Building homes — not just new houses

More state housing is needed throughout New Zealand, including Dunedin, writes Housing New Zealand deputy chief executive Greg Groufsky.

NEW Zealand needs more state housing. Not just in Auckland and not just in the main cities, but in smaller cities and towns like yours.

There is a pretty simple reason for this — there are more people needing a home.

In the two years to December 2017, nationally the housing register has increased by 77% from nearly 3500 people and families needing a home to 6182.

In Dunedin, over the same period, the housing register has more than doubled from 41 people and families needing a home to 87.

The numbers illustrate the increasing demand for state housing, but behind the figures are families and vulnerable people who need a place to call home.

If we do not build more housing, we are failing those families who are, in many cases, living in unacceptable living conditions.

At Housing New Zealand we are meeting this challenge of getting more people into more homes. We are building in the cities, but now we are concentrating on meeting demand in regional

New Zealand.

We have not had such an ambitious build programme since the 1930s and ’40s when the Government built more than 30,000 homes in less than 15 years. Many of these homes, with their typical tiled roofs and wooden cladding, have served as homes for generations of Kiwis and still do so today.

We are set to build more state houses in regions such as yours, but they are not just houses, they are places for people in real need of a warm, dry and safe place to raise their families and a place to call home. We know from experience that having a healthy home gives people a solid platform from which to build lives and communities.

In Dunedin, we are looking to build 14 new homes, which add to the 1389 that we currently own in the city. These modern homes are quite different from your typical state houses built last century. The new, low maintenance homes will be fully insulated, with carpets, curtains and double glazing and easytomaintain sections.

We are looking to build on both vacant land and, in order to better utilise our existing properties, on land where we already have a house. Any building activity can have an impact on neighbours and our tenants, and that is why we are keeping them uptodate with what we are doing along the way. We will begin constructing these new homes from midMarch and should have people moving in by midyear, in time for winter.

These new houses have changed in design and materials since the state house of midlast century, but they serve the same important purpose. We look forward to hearing from new tenants as they move into their new, modern homes and we hope that you welcome these new families into your community.

In Dunedin, we are looking to build 14 new homes, which add to the 1389 that we currently

own in the city.