A social housing provider is demanding the government provide full wrap-around support to everyone living in emergency accommodation. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today indicated on Morning Report a commitment to ramping up support for those living in motels. Demand for emergency accommodation has exploded in recent years with the government now spending nearly a million Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Housing Crisis’
NZ’s admired COVID response helps fuel housing crisis
Monday, April 19th, 2021
Welfare agencies are concerned about the worsening housing crisis, soaring homelessness and inequality. New Zealand’s pandemic-inspired policies have translated into cheaper mortgages, allowing affluent “kiwis” to upsize their homes and build up portfolios of rental investment properties, fuelling a further surge in house prices. “Inequality was always growing, but COVID-19 is the proverbial straw that Read more
Iconic Wellington monastery to help solve housing crisis
Monday, April 12th, 2021
Although Wellington icon St Gerard’s church and monastery has been declared earthquake-prone and will close next month, it is unlikely to be pulled down. While St Gerard’s future is ultimately up to the owners, the church – built in 1908 for the Redemptorists – could be deconsecrated so it could be used for events like Read more
Housing crisis: More than 4,000 NZ children living in motels
Monday, February 22nd, 2021The housing crisis is seeing more than 4000 children growing up in motels across New Zealand, devastating parents who are desperate to find a permanent place for their kids to live. Skyrocketing house prices are prompting many landlords to sell, forcing up rents which are becoming unaffordable for many families. Figures released to Checkpoint show Read more
Covid economic success story not quite as shiny as it seems
Thursday, February 11th, 2021
The Government’s Covid economic success story might not be a sparkly for some as it seems for others. Data released by the Government shows Māori and Pasifika have been the big losers since the Covid pandemic struck. Both the Prime Minister Jacinda Adern and Finance Minister Grant Robertson are hinting Māori and Pasifika may be Read more
Why is it near impossible to produce affordable housing?
Thursday, September 24th, 2020
It is one of the biggest problems our country faces — we cannot produce the affordable housing that’s so desperately needed. But we can produce an overabundance of expensive homes. So why the massive disconnect between demand and supply? Without political ownership and a major overhaul of the current regulatory processes, affordable housing will never Read more
Auckland landlord waits two months for tenant whose son has rare health condition
Thursday, September 24th, 2020This week’s Good Sort is Auckland landlord Jackie Trevdeich. She put aside her rental property for a prospective tenant who was desperate for a home, giving her first option on the place. Having lived in emergency housing for two years, Shelly Clarke needed a rental property in Auckland to be close to the medical community Read more
Salvation Army highlighting Christmas housing crisis
Monday, November 25th, 2019
The Salvation launched its Christmas appeal, Monday, with a prediction that the need for transitional housing will increase by 35 per cent. The Salvation Army says comparing Christmas 2018 with Christmas 2019, it expects an extra 600 people to be in its housing this Christmas. 1187 people were in its centres on Christmas Eve in Read more
Capital Gains Tax could dent house prices and push up rents
Monday, February 25th, 2019Rents could rise and house prices fall if the government goes ahead with a capital gains tax, says the Tax Working Group. The group, which Thursday released its recommendation for a CGT to be applied on assets such as land, shares, investment properties, business assets and intellectual property. Any gains on the sale of these Read more
Using church buildings to address housing crisis
Thursday, July 19th, 2018
Helen McIlvaine gets excited when she sees a church. Driving around her hometown of Alexandria, Va., on a bright and sunny morning last week, McIlvaine slowed the car at white spire after white spire. She turned her head, cocked an eyebrow and scrutinized each red-brick square on its grassy plot. “I sort of go past Read more