Strong results achieved for Housing New Zealand customers

Strong results achieved for Housing New Zealand customers

October 19, 2015

Housing New Zealand achieved strong performance results for its customers during a period of significant change within the organisation and the social housing sector in general, Board Chairwoman Adrienne Young-Cooper said today.

Commenting on the release of the 2014-15 Annual Report, Ms Young-Cooper and chief Executive Glen Sowry said they were both extremely proud of the achievements of Housing New Zealand over the past financial year.

During the 2014-15 year, Housing New Zealand spent $222 million maintaining its houses and spent a further $176 million on capital upgrades and improvements on its properties across the country.

This combined investment of nearly $400 million in one financial year is the biggest ever and $60 million more than the 2013/14 period.
Mr Sowry says Housing New Zealand also undertook a programme of work nationwide to ensure its homes were warm and dry with any work identified prioritised.

It also used various channels to educate tenants about how to heat, ventilate and maintain their homes efficiently as we know this plays a big part in keeping homes healthy.

Ms Young-Cooper said Housing New Zealand’s strong overall results occurred in a period when the Government had furthered its Social Housing Reform Programme by starting the process of transferring 2800 properties in the Auckland suburb of Tamaki to the Tamaki Redevelopment Company which will take effect from April 1, 2016 and the first phase of the proposed transfer of Housing New Zealand properties in Tauranga and Invercargill.

Meanwhile, improvements across many sectors of the business was particularly pleasing, Mr Sowry says.

These included:

•Reducing the turnaround time between tenancies by more than two working weeks
•Housing more than 7100 new tenants
•Spending an all-time high of nearly $400 million maintaining and improving its properties
•Being ahead of target to repair 5000 earthquake damaged homes in Canterbury by the end of 2015
•Reducing the number of tenants with rental debt by 25%
•Helping thousands of New Zealanders into home ownership through its management of the Government’s Kiwi Saver HomeStart programme home ownership programmes.

Housing New Zealand was, Ms Young-Cooper said, at the forefront of the Government’s response to the Canterbury earthquakes with an estimated 1000 tradespeople on the ground working on the repairs and new builds programmes.

As at September 30, 2015, 4819 earthquake damaged properties had been repaired and the organisation was well on the way to its target of 5000 repairs by the end of 2015.

Housing New Zealand also built 281 new homes in the region and hundreds more will either be completed or near completion by the end of 2015.

“Our commitment to Canterbury is ongoing. We are creating a modern, high-quality and sustainable social housing portfolio in the region that meets the needs of our customers and we will leave future generations with a legacy we can all be proud of,’’ Ms Young-Cooper said.

Meanwhile, Mr Sowry says Housing New Zealand had helped improve the quality for thousands of its tenants.

“Our results show real progress. Not only did we house more than 7100 new tenants, we managed to help more of our tenants reduce their rental debt which is a great outcome for all involved and helps them sustain their tenancy.’’

A key performance measure for any landlord is the amount of debt as a percentage of monthly rental income. In the 2014/15 year, Housing New Zealand reduced this to an all-time low of 2.7 percent against a target of 6 percent; an effort Mr Sowry says is an outstanding achievement.

Customer satisfaction also continued its upward trend this year, with the proportion of customers satisfied with maintenance and their interactions with the Customer Services Centre (CSC) both up on the previous year’s figures.

Our high levels of customer satisfaction with the CSC rose from 85 percent in the 2013/14 year to 87 percent in the 2014/15 year while 74 percent of all calls were answered within four minutes – ahead of our target of 70 percent.

Housing New Zealand was also more responsive when carrying out urgent repairs on its properties and as a result reduced the average response time. These are repairs that have an immediate effect on the health and safety of tenants.

The time a property remains vacant between tenancies also reduced to 34 days, compared to a 50-day turnaround in the previous financial year.

This was a significant improvement and a critical measurement for Housing New Zealand as it means it can house people in need more quickly.

According to Mr Sowry, the focus on getting the basics right ensures that Housing New Zealand is well placed for the future where it will continue to be the leading provider of social housing to those in greatest need.

ENDS

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