18 for 4 offers a great solution for Auckland

Wednesday, 16 November 2016, 9:16 am
Press Release: Community Housing Aotearoa

Embargoed until 7pm 15 NOVEMBER 2016

18 for 4 offers a great solution for Auckland

With Auckland’s population increasing by the equivalent of the populations of Invercargill and Whanganui, community housing providers are proposing a sensible solution to increase the supply of affordable homes in Auckland.

“It’s great these reputable community housing providers are stepping forward with a solution,” says Scott Figenshow, CEO of Community Housing Aotearoa, the peak body for community housing groups in New Zealand.

“Aucklanders should put their hands up to welcome 18 for 4 developments into their neighbourhoods to help them achieve their goal.”

The Auckland Community Housing Providers ‘18 for 4’ campaign was launched today in Auckland and would see four houses in existing communities transformed into 18 homes for low income Aucklanders and vulnerable tenants currently struggling to find homes.

This opens up locations across the city – rather than forcing new build projects to stay on the periphery of Auckland’s outermost suburbs. People can live near their work, near their children’s school, and near their family and community.

“This is a great solution,” says Scott Figenshow. “It works well with several existing initiatives – from Housing New Zealand, the Crown Land programme, and Council land. This is about local community responses to housing need – so we fully support the 18 for 4 campaign.”

In their recently released housing plan, Our Place, Community Housing Aotearoa have identified that the country needs at least 50,000 more people in homes by 2020. Local responses to housing delivery, such as the 18 for 4 campaign, is one of the ways to make this happen.

“Community housing is about developing community-based solutions to address housing issues and providing affordable, healthy, quality homes across the range of housing choice from emergency to home ownership,” says Scott Figenshow.

“These community housing providers know what they are doing. They’ve been providing homes for a long while now and have a proven track record. They are a safe pair of hands, being regulated beyond state or private landlords to be ‘good landlords’ and are in this business because they care, putting surplus back to work to deliver more affordable housing.”

Support the campaign by going to www.achpn.net.nz/18for4

© Scoop Media

Community Housing Aotearoa

Nga Wharerau o Aotearoa

Community Housing Aotearoa is the peak body for New Zealand's community housing sector. Our 110 members build and manage affordable and social housing.

Our Vision is to make sure every New Zealander is well-housed in a warm, safe, dry and affordable home. This is a basic human right.

We work to support the growth and development of community housing providers to enable them to provide affordable and social housing.

We want to demonstrate that community housing is a critical element alongside private and government owned housing. No one can do it alone.

Community Housing Aotearoa aims to:

1. be the voice of the community housing sector
2. build capacity and foster collaboration
3. promote best practice in housing policy
4. champion quality and excellence.

Contact Community Housing Aotearoa

• Website - communityhousing.org.nz/
• Our Place - Learn how we think this can be achieved
• Phone - +64 4 385 8722
• About us - Our 2021 annual report is online here
• Email - support@communityhousing.org.nz
• Link - Members directory
• Physical Address - Level 11, Ranchhod Tower, 39 The Terrace/102-112 Lambton Quay, Wellington