$24.4m more for Auckland social housing

The Government is giving an extra $24.4 million to community housing providers to increase the supply of social housing in Auckland.

“We know the property market is extremely tight in Auckland at present, and it is no different for those organisations helping to house our most vulnerable citizens. This extra funding will allow community housing providers (CHPs) create more medium- to long-term social housing, and faster, where the need is most acute,” Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett says.

The funding is in addition to the $120.1 million announced in Budget 2016 for new social housing places in Auckland.

“Our Government is taking the housing issue seriously and is committed to increasing supply through community housing providers. Those houses are coming through the pipeline but in the meantime this money will see more and faster development of social housing through CHPs, either in new builds or new leases,” Mrs Bennett says.

“We need more one- and two-bedroom and large social houses and that is what we are targeting with this extra funding. While others may still be stuck at the point of merely debating the scale of our country’s housing issues, our Government has identified a barrier to more social housing and has fixed it.

“Our Government has a comprehensive plan for housing well under way and our other work is progressing well.”

Other social and emergency housing initiatives already underway or in the planning stages include:

• $41.1 million announced in Budget 2016 for emergency housing, including more emergency places and new non-recoverable special needs grant for emergency accommodation

• A further $9 million to assist community organisations to help the homeless and people having difficulty holding onto their tenancies

• Plans for around 140 modular homes in Auckland to house people in need

• A relocation grant to help people who wish to move out of Auckland with moving and other costs

The $24 million funding means that:

CHPs building new social housing will be able to receive an upfront grant of up to 50 per cent of the value of the development, or;

Once the development is built a weekly grant of up to 50 per cent of market rent on top of the current rental subsidies the Government provides, or;

They can receive a combination of both, up to the equivalent level of funding provided by either the upfront funding or weekly subsidy alone.

CHPs providing social housing in a property leased from the private market can also receive a grant of up to 50 per cent of market rent, on top of the subsidised rent they receive.