Congratulations to Hamilton City – the whole city – Wise Group, the People's Project and the coalition for pulling together and winning the Local Government New Zealand community engagement award for its central city safety plan, specifically the work on the People's Project. It’s a testament to the leadership shown by this group and CHA applauds you. You went ahead and built a coalition across local government, central government, service users and many service agencies to introduce a housing first project and bring the end of homelessness within sight. Well done.
Five new social housing homes were opened in Glen Innes, Auckland this week. These units have been built by Accessible Properties, a division of IHC New Zealand. The homes will be used for affordable rental by people with social support needs, including placements from the Government’s social housing register.
The state may fill the gap left by a big shortfall in a tender for community housing, Prime Minister John Key says. Key told journalists in Wellington tonight that the Government was committed to providing the extra social housing places offered in the current request for proposals for 1000 social housing units in Auckland. Community providers have proposed only between 225 and 239 homes, and this year's Budget documents show that the Government actually expects to contract for only 175 homes in the financial year starting this month.
Simon Collins reports in the NZ Herald today on the request for proposals for 1000 extra social housing spaces established in November 2015. The article reports that Government efforts to solve Auckland's housing crisis have been dealt a major blow by a weak response to a request for proposals to build 1000 new homes for social housing tenants. Community housing providers say they have proposed a maximum of only 239 new social housing places, because of problems finding suitable land and because capital funding for the new places this year has been capped at only $13.55 million.
Employment New Zealand is the leading source of information on employment in New Zealand, and the key channel for distributing information to help employers and employees understand their rights and responsibilities.
Lisa Owen on Newshub has revealed that Work and Income has been referring tenants to a property manager who is charging hundreds of dollars for illegal garage rentals in south Auckland. The garages are rented for between $250 and more than $550.
Key features in this newsletter are: the National Māori Housing Conference; feedback on the Delhoitte report Building a model for alternative procurement or commissioning that we'd like member feedback on; Our Place and the United Nations sustainable development goals; a look at Boffa Miskell's focus on housing, and a lot more.
A Newshub investigation has revealed Auckland garages are being rented out illegally for more than $400 a week.
In a case that is currently before the Tenancy Tribunal, one property manager is accused of commandeering a garage, converting it and renting it out to separate tenants. That's despite the garage apparently being included in the rental agreement for the tenant in the main house - something the property manager disputes.
In her column in the Herald yesterday, Deborah Hill Cone talked about the lack of tenant advocacy over the difficult situations many tenants are in. She asks why is there not a more vocal and activist tenants lobby group? Why are politicians not catering to this group of potential voters? Why are educators who see kids having to be continually moved not fuming? It is a hole in the major parties' housing policies.
People who are homeless, those who were once homeless, those working with the homeless and concerned New Zealanders are being asked to share their experiences and solutions to this growing issue with the Cross-Party Homelessness Inquiry of Labour, Maori and Green Parties.
