Blood and urine throughout state housing block

As if tales of blood in the lift, urine in the corridors and homeless people sleeping in the lobby of a Auckland state housing block aren't enough - one resident says that's just the watered down version.

Jamie, a resident of the central city Grey's Ave block, told Newstalk ZB about other incidents, including a prostitute slumped in the only working lift, a needle hanging out of her arm.

He says it's frightening when such things happen, but residents just have to live with it.

"We have a very bad gang association here. We have unfortunately a lot of drugs, and a lot of alcohol abuse."

Jamie says the police are there so often they have their own access into the secure doors.

He says Housing New Zealand need to take back control.

"We say to our landlords, 'please come and stay for a couple of days, night and day. See what I see, hear what I hear.' It shouldn't happen."

Resident, Jamie, says Housing New Zealand's moved out of its office in the building - but needs to get control back.

And that's echoed by the cleaner of the building Rajenbre Prakash.

"The problem is they closed the office here, that's the biggest fall down, because when the housing office was here it was all normal."

Mr Prakash works for Rams Cleaning Services and says every day he finds needles, sees fights and cleans urine off the stairs.

"One time I was working downstairs here, the people were drinking on level nine, but I didn't see them. He threw a bottle at me, it nearly hit my head."

Labour says the situation makes the Housing Minister a slum landlord.

Labour MP Annette King says Minister Phil Heatley's policy of neglect has led to uncollected stinking, rotting rubbish, tenants afraid to go out of their flats because of vagrants, dangerous flooring and filthy public areas.

"He is the Minister, the buck stops with him. He said it did when he was in opposition, it should now he is the Minister. Instead of hiding behind an operational matter, get out there and have a look at what people are living in."

She says until April, a block manager made sure rubbish and graffiti was cleaned up and people were safe.

But Annette King says that all changed when Housing Minister Phil Heatley replaced the manager with an 0800 helpline.

"And the people are now told they've got a fairer, faster, smarter service. It is a nonsense. They have got a poorer service. And these flats, apart from the fact that there's things gone wrong, they are in desperate need of maintenance."

Photo: Outside the Grey's Avenue state housing block (supplied)