Few accommodation options at hand as housing crisis bites

INVERCARGILL city councillors have been asked to put Southland’s ‘‘deepening housing crisis’’ at the top of their agendas.

Southland Community Housing Group representatives told councillors at a community services committee meeting on Monday the quantity and quality of emergency and social housing in the region was no longer just a problem, but a ‘‘nightmare’’.

The demand for emergency housing had dramatically increased in just a few years, Salvation Army representative Dave Hope said.

‘‘Our service has been running at 90% to 95% occupancy since November last year,’’he said.

‘‘The current waiting list for social housing in Invercargill is 59 as of June 2018; Gore has less than 5. This I find unacceptable.’’

With 37 private rentals available in Invercargill, 13 in Gore and 18 in greater Southland, there were few options for people in the South, he said.

Habitat for Humanity general manager Paul Searancke said his organisation had been ‘‘overwhelmed’’ with requests for housing assistance.

Houses for sale in Invercargill were less than half the industry norm for this time of year, he said.

‘‘We don’t just have a problem, it’s a nightmare.’’

The lack of housing was not the only issue, with the condition of some properties rendering them ‘‘uninhabitable’.

‘‘What was considered generally poor, and sometimes unable to be filled, is now in use.’’

‘‘Stories about black mould, leaky roofs, poor heating, and no insulation, should be the exception, but they’re fast becoming the norm.’’

A ‘‘housing hub’’ set to open in South City would act as a ‘‘onestop shop’’ to help people file applications, and get assistance, Mr Searancke said.

‘‘That’s the best that we can do. We can’t be waiting, we need to look for our own solutions.’’

Several councillors echoed the group’s concerns, including Cr Leslie Soper who agreed many properties she had seen were ‘‘substandard and quite worrying’’.