Conference focuses on solutions to the housing crisis

Tuesday, 1 July 2014, 1:38 pm
Press Release: Community Housing Aotearoa

Media release

Community Housing Conference focuses on solutions to the housing crisis

It’s time for housing reforms to kick into gear, and the community housing sector is ready and waiting to deliver, Community Housing Aotearoa says.

Director Scott Figenshow says it is estimated the social and affordable housing sector needs to provide approximately 15,000 safe, warm, quality homes across New Zealand, above the 5000 currently operated by the sector. Achieving this will require a level of investment on the order of $530m per year for each of the next five years.

“To get these homes built, we need all of the puzzle pieces to work together. That means government commitment, it means private and charitable input, and it means it all rolling out in tandem, not in a piecemeal fashion.

“We can’t afford to set any solution aside as all of them are essential to make a proper housing market work,” he says.

Director Scott Figenshow says ‘Solutions with IMPACT’ will be the focus of the Community Housing Aotearoa conference in Nelson this week, starting tomorrow (Wednesday, July 2).

“Community housing is all about creating housing from the perspective of what makes great communities, and works well for the families who live there.

“We’re talking about building communities with a mixture of incomes, and a range of both rental and owner-occupied properties. These would be built through a range of methods including by Community Housing Organisations, private sector developers, landlords and mum and dad owners,” he says.

Scott Figenshow says research has shown that the kind of mixed housing CHA is talking about improves people’s health and community social outcomes.

“We also know we can provide two to three times the value for the taxpayer than the government would when delivering the housing themselves.”

He says we need to use several tools together such as special housing areas where land is cheaper due to increased density.

“Matching new land supply with community housing organisations that also receive philanthropic investment and private capital means that the mixed tenure, mixed income community might need less from the government to build the same house.”

He says in the next few years New Zealand has an opportunity to encourage people in the community to deliver good outcomes for people in their community and do it cost-effectively.

Scott Figenshow says the sector is ready to go to reach the target and the Government needs to be ready to do its part with the scale of investment and stable policies that will allow that to happen.

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The Impact Conference www.cha-impact.co.nz

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Community Housing Aotearoa

Nga Wharerau o Aotearoa

Community Housing Aotearoa is the peak body for New Zealand's community housing sector. Our 110 members build and manage affordable and social housing.

Our Vision is to make sure every New Zealander is well-housed in a warm, safe, dry and affordable home. This is a basic human right.

We work to support the growth and development of community housing providers to enable them to provide affordable and social housing.

We want to demonstrate that community housing is a critical element alongside private and government owned housing. No one can do it alone.

Community Housing Aotearoa aims to:

1. be the voice of the community housing sector
2. build capacity and foster collaboration
3. promote best practice in housing policy
4. champion quality and excellence.

Contact Community Housing Aotearoa

• Website - communityhousing.org.nz/
• Our Place - Learn how we think this can be achieved
• Phone - +64 4 385 8722
• About us - Our 2021 annual report is online here
• Email - support@communityhousing.org.nz
• Link - Members directory
• Physical Address - Level 11, Ranchhod Tower, 39 The Terrace/102-112 Lambton Quay, Wellington