Mr Cull yesterday confirmed he helped arrange for the tenants - up to four men, two women and two children - to lease the council flat until May this year.
The men living at the address were believed to be former gang members, but were trying to turn their lives around and needed help, Mr Cull said.
The flat was located on the edge of the student quarter in North Dunedin, just a short walk from the University of Otago campus.
The tenants declined to comment yesterday, and the Otago Daily Times has not identified the street to protect their privacy.
Mr Cull's decision - and his personal involvement - had come under attack during a Dunedin City Council public forum earlier yesterday.
The owner of a neighbouring flat, property manager Tim Calder, said ex-gang members and their associates did not belong in North Dunedin, living among young students.
About 20,000 students were flooding into the area at this time of year, many for the first time, and expected a "student and family-friendly zone", he said.
He accused the council of supporting "the infiltration of gang members on to campus", potentially helping create an environment of "crime, drugs and fear".
The council's new tenants moved in last week, and Mr Calder said he had been "absolutely terrified" to spot gang patches on the wall next door, as well as the new neighbours' tattoos.
He claimed their presence was scaring away young students who would otherwise lease his flat.
He wanted the tenants evicted or compensation to cover up to $40,000 in lost income if his flat remained untenanted.
Public forum rules prevented councillors or Mr Cull from debating with Mr Calder yesterday, but he fielded a flurry of questions and conceded he did not know the legality of evicting the tenants.
Speaking after the forum, Mr Cull told the ODT some of the tenants were attempting to rehabilitate themselves after leading a gang life, and one was a member of the council's Taskforce Green programme.
They had previously received mentoring and other help from former mayor Peter Chin, and he had taken on the relationship upon becoming mayor last year, Mr Cull said.
The tenants had been forced out of their last flat, also in North Dunedin, when the owner required it for another family member, and needed a temporary new home at short notice to maintain their stability, Mr Cull said.
None of the tenants had broken the law, but it appeared public support for rehabilitation did not extend to seeing it taking place next door, he said.
"Nobody wants them to do it next to them," he said.
Public forum chairman Cr Paul Hudson said Mr Calder's concerns would be investigated by staff.
