$112,000 fine over old Auckland bingo hall converted into unsafe migrant housing
$112,000 fine over old Auckland bingo hall converted into unsafe migrant housing - The former bingo hall in South Auckland was converted into workers' accommodation but did not meet building standards.
Workers from the Philippines, who moved to New Zealand to work in trades, were living in shipping containers within a warehouse when Stuff visited in 2019.
A company that turned an old bingo hall into a boarding house for migrant workers has been fined after being found in breach of building rules.
The warehouse, on Maich Rd in Manurewa, South Auckland, contained 21 portable cabins and housed 42 tenants who arrived in December 2017 to work for Radius Contracting Ltd.
The Auckland Council prosecuted the company and logistics manager William Farmer after council inspectors visited in 2019 and found the property did not meet building standards.
Judge David Kirkpatrick fined Radius Contracting Ltd $67,500 and Farmer $45,000, and imposed plus court costs, for breaching the Resource Management Act (RMA) and the Building Act.
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Auckland mayor Phil Goff said the decision sent a message to companies that put the safety of others at risk by flouting building codes and the RMA.
“Companies are responsible and accountable for ensuring their buildings comply with the appropriate codes and tenants are not endangered,” he said.
Stuff visited the site in 2019 and spoke to workers there who said the warehouse was cold, crowded, expensive and had no hot water or heating facilities.
Workers at the site were unhappy with the living conditions and the fact the wi-fi was unable to cope with the numbers trying to use it – making it difficult to contact family and friends back home.
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