A National government will deliver better social housing as part of its plan to end Labour’s housing crisis, National’s Housing spokesperson Chris Bishop and Social Housing spokesperson Tama Potaka say.

“Labour talked big about housing in 2017 but since they came to office, rents are up $175 per week, the social housing waitlist has increased by almost 20,000 families, nearly 500 families live in cars, and the Government has spent $1.4 billion housing people in emergency housing motels,” Mr Bishop says.

“Labour has catastrophically failed in housing, the posterchild being KiwiBuild. 100,000 houses were promised in 2017 and just 1800 have been built. This is failure so monumental it makes Auckland Light Rail look like a success.

“Where Labour has failed, National will deliver. We have already announced our plans to rebalance the private rental market to put downward pressure on rents, through restoring interest deductibility for rental properties, taking the brightline test to two years, and sensible changes to tenancy laws.

“National has also announced our Going for Housing Growth policy, a comprehensive programme of work to unlock land in and at the edge of our cities, build infrastructure for more houses, and incentivise communities that go for housing growth.

“National’s plan to deliver better social housing complements these policies, as well as our plan to improve competition for building materials and reduce the red tape with building houses.”

Mr Potaka says National will increase the number of social housing places funded by government and will work much more closely with Community Housing Providers (CHPs) and other providers.

“CHPs have been marginalised by a Labour government more interested in building the giant bureaucratic monolithic monopoly that is Kāinga Ora. CHPs tend to be more nimble, more agile and provide better services to tenants. They are a vital part of the solution to our housing crisis.

“National will give CHPs access to both government capital and operational funding for new housing places, ending the institutional and political bias towards Kāinga Ora. We will also be much more willing to sign long-term contracts with CHPs, allowing them to access finance for new builds.”

Mr Bishop says National is determined to end the use of emergency housing motels.

National will:

• Establish a Priority One category which will put families who have been in emergency housing for more than 12 weeks at the front of the queue for a social house.
• Tighten eligibility criteria for emergency motels. Families receiving emergency housing grants will be required to use those grants in the area they are currently living, unless there is a good reason not to
• Establish a Social Impact Bond through the Social Investment Fund to partner with providers who can shift families out of emergency housing into secure homes in the short-term – and keep them there in the long-term. Payments will reflect the long-term aim of ending emergency housing and providing better outcomes for vulnerable families. An initial bond of $50 million will be established from unspent funding for Labour’s Emergency Housing “reset’.

“National will also reform Kāinga Ora, directing it to consult and engage more meaningfully with communities and evict anti-social tenants who cause mayhem in our communities.

“We will also commission an independent review into Kāinga Ora’s finances, procurement, development, and asset management practices within 100 days of taking office.

“Delivering better social housing is an important part of the answer to ending New Zealand’s housing crisis. National will back the Community Housing sector and make it an urgent government priority to end the social and economic disaster that is emergency housing.”

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