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Families in need will benefit from 150 new social homes to be delivered in Hawke’s Bay using a new community-led approach, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says.
“As part of last year’s Budget, the Government invested $140 million into 1500 new social homes to be delivered by Community Housing Providers (CHPs) between June 2025 and June 2027.
“Hawke’s Bay has been chosen as a priority location for a pilot community-led approach to social housing delivery due to the high level of need, with disproportionate numbers of people in emergency and temporary housing and on the social housing waitlist.
“The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has worked with CHPs, iwi, local government and other community groups to agree a community-led approach to delivering up to 150 social homes across the region.
“The Hawke’s Bay, especially in the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle, presents both a significant need for social housing, and a unique opportunity for government and local groups to work differently together to deliver social homes.
“Today in Flaxmere I met with representatives from the Hawke’s Bay Matariki Housing Leadership Group who are taking the lead for the Hawke’s Bay community-led delivery approach. I endorsed the group’s efforts to bring together many different parts of the community, alongside HUD, to deliver 150 social homes in the region. The Government is looking forward to working collaboratively with them to get these homes built.
“To make contracting more efficient, the Government is delivering many of the 1500 social homes across the country through Strategic Partnership agreements with carefully selected CHPs. In Hawke’s Bay, strategic partner Emerge Aotearoa Housing Trust has already committed to delivering 24 homes.
“Our Government is committed to delivering social homes in the communities that need them most, alongside the organisations who know the communities best, using community housing providers who have a track record of delivery.
“In addition to the community partnership in Hawke’s Bay announced today, I am also confirming the other priority locations for social housing delivery for the five strategic partners announced by the Government in April.
“These locations are Auckland, Tauranga, Hamilton, Porirua, Nelson/Tasman, and Rotorua. They have been identified based on social housing need and emergency housing use in each area, along with housing market performance and CHP capacity and capability to deliver.
“I look forward to seeing construction of these social homes underway.”
Note to editor:
Across the total 1,500 places funded through Budget 2024, over 661 places have already been contracted for delivery up to June 2027, with further places expected to be contracted in the coming months.
The first projects are expected to be delivered in the first half of this year, with delivery gaining momentum as time goes on.
The five strategic partners for social housing delivery were selected based on their current performance, capability, and capacity, as demonstrated by the social homes they already manage and the quality of the housing developments they have delivered to date.
The strategic partners are:
- Accessible Properties New Zealand Limited
- Community of Refuge Trust (CORT)
- Emerge Aotearoa Housing Trust
- Te Āhuru Mōwai Limited Partnership
- The Salvation Army
