$700k state home stands empty
A $700,000 Ka¯ piti house bought by Housing NZ has sat empty for 20 months while almost 100 locals await a state home.
Ka¯piti Coast Mayor K Gurunathan came across the property in Hihi Pl, Waikanae as he tried to find housing for a family that are living in a Ka¯ piti Coast District Council-owned house, which the council wants to get rid of because it only supplies social housing for pensioners.
He said he could not understand why the house had sat empty all that time with about 94 people on the waiting list for a state home in Ka¯piti, and the country in the middle of a housing crisis.
Housing NZ confirmed it bought the property for a local provider of disability services whose existing property was no longer suitable.
‘‘The property required extensive modifications to accommodate the needs of the disability services provider, such as remodelling the interior to make doorways wider, installing ramps, a turning area for a mobility van and extensive fire safety work including a sprinkler system,’’ a spokesperson said.
‘‘These were completed in November 2018. Sourcing certified contractors to carry out this work in a time of increased construction demand nationally was also challenging.’’
Housing NZ had submitted compliance supporting documentation and was expecting code of compliance from the council in the next few days, the spokesperson said.
‘‘The disability services provider will then be able to move in.’’
But Gurunathan said that, even if the building was awaiting renovation for disabled access, 17 months seemed too long for the house to be untenanted.
Property records show it sold to Housing NZ for $700,000 in early 2017. When visited by Stuff this week, weeds were growing high in the garden and it was clearly not lived in.
When the 2011-built home was put on the market by real estate company Ray White in 2017 it was marketed as already having wheelchair access to all rooms.
It also had solar panels for hot water, three heat pumps, double internal garaging, double glazing, four bedrooms, and two bathrooms – one with wheelchair access.
Gurunathan wondered how many other potentially liveable state homes were in the same situation.
‘‘This is a very unfortunate situation where the government agencies responsible for providing safe and affordable housing for those in need have failed in their duty of care.’’
The council-owned house that the family was getting removed from was originally bought for roading purposes near the city centre but it was no longer needed, so the council was selling it, Gurunathan said.
People would argue it should be kept for social housing but with the exception of 118 pensioner houses, the Ka¯ piti Coast District Council did not do social housing.
More social housing would mean higher rates, Gurunathan said.
‘‘[Locals] want rates to go down and they also want social housing.’’
The council had given the family the legal 93 days’ notice and Gurunathan had given a personal assurance to arrange for time extensions if they couldn’t find alternative accommodation.
‘‘We have no desire to see this family become homeless, which is why I’ve asked council staff to follow a formal process to slow down the sales process for the property until such time as the family has secured alternative housing via Housing NZ.’’