Source: New Zealand Government
A major milestone of 10,037 additional public homes has been achieved since Labour came into office, the Housing Minister Dr Megan Woods confirmed today.
“It’s extremely satisfying and a testament to our commitment to providing a safety net for people who need public housing, that we have delivered these warm, dry homes after public housing was decimated under the previous National government,” Megan Woods said.
“Under National there were so many sell-offs of public housing that National left office with 1,500 fewer state homes than it began with.
“National failed to invest in new public housing and instead bled $576 million out of the public housing agency in dividends. What’s more is that National failed to maintain the housing it did retain, and that deferred maintenance for pre-1970s housing is now costing tens of millions of dollars per year.
“This Government has rebuilt the state’s ability to grow and provide public housing with the biggest state house building programme since the 1970s. If National had built public housing at the same rate we are, there would be nearly 23,000 new state houses, accounting for 94% of those on the current waiting list.
“We firmly believe the state has a role in providing a safety net to people who need public housing. These ten thousand additional homes mean thousands of families and individuals have moved into warm, dry homes across the country from Northland to Invercargill.
“It’s not only those living in public housing that benefit from this pipeline of activity; regional economies and the construction sector is boosted with jobs and critical infrastructure investment, all helping to secure New Zealand’s economy for future generations.
We’ve seen significant investment in provincial New Zealand as well as in Auckland, Wellington and Canterbury. For example, in the Waikato region we have added 681 more public homes.
“The investment in public housing will continue as a priority of this Government, because we know how crucial it is for the health, security and stability of individuals and whanau who need it,” Megan Woods said.
Housing dashboard here.
Note to Editors
- Between 31 October 2017 and 30 June 2022 there has been a net increase of 10,037 Public Homes. Of these 10,037 homes, 8,240 are new builds
(Kāinga Ora – 6,568 + Community Housing Providers – 1,672)
- In the past financial year, 1,737 new build places have been delivered by Kāinga Ora and Community Housing Providers
- 744 SLEDs (including demolitions) have also occurred, but this is an important step in preparing for future build programmes as houses which are not fit for purpose can be replaced and overall volumes increased within the same land footprint. (4,029 total SLED since Oct 17)
- As at 30 June 2022 there are 76,271 public homes.
In addition to the extensive housing programme people and whanau are supported through:
- Transitional housing is temporary accommodation and support for individuals or families who are in urgent need of housing. It provides warm, dry, short-term housing for people and families who have an urgent need for a place to stay. Accredited social service providers manage transitional housing. Providers will work with people in transitional housing to actively support them in securing permanent housing. Since October 2017, we have added 3,802 Transitional Housing places.
- Emergency Housing Special Needs Grants (EH SNGs) introduced in 2016 to help vulnerable individuals and families with urgent housing need to meet the cost of staying in short-term accommodation. They were intended to be used as a last resort and for up to seven nights at a time. However, due to wider housing market pressures and increasing numbers of people in need, EH SNG use has increased significantly in recent years.
