Building and Housing
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The Residential Tenancies Act is to be strengthened with new requirements for insulation, smoke alarms, better enforcement and faster resolution of abandoned tenancies, Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith announced today.

“This pragmatic package of tenancy law changes will make homes warmer, drier and safer for hundreds of thousands of New Zealand families without imposing excessive bureaucracy or cost,” Dr Smith says.

Nick Smith Building and Housing
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Two new greenfield Special Housing Areas (SHAs) that will provide up to 1800 new homes in Auckland have been announced today by Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith and Mayor Len Brown.

Nick Smith Building and Housing
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Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith today welcomed the release of the latest building consent figures from Statistics New Zealand, which show the annual number of consents at an eight-year high.

“There were 25,114 consents issued nationally in the year to May 2015 – the highest issued in any 12-month period since 2007. This is an increase of 10 per cent on the same period last year, and compares to the low of 13,236 during the Global Financial Crisis slump,” Dr Smith says.

Nick Smith Building and Housing
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Two Special Housing Areas (SHAs) with the potential for 210 new homes in Tauranga were approved today by Cabinet, Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith has announced.

“These two Special Housing Areas in Papamoa and Ohauiti mean that resource consents for housing in these areas can be fast-tracked. These two additional areas add to the seven announced in February this year, and bring the combined capacity of homes arising from the Government’s Housing Accord with the Tauranga City Council to 1900,” Dr Smith says.

Nick Smith Building and Housing
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Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith today welcomed the decision by the Hobsonville Land Company (HLC) to bring forward the development of 1000 new homes at Hobsonville Point in Auckland.

Nick Smith Building and Housing
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A 38-hectare site with the potential for 150 new homes near Lake Hayes has been announced as the first Special Housing Area under the Queenstown Lakes Housing Accord, Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith and Mayor Vanessa van Uden announced today.

Nick Smith Building and Housing
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Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith and Mayor Len Brown have today welcomed the release of the latest Auckland Housing Accord monitoring report, which marks the halfway point of the three-year agreement between the Government and the council to address the city’s housing supply and affordability challenge.

Nick Smith Building and Housing
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Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith today listed four sites comprising 30 hectares of land that are being considered for development under the new initiative to facilitate housing on Crown-owned land in Auckland.

Nick Smith Building and Housing
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Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith today released at the Certified Builders’ Association conference in Christchurch new guidance on the standards of work expected for key aspects of new home construction.

Nick Smith Building and Housing
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The Government has established a $52.2 million capital contingency fund in Budget 2015 to facilitate housing development on Crown-owned land in Auckland, Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith says.

“The Government has had its foot on the accelerator to address the housing supply and affordability challenge, and has achieved strong growth in residential construction in each of the past three years.  We recognise the importance of maintaining this momentum to help more New Zealand families into home ownership,” he says.

Nick Smith Building and Housing Budget 2015
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A new system for managing buildings following a disaster like a major earthquake or storm event is being proposed and is open for consultation, Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith announced today.

“People did an extraordinary job in the aftermath of the tragic Canterbury earthquakes but our systems were not as robust as they could be. We owe it to everyone involved that we learn every possible lesson. These proposed changes to the Building Act are consistent with the recommendations of the Royal Commission of Inquiry,” Dr Smith says.

Nick Smith Building and Housing
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One of the big challenges our Government has had to deal with has been the devastating Christchurch earthquakes. The Prime Minister has made the recovery and rebuild of Christchurch one of the four key priorities for our Government and all credit to the work of Gerry Brownlee and my Canterbury colleagues on the job they are doing to achieve this.

Nick Smith Building and Housing
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The Government is revising its policy on managing earthquake risk by better targeting regulations on buildings where location, use and type pose the greatest risk to life, Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith said in a speech today to the Mainland regional conference of the National Party in Ashburton.

Nick Smith Building and Housing
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The Government has signed agreements with Fletcher Living for the construction of 191 new homes at two inner-city sites as part of the Housing Accord with the Christchurch City Council, Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith announced today.

Nick Smith Building and Housing
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New building consent figures released today by Statistics New Zealand confirm the strong progress being made in increasing housing supply, particularly in Auckland and Christchurch, Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith says.

"It is significant that we have now topped 25,000 new building consents per year nationally - the strongest house build rate in nine years. The latest annual figure of 25,038 compares to the low of 13,236 following the Global Financial Crisis," Dr Smith says.

Nick Smith Building and Housing
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Ownership and management of approximately 2800 Housing New Zealand Corporation (HNZC) properties at Tamaki will be transferred to the Tamaki Redevelopment Company (TRC) to encourage regeneration of the area, Finance Minister Bill English and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith say.

“Driving through some of the deprived areas of Tāmaki makes plain why the Government is determined to do a better job of social housing,” Mr English says.

Nick Smith Bill English Finance Building and Housing
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Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith has welcomed the update to the technical guidance, Repairing and rebuilding houses affected by the Canterbury earthquakes, which provides further options for repairing and rebuilding structures on liquefaction-prone land.

Nick Smith Building and Housing
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Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith and Christchurch Deputy Mayor Vicki Buck today welcomed the release of the first Christchurch Housing Accord monitoring report, which shows a strong recovery in Christchurch’s residential housing since the earthquakes.

“There is strong evidence in the building consent, median house price and average weekly rent data that we are getting supply and demand back into balance since the earthquakes munted 10,500 homes in 2010 and 2011,” Dr Smith says.

Nick Smith Building and Housing
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A new tenancy services website designed to be a one-stop shop for all tenancy-related advice, information and education has been launched today by Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith.

“Good information for tenants and landlords on their legal responsibilities and how to resolve disputes is essential for the 450,000 homes that are let in New Zealand. This new website is about ensuring all the information is in one place and that it is as easy as possible to navigate,” Dr Smith says.

Nick Smith Building and Housing
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A roadshow begins in West Auckland tonight on the Government’s KiwiSaver HomeStart package to help young New Zealanders put together a deposit and get a mortgage for their first home.

Nick Smith Building and Housing
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Local Government Minister Paula Bennett and Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith today welcomed the publication of the final report of the Crown Manager for Christchurch City Council’s building consenting functions.

“Substantial progress has been made during Doug Martin’s tenure, with the Council now processing consents on time and to a high quality standard, leading to their reinstatement by International Accreditation New Zealand as a Building Consent Authority in December,” says Mrs Bennett. 

Nick Smith Paula Bennett Local Government Building and Housing
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A Government support package for first home buyers that comes into effect today will help 90,000 lower and middle income people into home ownership over the next five years, Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith says.

“HomeStart is the most significant Government support for first home buyers in more than a generation. We are doubling the number of people who will be eligible to receive a Government grant to buy a first home, and doubling the size of the grant they are eligible for if purchasing a new home,” Dr Smith says.

Nick Smith Building and Housing