Embargoed until 7pm 15 NOVEMBER 2016
18 for 4 offers a great solution for Auckland
With Auckland’s population increasing by the equivalent of the populations of Invercargill and Whanganui, community
housing providers are proposing a sensible solution to increase the supply of affordable homes in Auckland.
“It’s great these reputable community housing providers are stepping forward with a solution,” says Scott Figenshow, CEO
of Community Housing Aotearoa, the peak body for community housing groups in New Zealand.
“Aucklanders should put their hands up to welcome 18 for 4 developments into their neighbourhoods to help them achieve
their goal.”
The Auckland Community Housing Providers ‘18 for 4’ campaign was launched today in Auckland and would see four houses in
existing communities transformed into 18 homes for low income Aucklanders and vulnerable tenants currently struggling to
find homes.
This opens up locations across the city – rather than forcing new build projects to stay on the periphery of Auckland’s
outermost suburbs. People can live near their work, near their children’s school, and near their family and community.
“This is a great solution,” says Scott Figenshow. “It works well with several existing initiatives – from Housing New
Zealand, the Crown Land programme, and Council land. This is about local community responses to housing need – so we
fully support the 18 for 4 campaign.”
In their recently released housing plan, Our Place, Community Housing Aotearoa have identified that the country needs at
least 50,000 more people in homes by 2020. Local responses to housing delivery, such as the 18 for 4 campaign, is one of
the ways to make this happen.
“Community housing is about developing community-based solutions to address housing issues and providing affordable,
healthy, quality homes across the range of housing choice from emergency to home ownership,” says Scott Figenshow.
“These community housing providers know what they are doing. They’ve been providing homes for a long while now and have
a proven track record. They are a safe pair of hands, being regulated beyond state or private landlords to be ‘good
landlords’ and are in this business because they care, putting surplus back to work to deliver more affordable housing.”
Support the campaign by going to www.achpn.net.nz/18for4