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.
Community Housing Aotearoa is applauding the Government’s move to fast-track much needed funding into emergency housing.
However, CHA says the Government now needs to complete the jigsaw by finalising a plan to deliver the needed 15,000 permanent social and affordable homes so people have somewhere to go once their emergency is resolved.
The Labour party has developed a plan to tackle the housing crisis by building affordable houses and cracking down on speculators, says Leader of the Opposition Andrew Little.
The purpose of the proposed National Policy Statement on Urban Development Capacity (NPS-UDC) is to ensure regional and district plans provide adequately for the development of business and housing. This is to enable urban areas to grow and change in response to the needs of their communities. Community Housing Aotearoa has made a submission on the NPS-UDC.
Social housing groups support the use of kitset homes, but say the government does not have a long-term plan to fix the housing crisis. Scott Figenshow, Director of Community Housing Aotearoa, talked to RNZ on 13 July.
The Government announced on 5 July that it had approved an additional Special Housing Area (SHA) in the Queenstown district which is expected to provide more than 300 homes, Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith says.
