Hutt families are under increasing pressure and the housing crisis is worse than ever under Labour, says List MP based in Hutt South Chris Bishop.

“New data out today shows that the median rent for houses in Lower Hutt was only $375 in October 2017 when Labour came to office. In December 2021 the median rent is now $575. This is a staggering increase of $200 per week under Labour, meaning Hutt renters are now paying $10,000 extra per year just for housing.

“This comes at a time when we have a cost of living crisis, with inflation at a 30-year high and outstripping wage growth by double.

“Labour came to power promising to fix the housing crisis in the Hutt. The promised 300 KiwiBuild homes have never arrived. Instead, the following has happened:

• The average house in the Hutt is now over a million dollars - $1,035,592
• Median rents up from $375 to $575 per week since October 2017
• An increase from 198 clients on the Social Housing Register in September 2017 to 588 clients in September 2021
• $25.6 million has been spent since December 2017 in Lower Hutt alone on emergency housing

“Many Kiwis are struggling to keep up with the increasing costs at the supermarket and the petrol station, let alone the skyrocketing rents. They are paying the price for ill-advised and naive housing policies of the Labour Government.

“National has sensible solutions to our housing disaster in the Hutt including:

• Reducing the land, building and compliance costs that drive up the cost of new housing
• Increasing long-term rental options with our Build-to-Rent Housing Bill that would unlock investment in purpose-built rental properties
• Boosting social and affordable housing by backing community housing providers
• Ensuring everyday Kiwis can get mortgages, by fixing the Consumer Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act which has cut access to bank lending; and
• Assisting first-home buyers onto the housing ladder with Help-to-Own schemes

“National is determined that New Zealand can once again be a place where hardworking, aspirational, everyday people can see a path to home ownership. Where Labour has failed, National will deliver.”

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