20 July 2004

Samoan and Tongan housing advice leaflets launched

Samoan and Tongan language versions of the popular tenant guide What to do when you’re renting' were launched by Acting Housing Minister Rick Barker today.

Published by the Ministry of Housing, the new brochures will be distributed through Housing New Zealand Corporation and the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs to the communities and households that need them most.

Rick Barker launched the brochures on a visit to the Ministry’s Porirua-based Tenancy Services Centre. The Centre handles more than 8500 tenancy advice and bond-related calls each week and processes around 1600 bonds each day.

“It’s important to provide Pacific peoples with easy to read and user-friendly brochures in their own language.

“These new brochures are an important part of an overall strategy to help ensure people know about the tenancy services available to them, and their rights and responsibilities under the law.

"The guides are designed to answer the most common questions tenants have about renting, and covers everything from moving in to sorting out any hassles that might come up along the way.

"The new guides will also support the Ministry’s goal of achieving more stable tenancies, by working with the wider rental community and providing tenancy information and advice for both landlords and tenants," Rick Barker said.

ENDS

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