Public Housing Quarterly Report and Public Housing Regional Factsheets for December 2018.

Today the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has released the latest Public Housing Quarterly Report and Public Housing Regional Factsheets for December 2018.

The Report shows information on public housing supply and demand for the quarter ending December 2018, and also provides a glimpse at what was achieved in 2018 as a whole.

It shows that together we are making a huge difference in increasing the number of public and transitional housing places to help address demand that continues to increase.

With your efforts and support, in 2018 we:

• brought on an additional 1,658 public housing places;
• provided an additional 6,324 people with a place to call home;
• increased the number of transitional housing places by 768; and
• housed 345 people through the Housing First programme.

While there is always more work to be done, I want to take a moment to reflect and thank you for the amazing work you’ve done to date.

You can read the December 2018 Housing Quarterly Report and the December 2018 Public Housing Regional Factsheets on the HUD website or the Minister’s announcement on the Beehive website.

I also wanted to remind you that the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) has now resumed public housing tenancy reviews which were paused during 2018.

The reviews are focusing on those who are more likely to be ready for a positive move to other housing, and providing them with the support to achieve this goal.

Most tenants with children in their care, or aged 65 plus, or receiving a Supported Living Payment are exempt from tenancy reviews – unless things like their assets or income change and they may no longer need public housing.

As previously, MSD will let you know if any of your tenants will have a tenancy review. You can also request a tenancy review for a tenant.

During the review, a MSD housing case manager will work carefully with the tenant to fully understand their situation and housing needs, and help them explore other housing options if appropriate.

This can take several months and MSD will offer support for as long as the tenant engages and needs assistance, as they look for another place that meets their needs.

If you have any questions about tenancy reviews restarting, we encourage you to email [email protected].

I can’t thank you enough for your efforts, and all of the work you do in helping tenants find safe and secure housing that meets their needs. Your work is invaluable, particularly as we work to increase the amount of public housing with urgency.