Queenstown hospo workers feel ripped off as housing deal sours

A home in Queenstown offered to bar and restaurant staff by their employer, and then withdrawn, has left some feeling they've been treated unfairly.

One employee of Wolf Hospitality Group, which owns a number of food and beverage businesses in Queenstown, says they moved into staff accommodation in Fernhill in May, but now they've been given 14 days notice they need to move out.

It comes off the back of an increase in rent they say blindsided them and their colleagues.

"With 12 days notice they sent out emails saying they were going to raise the rent by, like, $50 a person or something, which was super screwy because a lot of the people that live in the staff accommodation are immigrants, and they don't necessarily speak amazing English and struggle to find accommodation here."

The worker says a group of them went to the Citizens Advice Bureau in town for advice, and started down a process with Tenancy Services, but ultimately it became too difficult for them to pursue.

In response to questions from Crux today, a representative of Wolf Hospitality Group admits a mistake in process was made.

"There was an oversight due to the tenancy agreement type and an incorrect notice period was issued to the tenants. A reimbursement for this is being processed," they say.

Another worker says the seemingly abrupt order to move out, within weeks of the rent increase, put some of their housemates in "a very uncomfortable situation because housing in Queenstown is very hard".

"It was probably, increase in rent, and then two weeks later, you guys all have to move out...so within the span of a month all this kind of happened."

The Wolf representative tells Crux all tenants have been given the appropriate notice in accordance with their signed rental agreements.

But it is little comfort to the slightly-more-than-minimum-wage workers, including one who received the notice just days after moving in.

"I just feel like they've taken control," another says, "I feel powerless, and they know that, that's the thing."

They say they shared a room in a downstairs studio-like unit with two others, with each person paying $200 a week rent, with bills on top.

"We were packed in like sardines...It felt like they were really using us for more money, rather than actually helping us out."

Someone else says they shared a room with a colleague in a three-bedroom house above the unit, and they paid $287.50 each to do so, which they had agreed to.

But since being given notice, they've seen the home marketed on Trade Me for rent for $900 a week total.

"So for three rooms with two people each, I think that maths works out to $675-ish profit that they've been making per week off of their employees' housing.

"It just feels greedy, you know?"

Simon Edmunds, of the Queenstown Workers Collective, earlier told Crux 'employer as landlord' situations can go "very wrong, very quickly".

He says there is a power imbalance that can make it difficult for worker tenants to raise complaints, particularly if their right to live in the country is linked to their jobs.

Main image (Trade Me): A group of Wolf Hospitality workers has been paying significantly more than $900 a week to stay in this home.