New HNZ houses for Katikati
Housing New Zealand (HNZ) starts construction of seven new family homes in Katikati this month for people in need of housing in the area.
HNZ has six homes in Katikati so the new builds will bring the total to 13 homes.
There is demand in the area for public housing and we are responding to that, said a Housing New Zealand spokesperson.
“We will be building three new homes in Fairview Rd and four new homes on Beach Rd. We are looking to start building from January 2019 and we expect to complete the new homes by mid next year. Everyone deserves a warm and dry home and these new houses will help provide families in need with a place to call home.”
HNZ is the country’s largest residential landlord. It owns or manages more than 63,000 properties nationwide. Currently HNZ has too many homes in provincial areas and not enough homes in urban areas where there is a higher level of social housing demand.
They also have too many three-bedroom homes and not enough smaller units or homes for larger families in areas of demand. To better meet demand and improve the condition of their homes HNZ is working to reconfigure its portfolio.
There are 61 HNZ properties in Waihi township, and none in Waihi Beach. As of the end of September all six HNZ homes in Katikati were tenanted.
At any given time a small number of those properties will be out of commission due to a range of factors. These could be anything from undergoing routine maintenance between tenancies to major renovations and/or repairs due to fire, flood and refurbishment. The timeframes vary from several weeks to a number of months to ensure local council building consents and other health and safety guidelines standards are met. The current national average between tenancies is just 19 days.
Anyone interested in renting a HNZ home should first talk to the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) about their housing needs. If eligible for social housing, they’ll arrange an assessment interview. To get started call MSD — Work and Income on 0800 559 009 or for those over 65, Senior Services on 0800 552 002.