South Auckland Landlord Fined $54k for Unsafe Migrant Housing

An Auckland property director who crammed migrant workers into unsafe cabins inside a South Auckland warehouse has been fined $54,000, The New Zealand Herald reported.

According to a report by The New Zealand Herald, Paul Knights, director of 4 Corners Investment, was sentenced in the Auckland District Court for operating an unconsented boarding house on Maich Rd, Manurewa, between 2017 and 2019.

The court heard that Knights installed 22 prefabricated cabins inside the warehouse, each housing two migrant workers sourced by Radius Contracting. Knights and his family lived above the workers on a mezzanine floor while collecting a share of the rental income.

Judge Sheena Tepania said the building’s inadequate fire safety systems and lack of escape routes posed significant risks. She stressed the case highlighted why building consent processes exist, reported The New Zealand Herald.

The New Zealand Herald quoted, “Managing such things is the purpose of a consenting regime, which he knew about and did not comply with,” she said. The judge rejected arguments for leniency because no one had been harmed, noting the Knights’ actions were profit-driven and showed disregard for safety obligations.

Knights’ fine was reduced slightly from $60,000 due to a late guilty plea and his lack of prior convictions. No further discounts were granted.

Auckland Council investigations team leader Paul Cowling said the case should serve as a warning. “This was deliberate, reckless, and profit-driven. Mr Knights housed vulnerable workers in unsafe conditions, ignoring the law to line his own pockets,” he said, The New Zealand Herald reported.

Knights’ co-defendants, Radius Contracting and logistics manager William Farmer, were fined $67,500 and $45,000, respectively in 2021, penalties later upheld on appeal, reported The New Zealand Herald.