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File photo of Wellington city.
Photo: 123rf
The council is the country s largest provider of council housing, managing nearly 2000 units with over 3000 residents, but management of the housing is far more expensive than what the council makes through rent.
Meanwhile, the capital programme over the next 10 years - which would make the units comply with Healthy Homes standards - was estimated to be just shy of $450m.
In a meeting today, councillors agreed the mayor would write to the minister of housing and the minister of finance to request access to the Income Related Rent Subsidy.
The subsidy is a rent top-up for public housing tenants (in homes run by Community Housing Providers or Kāinga Ora), but is not available for council housing tenants.
Press Release – New Zealand National Party
Our public housing system is bursting at the seams with record high numbers of New Zealanders waiting for a state house, National’s Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis says.
Figures released today show there are now 22,521 people waiting for public housing, roughly four times as many as when National left office. On average, people will wait 177 days to be housed.
These are Kiwis classified as ‘at risk’ with a ‘severe and persistent housing need that must be addressed immediately’. Roughly half of those waiting for a home are families with children, Ms Willis says.
“While it’s good to see many of the public houses National planned in Government are now being built, it’s not enough to keep up with the surging demand. In the past year the wait list grew by 7652, while Kāinga Ora built just 1150 houses.