September 19, 2016 | News Leading Environmental law firm, Berry Simons, is calling on the Government to consider the need to address housing demand, rather than focusing only on bringing more supply to the market, in its bid to curb Auckland’s severe housing shortage.
September 19, 2016 | News Health Minister Jonathan Coleman and Building and Housing Minister Nick Smith say 13.1 hectares of vacant land at Counties Manukau is being freed up for housing.
In this newsletter we have more information on events for the sector: NZCID Social Housing Funding Forum – 27 September in Auckland, National Māori Housing Conference, Social Investment in Community Housing: moving beyond traditional grant making and the panel discussion and CHA annual general meeting; plus research, news and events of interest to the community housing sector.
September 15, 2016 | News Te Matapihi are pleased to announce the appointment of Patrick Gemmell to the position of General Manager.
September 12, 2016 | News CHA Executive Director , Scott Figenshow, was interviewed by Newshub and commented on how acute the housing situation has become. He says homelessness is now an "acute" problem that needs urgent attention. "We don't ask people to wait 30 weeks for heart surgery, do we? We shouldn't be asking people to wait in the housing system either."
The Government is giving an extra $24.4 million to community housing providers to increase the supply of social housing in Auckland.
“We know the property market is extremely tight in Auckland at present, and it is no different for those organisations helping to house our most vulnerable citizens. This extra funding will allow community housing providers (CHPs) create more medium- to long-term social housing, and faster, where the need is most acute,” Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett says.
Guidance notes from the Community Housing Regulatory Authority are available on their website and cover areas such as: Social Landlord: What sets you apart; separation of services; mandatory documents for annual regulatory reporting; the suspension and revocation process.
Independent economist Shamubeel Eaqub predicts slow change to Auckland's housing affordability in the wake of affordability requirements being dropped from the soon-to-be-introduced Unitary Plan. He disagrees with Building and Housing Minister Nick Smith's assertions that housing affordability will start being affected in the short term because of Unitary Plan changes taking effect from October.
Te Puea Marae's winter programme for the homeless has been hailed a success after it sheltered 181 people in the last three months, including more than 100 children. It has been a beacon for families living in cars, garages and on streets and put the spotlight on homelessness and the emergency housing crisis. But its chairman, Hurimoana Dennis, says it cannot continue, as it relied on the generosity of hundreds of volunteers, some of whom put their lives on hold to help give destitute people a new start.
Rising house prices are putting first home ownership out of reach for many Cantabrians. So how can we affordably provide decent housing for our people? Christchurch Dilemmas (on Radio New Zealand) asks how do first home buyers enter the housing market and looks for innovative housing solutions working both in Christchurch and around the world.
