Hon Paula Bennett
Minister for Social Housing
12 October 2016
Media Statement

Local kaumātua and HNZ staff at the blessing of the site of a 51-home development at Luke St, Otahuhu, on 10 October 2016. Construction is due to begin next month on the development which will provide transitional housing for vulnerable families.

Partners sought to manage emergency housing

The Government is seeking partners to manage emergency housing and provide support services for tenants in the next step in its plan to increase the number of emergency places throughout New Zealand.

After the success of securing more than 3000 emergency places across the country, the Government is asking community organisations with expertise to help both increase supply and manage new government-owned facilities, Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett says.

“For the first time, emergency providers are getting government funding. Now that they have security of funding for existing and new places, we want to further increase that number,” Mrs Bennett says.

“We are utilising some vacant crown-owned homes for emergency housing and also purchasing or building in places where there are no vacant houses.

“Community organisations such as those with specialist knowledge in working with Maori and Pasifika people would be ideal for partnering with us in running these facilities and applying their unique expertise to providing wraparound services to help vulnerable people into and sustain permanent housing.

“The Government has also been working on other emergency housing solutions and we now need to look at the management and support for tenants needed to run these facilities. We have already purchased one motel in Takanini and are looking to purchase others; our new modular housing on crown-owned land is on track and, as I have previously said, we think these would be better run by community organisations than by government agencies.

“Whilst we have a clear focus on providing more permanent social housing, and more than 1000 new social houses are expected each year, we also need to continue to ensure that there is emergency housing for those who need it,” Mrs Bennett says.

“Great progress is being made on our comprehensive housing plan and we expect to make further announcements in emergency and social housing in coming months.”

An Invitation to Partner has been released by the Government via the Government Electronic Tender System (GETS). More information can be found here: https://www.gets.govt.nz/MSD/ExternalTenderDetails.htm?id=18011607

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