New name, new mandate
A new law will set Housing New Zealand’s social mandate in legislation, and make clear the state home provider should not have to return a dividend.
It will also change the name – slightly – from Housing New Zealand Corporation to Housing New Zealand. Housing Minister Phil Twyford campaigned on more fully reforming the agency, bringing it back into the fold as a Government department instead of a quasi-independent Crown entity.
But upon entering government Twyford decided against such a move, saying Housing NZ was already moving in a direction he liked and he didn’t want to add too much disruption.
On Friday he announced a move towards setting Housing NZ’s social obligations – basically to be the landlord of last resort for the country’s most vulnerable – explicitly in law.
This would also set out clearly that Housing NZ should not be required to return a dividend, as it did in some recent years to the National-led government.
The news follows the release of a report on Thursday from Housing NZ on how the state home provider pursued and evicted tenants over meth contamination. The process resulted in over $100 million being wasted and at least 800 tenants evicted for levels of contamination that were not at all dangerous.
Twyford said the organisation was already changing but he wanted to set that change in.
‘‘It is already offering pastoral care to help tenants stay in their homes, allowing tenants to have pets, and treating drug addiction as a health issue,’’ Twyford said.
‘‘Following the release of its report into methamphetamine contamination, it is timely for Housing NZ to now focus on the eight new social objectives set by the Government. These include providing good quality, warm, dry, and healthy rental housing for those who need it most, and being a fair and reasonable landlord, treating tenants and their neighbours with respect, integrity and honesty. Changing the presumption that Housing NZ will return a surplus will give the organisation more financial flexibility so it can build more state houses and invest in more support for tenants.’’