The Kaikōura Housing Recovery Temporary Accommodation Village was opened by Associate Minister of Housing and Urban Development Jenny Salesa today, giving residents undertaking earthquake repair or rebuild work much needed access to temporary accommodation.

“The seven-unit village will be a temporary ‘home away from home’ for households affected by the November 2016 Kaikōura earthquake, while their house is repaired or rebuilt,” Jenny Salesa said.

“This is an important step for Kaikōura’s recovery, allowing people to stay connected with their community during their rebuild, where they might otherwise have had to move away from the area to find suitable accommodation.

“MBIE’s Temporary Accommodation Service (TAS) received over 440 registrations for temporary accommodation following the November 2016 earthquake - over half these are from the Kaikōura area.

“51 households have already applied to stay at the village and TAS is working through applications to confirm tenancies, however this shouldn’t stop others from applying,” Jenny Salesa said.

Kaikōura District Mayor Winston Gray says the region has had a severe shortage of undamaged housing stock since the Earthquake.

“We are excited to see this temporary village becoming operational. It will prove extremely helpful in assisting residents in our community to progress their personal housing rebuild and get back to normality,” he said.

The village on Beach Road is made up of seven self-contained, two bedroom portable units, each with a deck, a small fenced yard and sealed driveways. TAS provided the portable units and funded the infrastructure works, and Kaikōura District Council provided the Beach Road land, and waived consenting fees.

To register online to stay at the Kaikōura Housing Recovery Village, go to www.temporaryaccommodation.mbie.govt.nz or phone 0508 754 163.

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