Council to sell housing
Nelson’s community houses are changing hands, but the tenants are safe as houses.
The sale of Nelson City Council’s 142 housing units is being negotiated between the council, Housing New Zealand (HNZ), Nelson Tasman Housing Trust (NTHT), and the newly-formed Ministry for Housing and Urban Development.
Regardless of who purchases the stock, tenants will be kept in the loop and can expect no change in their tenancy.
The council said the investment was urgently needed. About half of the council’s community housing needed renovation of some description, which was estimated to cost up to $20 million.
Nelson Mayor Rachel Reese said this was a ‘‘significant’’ amount for Nelson ratepayers to pay, and the council had been looking for ways to increase the sustainability of the community housing for a while.
However, she said it was not a case of the council reducing the number of community houses.
‘‘We have no interest in these properties going into the private sector. This is absolutely not a step back by Nelson City Council from community housing.
‘‘I’m of the view that the need for it is going to be more, not less. The waiting list is getting longer . . . all the indicators are saying that the units are not meeting the needs of our community. We want to grow that stock.’’
HNZ Nelson area manager Dale Bradley confirmed that it was looking at buying all 142 community housing units.
He said all relevant agencies were working together to keep tenants informed and come to a solution that would have the ‘‘least disruption to existing tenants’’.
‘‘If this process is successful and an agreement satisfactory to both the council and HNZ is reached, it is anticipated ownership of the council’s social housing units would transfer to HNZ from November 1, 2019.
‘‘There would be no changes for existing tenants. All current terms and conditions of their tenancy agreements will simply transfer to HNZ, and tenancies will be managed by HNZ staff in the Nelson area.’’
Deputy chair of the community services committee, councillor Mel Courtney, said the council was taking into account all offers and opportunities, including more local offers
‘‘We’re also considering locals, the Nelson Tasman Housing Trust, who are managing our 142 units for the council, and have been for the past year.
‘‘Housing, in my judgment, is a basic human right, so we have to treat this very very carefully indeed,’’ Courtney said.
NTHT director Carrie Mozena said its aim would be to gradually increase the number and quality of community houses, and the trust’s experience with managing the properties would be an asset.
‘‘As a registered community housing provider, we have access to government funding to provide social housing, and we can also provide affordable rented housing,’’ she said.