Housing crisis fears if issues not addressed
DUNEDIN could soon find itself facing a fullblown housing crisis if issues with the city’s housing stock are not addressed soon, Mayor Dave Cull says.
His comments come as tenants, support services, industry insiders and a politicians all say a severe shortage of rental housing in the city, combined with rising rents, is leaving a growing number of residents locked out of suitable accommodation.
While Dunedin was not yet in the same situation as other places such as Auckland and Queenstown, it could quickly find itself in a crisis, Mr Cull said.
‘‘It’s becoming obvious from the number of reports coming out we’re not far away from a fullon crisis, which means there’s a real incentive to get on top of those problems sooner rather than later.’’
The newly established mayoral task force on housing would meet for the first time at the end of the month and would focus on addressing the various issues the city was facing.
Issues with the shrinking rental market, the quality of rental properties and the pressure on social housing would all be considered by the group, which had the power to make recommendations to the Dunedin City Council, Mr Cull said.
‘‘Initially, it was going to be tasked with looking at the city’s social housing issues but at my recommendation it’s now going to look at all the housing issues because it’s pretty clear the issues are much wider than just social housing.’’
A housing crisis would have a disproportionate effect on residents on low incomes, including the city’s elderly residents, and would also hamper future economic development.
‘‘It’s also an economic issue, particu larly when you’re trying to attract people to the city but they can’t find suitable housing.’’
Pressure on the rental market would only increase once major projects such as the hospital rebuild started, he said.
‘‘We saw the possibility of a crisis coming, which is what led to the forming of the task force and its task now is to get a handle of the situation before it’s too late.’’
Council housing manager Alana Reid said 185 people were on the council’s community housing list.
Of the 942 social housing units the council owned, 12 were unoccupied.
The empty units were either in the process of being offered to tenants or undergoing repairs and maintenance, Ms Reid said.
Those being repaired were all expected to be occupied within three weeks of completion, she said.
Some people chose to stay on the waiting list until a specific unit or accommodation in a specific area became available.