Property Institute urges rethink on Social Housing Policy

Earlier this year the Prime Minister spelled out plans to sell up to 8000 state houses to approved community housing providers or iwi by 2017 in order to:

· increase the number of social houses provided by either Housing New Zealand or other providers

· ensure that those houses better meet the needs of tenants

· deliver Government assistance in a way that stimulates housing supply

· help more New Zealanders into housing independence when they are capable of making that transition.

But the Salvation Army will not be taking part in the program citing a lack of “expertise, infrastructure and resources to successfully manage any social housing transfer of size”.

Mr Church says that the policy has ‘tremendous merit’ but that the Salvation Army rejection should not come as a surprise – warning that the program is destined to fail if the Government presses ahead and tries to implement the policy it in its current form.

Read the full press release from New Zealand Property Institute here.