Christchurch's Housing Crisis

"Christchurch is facing a housing crisis, there are no two ways about it", says City Councillor Glenn Livingstone.

Earlier this week, Cr. Livingstone called for a Housing Summit. The response from the government through Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee was the assertion that the government is "getting housing into the market." Livingstone says that the three plans announced were going to happen anyway and that more housing, especially temporary, is urgently needed.

As Chair of the Council's Social Housing Committee, Livingstone says he knew that EQC had been a blockage to getting repairs carried out to the Council's housing stock, and that EQC's response was always going to be a matter of time. "The provision of temporary housing at Rawhiti Domain, announced again recently, has been in the pipeline since last year. Repairs to Housing New Zealand's stock is what would be expected of the state house provider."

Livingstone says that Christchurch's housing crisis is manifold. "I have been told that before the earthquake, Christchurch had approximately 1500 young people at any given time in unsafe and insecure housing. These numbers appear to have sky-rocketed. Many of our most vulnerable young people, such as those transitioning from CYFS' care, have no safe and secure place to stay."

"We have lost homes in the inner-city east, many of which provided accommodation for elderly men. Thirty families turned up to view one rental in Addington. There are people sleeping in cars. The latest information we have is that rents in Christchurch have gone up 20%."

"This is a serious supply-side problem. Along with existing residents, we have to find accommodation for those coming in for the re-build and we have to accommodate tourists coming to Christchurch".

"I am calling for a Housing Summit: it will be a public meeting, with all stake-holders invited. Specificity will be a key to it working - specific information in terms of what we know about the rental gaps and specific solutions which the various stakeholders can provide."

"In the echo of ANZAC Day, when those who returned from the second war, returned determined to build a better society, in the adequate provision of affordable housing, we need to be able to look them in our mind's eye and say that, following our own crisis, we took action. People sleeping rough in cars, who would not normally do so, is unacceptable in New Zealand in 2012."

ENDS

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