Media Release

27 April 2012

Removed Glen Innes State Houses Being Recycled

All of the first 24 houses being removed from Glen Innes will be refurbished and re-used, says Graham Bodman, Housing New Zealand programme manager.

The houses are being removed as part of the northern Glen Innes redevelopment project. Seven houses have been removed already, and more will be relocated over the next few months.

“We want to recycle as many of these houses as possible. Most of the first 24 houses being removed have been sold so they can be refurbished to provide low-cost housing in Northland, Auckland and the Waikato," says Mr Bodman.

“One of the houses is going to be used as a kindergarten in Northland, and another is being refurbished so it can replace a state house that burned down."

“Demolishing a house is a last resort and only takes place when the condition or style of the house makes it impossible to relocate."

“Removing houses and selling them is also a lot cheaper than demolishing them. Housing New Zealand has saved around $200,000 by removing and selling the first 24 houses coming out of northern Glen Innes," says Mr Bodman.

“Recent action to stop or delay the removal of houses is only making efforts to recycle the homes more difficult, and increases the chances of them being damaged. Recycling the houses is a win win because other communities will receive much needed low-cost housing, and the end result in Glen Innes will be more homes that are modern, warmer and better to live in.”

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Background Information
Key facts about the houses being removed

• The vacant houses have been attracting crime and anti-social behaviour, so we are removing them to make the area safer for the families living there.

• The houses are being removed and not re-let because they would require significant and costly work to bring them up to a re-lettable standard. It makes sense to remove them now, rather than leave them vacant.

• Housing New Zealand has around 1500 houses in Glen Innes, so the removal of these houses will not affect our ability to house people in need from the waiting list.

• The houses are vacant because families have chosen to move out of them early. No one has been evicted from the houses.

• All of the tenants who have chosen to move out of the houses have been re-housed in other state rental properties, in a location of their choice. If families have asked to be re-housed in Glen Innes then that has occurred.

Project overview
The northern Glen Innes redevelopment project proposes the redevelopment of 156 properties to create at least 260 new homes, including:

• 78 that Housing New Zealand will own

• at least 39 other affordable homes (possibly owned or managed through other social or community housing providers)

• the remainder for private sale.

The redevelopment is planned to increase the number of houses in Glen Innes, including options to rent from community based organisations, home ownership opportunities, and private sector rentals. It will provide better quality state rental housing that meets the needs of the families we house The project also involves modernising another 40 state houses in northern Glen Innes.

ENDS

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