Region set to get 90 extra state houses

Te Tuinga Whanau Support Services Trust director Tommy Wilson said 80 per cent of the agency's work was dealing with people who needed emergency housing, but they had no houses to offer.

Tauranga and the Western Bay of Plenty will benefit from up to 90 extra state houses over the next two to three years, with a local family support service vying for the managing role of five.

Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett this week released the Ministry of Social Development's intentions for all the regions throughout the country.

In Tauranga, the ministry intends to buy about 40 more one-bedroom homes, about 20 more two-bedroom homes, maintain the current level of three-bedroom home purchases and buy about 10 more four-bedroom or larger homes.

The ministry also intends to buy 20 more one to two-bedroom homes in the Western Bay of Plenty.

As of March, the Tauranga district had 139 applicants waiting for state homes - 101 on the housing register and 38 on the transfer register - with 1223 occupied social houses.

In a statement, the Ministry said it had taken into account that the Tauranga district was an area of higher projected growth compared to the national average, with a projected household growth rate of 1.8 per cent.

Te Tuinga Whanau Support Services Trust director Tommy Wilson was encouraged by the announcement and said he would travel to Wellington to pitch to the Government that the trust be chosen to manage some of the new properties.

Mr Wilson said 80 per cent of the agency's work was dealing with people who needed emergency housing, but they had no houses to offer.

From his experience, the group most in need of social housing was women with children whose partners had left them with no money and often a bad credit rating.

Mr Wilson said there needed to be a higher percentage of four-bedroom or larger homes in the quota of new homes due to the number of large families his organisation dealt with.

The Ministry's purchasing intentions for Tauranga district are:
•Purchase slightly more one-bedroom places (an estimated 40) - some of these could be two-bedroom places where the cost is similar and supply is more readily available
•Purchase slightly more two-bedroom places (an estimated 20)
•Maintain current levels of purchasing of three-bedroom places
•Purchase slightly more four-bedroom and larger places (an estimated 10).

The Ministry's purchasing intentions for the Western Bay of Plenty district are:
•Purchase slightly more one to two-bedroom places (an estimated 20).