$40m for 'social, affordable and niche housing'

A separate unit and fund will be set up to encourage social housing.

Housing Minister Phil Heatley today confirmed $40 million set aside in the budget would be used to increase the amount of social, affordable and niche housing.

A report last year by the Housing Shareholders' Advisory Group said the State housing system was outmoded, and envisioned a future in which the public and private sectors, and iwi, worked together to ensure decent, affordable housing.

Mr Heatley said organisations like the Salvation Army, Vision West, Habitat for Humanity and Te Taiwhenua O Heretaunga, which he called the "third sector" had worked with Government on joint projects to provide housing.

A new semi-autonomous Social Housing Unit (SHU) would be established in July to foster the practice as the advisory group recommended.

The unit would work with providers that were largely self-sustaining and had sources of finance. It would provide funding, land or surplus state housing stock, or a combination of these, to support groups to develop a mature social housing sector.

Initially the new unit would be part of the Department of Building and Housing, but its executive would report directly to ministers.

A Ministerial Advisory Panel consisting of three or four members would oversee the unit's establishment and advise ministers on its progress.

"The emphasis will be on significantly increasing the volume of social housing. However the new fund will cater for a range of providers including niche providers," he said.

"We want Housing New Zealand (HNZ) to now make the provision of housing for those in most need its top priority. Removing the responsibility for third sector funding from HNZ will allow it to focus on creating a fairer system, allowing more tenants in high need to be housed more quickly, in homes that are the right size and in the right location."

Other changes would see state tenancies reviewed to free up stock for the most needy.

However, Labour housing spokeswoman Moana Mackey said the changes to HNZ would see cuts to important programmes such as the Housing Innovation Fund, the Rural Housing Programme, and funding for the acquisition and maintenance of state housing.

"It’s a money-go-round and state housing is set to be the loser," she said.

"Labour supports initiatives to grow the community housing sector. But we have consistently argued that this must be as well as, not instead of, continued government investment in social housing."

Ms Mackey said the announcement raised questions.

"What will be sacrificed to pay for this new fund? How many state houses are up for transfer and what does it mean for the tenants in those homes? And will the Government be passing on the income related rent subsidy, as recommended by the Housing Shareholders Advisory Group, to those third sector groups that pick up the slack for the Government in social housing?"