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Offers of accommodation to those made homeless by February’s earthquake are currently outstripping demand in Christchurch.

Housing Minister Phil Heatley says staff from Housing New Zealand (HNZ) and the Department of Building and Housing (DBH) are working around the clock, collating offers of emergency accommodation and finding shelter for those made homeless by the earthquake.

As an immediate measure, Housing New Zealand will reduce the rent to zero of all state housing tenants in 32 suburbs. This rent relief will last for a period of three weeks, and will be backdated to February 22. It will apply to about 2500 properties, and any rent already paid by tenants in these areas since the earthquake will be repaid to them.

Housing New Zealand will provide a temporary accommodation service to people displaced by Tuesday's earthquakein Canterbury, Housing Minister Phil Heatley said today.

This temporary accommodation service is being provided by Housing New Zealand over and above its normal business as part of the Civil Defence response, now that a National State of Emergency has been declared.

A Government stimulus package has delivered more new homes, more improved homes and created more jobs than promised.

Phil Heatley says the latest figures from Housing New Zealand Corporation (HNZC) show the ‘Jobs and Growth’ package delivered well above expectation.

Auckland based social housing provider, Community of Refuge Trust (CORT) has received $1 million of the $20 million set aside in the last budget for HIF funding.

The HIF was set up to foster collaboration between Government and community organisations to provide more housing for New Zealanders on low to moderate incomes, or with special housing needs.

Mr Heatley says CORT will be matching the $1 million in funding it gets from the HIF, with $1 million of its own money to provide ten one-bedroom affordable rental homes in the Tamaki area.  

Housing New Zealand Corporation (HNZC) is making significant progress in its efforts to reconfigure the state housing network with the sale of high value properties funding the delivery of more state homes.

Housing Minister Phil Heatley says the sale of individual ‘high value’ state properties worth more than $700,000 demonstrates how HNZC is utilising its assets more effectively to increase the provision of homes for tenants in need, without additional cost to the taxpayer.