Weedkiller is used to write "scum" on the lawn outside the new Blenheim Emergency Transitional Housing Service (BETHS).

A controversial emergency housing complex has been attacked in Blenheim, with "scum" sprayed on the front lawn in weedkiller.

"Scumbags" and "scabs" also appeared on the grass berm outside former motel Brydan Accommodation, now called Blenheim Emergency Transitional Housing Service (BETHS).

A solo mother staying there said she was shocked that someone would go to the trouble of spraying the words onto the grass, along State Highway 6 in Blenheim.

"It's kind of horrible really, because this place is helping people get into somewhere else. We're not here because we want to be, we don't have anywhere else to go," the mother-of-four said, pushing her child on a swing.

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"I think it's quite offensive. We're doing the best we can."

RICKY WILSON/STUFF Children on the swings at the former Blenheim motel, while their parents discuss the vandalism outside their rooms.

A solo father at the service's new playground, installed where the motel's swimming pool had been filled with bark, said whoever wrote it likely did not understand his situation.

"I've been trying to find a house, I've tried heaps. It's not that there's a shortage of houses but there's a criteria they want for rentals, they want working couples, not single dads. That's the impression I got.

"It just makes you wonder what their problem is, why they would write that. I'm paying the same amount of rent as anyone else out there in a rental. Why am I a scab?"

SCOTT HAMMOND/STUFF Marlborough Mayor John Leggett, left, helped manager Janette Walker open the Blenheim Emergency Transitional Housing Service (BETHS) last month.

The former Blenheim motel was the only transitional housing service in the Marlborough region, though there were 415 state homes and another 13 on the way.

BETHS was jointly operated by Crossroads Charitable Trust and the Christchurch Methodist Mission.

Manager Janette Walker said the vandals were "gutless".

SCOTT HAMMOND/STUFF The swimming pool at the former motel has been filled in with bark.

"Perhaps that person that did this would like to come in here and explain how a 3-year-old is scum."

She said she was unsure who the culprit could be, but guessed it was done a few weeks ago as weedkiller usually took a while to show up.

Many of the neighbours who had previously opposed the service had since come around to the idea, she said.

"One of the neighbours gave us a pot plant and a card to welcome us into the community, which is fantastic. Some other neighbours who walk their dogs have popped in to say 'welcome'. One of the guys who was quite strongly opposed to it actually gave me a hug not so long ago.

"It's been going really, really well. We haven't had any problems."

A police spokeswoman said police were making enquiries and anyone who witnessed anything suspicious at the property should call Blenheim police on 03 578 5279.

There had been no other callouts to the former motel since it opened, the spokeswoman said.

Neighbour James Blakiston, who shared a fence with BETHS behind his house on Banksia Pl, said he was surprised someone would go to such lengths.

"We haven't had a problem with it, they haven't been loud ... We have started locking the house a lot more, but that's just safety, isn't it."

Blakiston's neighbour, who would not be named, said describing the tenants as scum was "a bit unfair".

"I guess they did put it in Springlands, which is a little more upmarket than the rest of Blenheim.

"But at the end of the day everyone needs a start in life, everyone needs to be given the opportunity to get somewhere. Not everyone is fortunate enough to start at the top."

As well as buying out motels, the ministry had "exclusive use" contracts for 517 units at 47 motels across the country, as at April 16. Those contracts were for 19 months or less.

There were eight motel units under contract at a motel in Marlborough, and four at a motel in Nelson.

The ministry was considering buying further motels in Hastings, Wellington and Palmerston North.

Ministry motel purchases

Brydan Accommodation: $3.6m

Cimarron Motel, Auckland: $2.65m

Clansman Motor Lodge, Hastings: $1.84m

Eastland Motor Lodge, Gisborne: $2.15m

Napier Garden Motel: $1.85m