Housing New Zealand properties pulled from market due to growing demand in Marlborough

Tuesday, 2 May 2017

Housing New Zealand properties in Dix Crescent, Blenheim. (File photo)

Motels are filling up, the number of people applying for social houses is rising, and even Wikipedia has a line describing the chronic shortage of affordable housing in Blenheim.

But the number of social houses has been declining. In 2012, Housing New Zealand had 434 properties in Marlborough, but as of March this year there were 405 with six pending sale.

However, Housing New Zealand national portfolio manager Monique Fowler said because of changes in demand, the properties were being returned to the social housing portfolio.

'Those properties are either now tenanted by families, have been matched to social housing applicants or will soon be matched to social housing applicants,' she said.

* Marlborough's social housing is high maintenance

* Marlborough motels doubling as emergency housing not fixing accommodation woes, candidate claims

* Rent hike ripple effect: Marlborough families struggle for places to live**

Ministry of Social Development figures showed there were 63 applicants on the housing register for social housing in the March quarter.

Of these, 45 were classified Priority A, meaning they had a severe and persistent housing need that needed to be addressed immediately, and another 18 were classified Priority B.

This was a large increase since the September quarter of 2015 when only 13 applicants were on the register. Since then the number of applicants on the waitlist had increased each quarter.

For Marlborough news straight to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter Marlborough Express Daily.

Ministry deputy chief executive for housing Scott Gallacher said the ministry's 2016 Purchasing Strategy signalled they were looking to fund an additional 50 social housing places in Blenheim.

The ministry would not be purchasing properties, that was the domain of Housing New Zealand and community housing providers, but it would subsidise tenancies through contracts with providers and the income-related rent subsidy.