|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
More than 210 new social homes will be delivered across the Waikato by Community Housing Providers (CHPs), the Government has confirmed.
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka made the announcement yesterday, October 23.
Bishop says the investment forms part of a wider programme to build “the right homes, in the right places, with the right support, for the people most in need.”
Across New Zealand, CHPs and Kāinga Ora have delivered over 6,800 net new social homes since November 2023, including 879 in Waikato.
Another 2,000 homes are planned nationally over the next two years, with Waikato among the key regions to benefit.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development allocated the homes based on regional need, using factors such as the housing register and emergency-housing demand.
In the Waikato, the new homes will be built by Te Rūnanga o Kirikiriroa, The Salvation Army, Emerge Aotearoa and other providers in locations including Hamilton City, Te Awamutu and Waharoa.
More than 90 percent of the homes will be one or two-bedroom properties, addressing the region’s biggest gap in supply.
“Half of those waiting for a home nationally need a one-bedroom property, yet only 12 percent of Kāinga Ora stock meets that need,” Bishop said.
“In Waikato, 80 percent of the housing-register demand is for one- and two-bedroom places, so these new homes will make a real difference.”
Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka said the programme reflects the need for “tailored housing options rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.”
Fourteen homes have already been completed by Te Rūnanga o Kirikiriroa in Huntington, with around 190 more approved for delivery by 2027 through Habitat for Humanity, The Salvation Army, and Emerge Aotearoa.
Bishop said the Government’s broader social-housing reset aims to simplify funding and support CHPs to build more homes.
Recent reforms include a new loan-guarantee scheme and an A+ credit rating for the Community Housing Funding Agency, which he said will reduce borrowing costs and speed up delivery.
