MEDIA RELEASE

June 20, 2002

Council seeks government interest
on residential housing

The Auckland City Council will ask the Government if it is interested in buying some or all of the council’s residential houses.

The council says this will not affect the its offer to the existing tenants giving them the opportunity to buy their units at a 7.5 per cent discount on market rates.

At today’s combined committees meeting to discuss the council’s budget, the Deputy Mayor David Hay pointed out that under the previous council 108 residential units were sold to Housing New Zealand.

He said that the tenants now living in those units enjoyed lower rents, because they had access to the then government’s accommodation supplement. He says this is how it should be because subsidised housing should be the responsibility of central government, which pays for such subsidies through income tax.

“Ratepayers shouldn’t have to foot this bill – especially after this council has promised to reduce the burden of rates.”

Proceeds from selling the residential units would be better used to repay debt and fund much-needed improvements to the city’s infrastructure – such as upgrading the wastewater and sewerage systems and solving transport problems.

ENDS

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