Housing NZ ramping up build programme   19 Oct 2016

Hon Bill English

Minister Responsible for Housing New Zealand Corporation

Hon Paula Bennett

Minister for Social Housing

19 October 2016

Media Statement

Housing NZ ramping up build programme

Housing New Zealand lodged 60 resource consent applications in the last quarter which, if approved, will build houses for over 3000 people in Auckland, Ministers Bill English and Paula Bennett say.

Housing New Zealand’s Asset Development Group has lodged the consents to build 1297 new houses, which will have the potential to accommodate more than 3200 people in 20 suburbs across the city.

The Minister Responsible for Housing New Zealand, Bill English, says the majority of the $440 million worth of developments are allowed for under the Housing Accords and Special Housing Areas Act legislation.

“As we’ve been signalling for some time, the Government has a comprehensive housing programme that will deliver housing supply at scale to the Auckland market.

“Housing New Zealand (HNZ) is in a sound financial position and is gearing up to deliver large scale redevelopments across the city such as what we’re already seeing in Northcote where about 300 existing houses will be redeveloped into about 1200.

“Alongside the various Housing Accords and Special Housing Areas, the Auckland Unitary Plan provides for around 30,000 new houses on HNZ land.”

Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett says the majority of the newly consented houses will be retained by HNZ.

“Housing New Zealand is investing heavily in its housing stock to get the right houses of the right size in the right place to meet current demand. When we started reforms, about a third of its stock was in the wrong place or was the wrong size. We are turning that around,” Mrs Bennett says.

“We have more properties coming on-stream all the time, big and small developments, and we are ramping this up. We’ll have more Housing New Zealand homes but equally, we’ll be opening up more affordable and market housing.”

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