Staggered approach to filling social housing units

Friday, 11 October 2024

The opening of a new housing development for the Wellington region, Te Ō at Rolleston Street. The development is a partnership between Kāinga Ora and the Wellington City Mission.

Of the 80 units built in a new Kāinga Ora social housing development in Wellington just 38 have been filled so far, six months since opening.

Te Ō on Mt Cook’s Rolleston St opened in April, replacing 54 run-down Housing NZ flats with spacious new apartments and onsite wraparound support for residents provided by the Wellington City Mission.

I Kāinga Ora had taken a staggered approach to housing its residents, Kāinga Ora greater Wellington regional director Vicki McLaren said. The process at Te Ō was always expected to take some time.

“In line with international best practice, we are taking a careful and considered approach towards tenanting these homes as it is vital we have the right mix of people with low, medium and high support needs living there,” McLaren said.

Of the 80 units opened at Te Ō on Rolleston St, Mt Cook, so far 38 have been filled since April.

It was important to the wellbeing of the community that the balance was right.

Further placements were being considered and the number of people living at Te Ō would continue to grow over the coming months, she said.

Former Kāinga Ora board member Professor Philippa Howden-Chapman said the development was a “magnificent example of a very well planned development”.

The Arlington site in Mt Cook has the potential to provide up to 300 homes but physical works on the site have been put on hold while Kāinga Ora reviewed the plans.

She could not comment on the process of housing tenants but evaluation post-development showed the community was supportive and the development had added to the community with amenities and upgrades to the area.

Meanwhile, in the Wellington region 2000 people are on the public housing waiting list while 15 development sites, where 470 homes were planned, have been paused.

Vanessa Cole of housing advocacy group Public Housing Futures, said there was an urgent need to house people but there was also a need to build community and connection – “in some cases, that takes time”.

The group had recently put together a map showing all development sites across the motu either paused or being reconsidered.

The group called on the Government to build and buy enough public housing to end the waiting list and for public housing to make up 20% of all homes.

“If we had an abundance of public housing and it was being properly resourced I don’t think there would be this kind of delay in getting people matched with appropriate housing that meets their needs,” Cole said.

“The Government has decided to under resource and shrink Kāinga Ora at a time where we need public housing the most.”