawe is so angry about the 40m wooden fence built on one side of the weatherboard house she shares with her two children, she is planning to take the accommodation provider to the Tenancy Tribunal.
"I have had a . . . gutsful," she said.
The first she knew of the work was when she returned home from work to find posts had been concreted in and the shingle driveway ripped up.
"No-one told me a thing. I don't mind a concrete-pad driveway, but I don't want that fence."
Calls to Housing New Zealand to put a stop to work on the fence, which includes a smaller wing fence that cuts vehicle access to the rear of the section, were unsuccessful, she said.
Work on the fence was completed last week.
Ms Dawe said other residents had been given driveways when they owned no cars, and hedges had been ripped out and replaced with wooden fences, while other fences were falling apart.
Housing New Zealand acting regional manager David Pyper said before work began on a property, tenants should be advised when work was expected to start, what work would be carried out, and any possible effect for the resident.
Housing New Zealand had been advised by its contractors that only one resident had not been contacted before work began.
However, four residents spoken to by the Otago Daily Times expressed concern that they had not been advised before the work, and money would have been better spent on maintenance inside the properties.
Mr Pyper said laying concrete car pads and putting up new fences was an opportunity to secure properties and "at the same time improve the overall streetscape frontage".
The capital improvement work had been approved by Housing New Zealand for completion in 2008-09 and when funds became available, it was "an opportunity to do some much-needed improvement work that has been considered a priority for the area".
Work on the 24 properties in Albertson and Blundell Aves, including fences, concrete-pad driveways, one new roof and some interior work in another property, cost $146,216, he said.
