The Shelley Pillans Village is one of seven soon to be owned by Kāinga Ora. Photo / Supplied
Kāinga Ora's $17.2 million purchase of seven elder housing villages in Tauranga has been applauded by two social housing sector leaders.
But one village resident just wants to know if her rent will go up.
The Government state housing provider and Tauranga City Council announced the sale of the villages in a joint statement yesterday.
It came four years after the council decided to get out of the business of owning and running elder housing villages. It later elected to sell seven villages to a public housing provider and two in Mount Maunganui to private developers.
The seven sold to Kāinga Ora have 197 one-bedroom units in total across Tauranga Central, Greerton and Mount Maunganui.
Kāinga Ora has agreed to spend another $32.4m over 25 years on upgrading homes and redeveloping villages to add more public housing stock.
Regional director Bay of Plenty Darren Toy said redevelopments would happen "further down the track".
"While we don't have current redevelopment plans, we'll be looking to explore these opportunities in the next two to three years, to support the strong demand for public housing in our fast-growing city."
Council commission chairwoman Anne Tolley said Kāinga Ora was better placed than the council to do this work.
She said the current tenants would be protected with "affordable rents and security of tenure".
"The wellbeing of existing tenants is a top priority for both parties, and the agreements have been carefully written to ensure that they will always have a place to call home and be supported through any redevelopment from an early stage," Tolley said.
Maria McQuinlan, 73, said she had been a tenant at the Pooles Rd Village in Greerton for two-and-half years and in that time her rent had increased from $125 a fortnight to just over $300.
Her "biggest fear" was her rent being put up again.
"I'm quite stressed about it."
She felt the village should have been upgraded or redeveloped "years ago" and she would have preferred the portfolio to stay in Tauranga City Council's ownership.
She said she knew little about the Kāinga Ora deal but had been told of a residents' meeting next week.
According to the council's website, rent on a single unit is from $144 to $167 per week. It also lists a double unit price of $174 to $193.
Council general manager of strategy and growth Christine Jones told the Bay of Plenty Times the council would reinvest proceeds from the sale of the villages into city "housing outcomes... including social, public, elder and affordable housing".
Asked whether rents would rise when Kāinga Ora took over, she said: "Tenants will continue to pay the rent they currently do over the next six-month transition period.
"During this time the council and government agencies will work with tenants around financial support and rental assistance to ensure they continue to have an affordable place to live."
She said sales documents were signed on April 14 and the financial settlement will happen in about six months.
Asked about the market valuations of the villages, she said the sale and purchase price was based on "Kāinga Ora financial modelling, not market valuations, and was independently reviewed by KPMG on [the] council's behalf as part of the negotiation process".
The price also reflected the cost of providing public housing and Kāinga Ora commitment to upgrades and redevelopments. The council's website had recent valuations for all properties, she said.
Vicki McLaren, Tauranga general manager of Accessible Properties, which bought most of Tauranga's public housing from the previous National Government, said the sale was ultimately a good thing for the city.
"I think in terms of growing supply and investment by Kāinga Ora in the city, it's great,' she said.
"We definitely need as much new supply as possible."
McLaren said having the city heading in the right direction and getting good, quality homes built were the most important things.
Te Tuinga Whānau chief executive Tommy Wilson said he had met with Toy who he believed was "working where the needs are the most and joining together the people who can most address those needs".
Wilson said the sale could open up opportunities for organisers such as his to offer wrap-around services for the care of future tenants.
"We are getting more and more elder people coming to us for help," he said.
The two villages retained for private sale are Pitau Rd and Hinau St in Mount Maunganui, which in March 2021 were valued at $18-23 million.
Last year Kāinga Ora bought the 95.3-hectare Ferncliffe Farm site in Tauriko West for $70.4m for housing.
It has also been involved in council plans to potentially develop key reserves into housing such as Parau Farms near Bethlehem and the 85ha reserve in Greerton that hosts Tauranga Racecourse and Tauranga Golf Club.
The villages to be sold are:
Brookfield Village, Otūmoetai
Girven Village, Mount Maunganui
Monowai Village, Mount Maunganui
Maitland Village, Greerton
Pooles Village, Greerton
Shelley Pillans Village, Tauranga Central
Vale Street Village, Tauranga Central.
Source: Tauranga City Council
- Additional reporting Samantha Motion