Press Release – Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust The waiting list for assistance from the Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust (QLCHT) is continuing to grow despite COVID-19 resetting rental prices across the district. Before the pandemic hit New Zealand shores, QLCHT had a waiting list of …
The waiting list for assistance from the Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust (QLCHT) is continuing to grow despite COVID-19 resetting rental prices across the district.
Before the pandemic hit New Zealand shores, QLCHT had a waiting list of 600 qualifying households. This now sits at 740 households, despite the fact that rents have reduced by up to 30% throughout the district.
Many thought the Covid-19 pandemic might bring some relief to those seeking accommodation in Queenstown Lakes.
Lower incomes and more fragile working arrangements have left low-income residents more vulnerable to finding somewhere to live, the Salvation Army says. (file pic)
Photo: 123RF
But the average house price continues to rise and cold shabby rentals are still wildly expensive.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, overcrowding in old, cold and mouldy homes was accepted as commonplace in the district s expensive rental market.
The Salvation Army s Queenstown community ministries director Lieutenant Andrew Wilson said if anything, a decrease in income and more fragile working arrangements had left low-income residents even more vulnerable.
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Friday, 16 April 2021, 1:31 pm
Much-needed affordable housing for the Queenstown Lakes
District is on the way, after the Queenstown Lakes District
Council (QLDC) approved the transfer of land in Arrowtown to
the Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust (QLCHT) for
$1.
The approval was signed late last month and is a
key step in allowing the land, on Jopp Street, to be
developed into a mixture of affordable rentals. This will
include an allocation for elderly housing and Secure Home
properties.
QLDC Chief Executive Mike Theelen said the
move was a “milestone” in helping bring additional
affordable housing to the district.
“The transfer
Friday, 12 March 2021, 5:42 pm
Yesterday celebrated the kickstart of 25 first home
buyers into their Progressive Home Ownership (PHO) journey
at the Toru apartments in Queenstown.
Twenty-five
households will be purchasing homes under the Queenstown
Lakes Community Housing Trust’s ground-breaking assisted
ownership model, Secure Home.
QLCHT executive officer
Julie Scott confirmed average one-bed units have sold for
$220,000, and two-bed unit prices average $320k.
Three
years after signing a contract for 50 of the 78 units in the
Toru development at Remarkables Park, Frankton, the project
was completed last month, and QLCHT is set to take
possession of its units later this month.
Housing