New state homes on the way
Seven state houses are to be built in Richmond by July as part of planned rollout of almost 60 new homes across the top of the south.
The announcement comes as waiting lists for those eligible for state housing in the region are at record levels, and advocates say people face desperate situations, including living in cars.
New Crown agency Ka¯inga Ora – Homes and Communities this week announced plans for the multimillion-dollar construction of ‘‘at least seven new homes for tenants and their wha¯ nau’’ in Tasman District this financial year, which ends on June 30.
Ka¯ inga Ora was established on October 1, bringing together the people and resources of KiwiBuild, Housing New Zealand and its development subsidiary HLC. It owns 160 homes in Tasman District.
The Ka¯ inga Ora website outlines seven new builds planned for Richmond – two 1-bedroom and two 2-bedroom homes in D’Arcy St as well as three 2-bedroom homes in Herbert St.
Labour Party candidate for Nelson Rachel Boyack said confirmation of the seven homes was ‘‘extremely exciting news’’ and just the start.
‘‘This is the initial phase with more and more coming through,’’ Boyack said. ‘‘Labour is not going to stop building state houses until we have enough to meet demand.’’
The Ministry of Social Development’s Housing Register reveals that as at the end of September, 98 applicants in Tasman District had been assessed as eligible and ready to move into a home. At the same date, there were 178 applicants in Nelson and 161 in Marlborough.
For all three areas, the September totals of eligible people waiting for a home were the highest on the register, which dates back to June 2014. Nationally, there were 13,966 people on the register at the end of September.
Of those on the register in
Nelson-Tasman and Marlborough, the vast majority required one-bedroom or two-bedroom homes.
Boyack said the seven builds in Richmond were part of the planned rollout of 6400 new homes by 2022 across the country, which was announced in August 2018 by then Housing and Urban Development Minister Phil
Twyford.
According to the Ka¯ inga Ora website, five 2-bedroom homes are to be built along Koromiko Ave in Nelson while 46 are earmarked for Blenheim including 14 two-bedroom houses in Brewer St.
Boyack said she saw housing as the ‘‘highest need’’ in the Nelson electorate, which includes Richmond. Some people were living in cars or overcrowded houses. She knew of one person moving between Airbnb properties in a ‘‘desperate situation’’.
The effects of a lack of secure housing could ripple through the community, leading to increases in crime and health issues, ‘‘people not being able to hold down jobs, which increases demand for benefits’’, Boyack said.
On the flipside, secure homes enabled people to ‘‘actively engage in their community, go to work, go to school – mental health improves, overall health improves’’.
‘‘There are really good, positive benefits on other parts of our society,’’ Boyack said.
Ka¯inga Ora area manager Dale Bradley said the seven new houses in Tasman District would help modernise the housing stock as well as providing more warm and dry homes.