Social housing crisis
At least 20,000 new homes needed in next decade: Report
At least 20,000 new social homes are needed over the next decade to deal with growing numbers of homeless, a new reports warns. And while the Government has pledged it will build 5000 to 6000 over the next decade to help provide more Kiwis with a home, a justreleased Salvation Army report indicates this may not be enough.
The report, Taking Stock, shows the growing number of people on a benefit, combined with an increase in “poorer” Baby Boomers aged 65 and over, with no permanent home, will continue to put pressure on already limited stock.
There are more than 82,000 social houses in New Zealand at present.
The report’s author, Alan Johnson, said a “conservative” estimate of what was needed was between 2000 and 2500 new houses each year. Half of these would be needed in Auckland.
The estimated construction cost of between $800 million and $1 billion a year was not unreasonable given the “urgent importance” of addressing the rising levels of homelessness and the high social cost this could incur, he said.
“The proposal should be seen as the bare minimum necessary to ensure that New Zealand’s homelessness problems do not worsen.”
Johnson said an analysis of official statistics showed there was an “enduring number of people living on working-age welfare benefits” and those with limited means aged 65-plus that would only see more people in need of a home.
Data obtained through the Official Information Act showed the number of people on the social housing register had almost doubled in the past decade, with 5353 on the Ministry of Social Development list in June this year.
The number of Housing New Zealand houses had declined by 4582 from 67,063 in 2007-08 to 62,481 in March this year.
Answers to written questions from the Green Party in Parliament showed 2539 HNZ homes had been built since 2009, but taking into
account 2414 demolitions, it had only added a net 125 new houses.
Social Housing Minister Amy Adams said the Government was spending $6m a day helping 310,000 New Zealanders with their housing and accommodation. It was expending the number of social houses from 66,400 to 72,000 over the next three years. Adams said $20m was going to help long-term chronically homeless into secure housing.
“Our social housing reforms are working for those in need. We’ve changed a system that was focused on simply providing a house, to one that is providing better tailored, wraparound support to help people get back on their feet, while also increasing overall supply.”
But Green Party social housing spokeswoman Marama Davidson said more was still needed.
She was confronted daily in her community by the need for secure, warm and dry homes.
“We’ve always said for several years now that selling off state housing at a time when homelessness in our country is the highest it has ever been, and is climbing, is the worst thing that we could be doing as a country.”
Johnson acknowledged that simply building more houses might not be enough.
He said it “does not follow that state housing is the only answer and that all the state’s resources for housing should go into buying and building state-owned housing”.
He suggested that alongside more homes, additional support, such as accommodation supplements to help low-income people get into a goodquality private home, could help.
At the very least Johnson called for greater political understanding that social housing could be “for life”.
“Until there is some acceptance that there is a permanent and growing demand for social housing, as a nation we are unlikely to fully appreciate both the commitment we need to give to such housing and the potential it has to materially improve the lives of the most vulnerable.”