An Auckland builder wanted to fix an Auckland state house in the suburb of Oranga, complaining of graffiti, vandalism and it being empty, without knowing Kāinga Ora would demolish it in a city-wide building upgrade.
The builder complained about the state of the house at Mt Smart Rd, saying it was one of several empty state homes in the area.
“This property has been abandoned for months while we endure a chronic housing shortage for rentals. We have approached Kāinga Ora numerous times, asking if they like to engage private contractors like us to get these properties back to a healthy home standard ASAP,” he said.
He has the capacity and skills but what he didn’t know was that this place has only been vacant three months and will soon be demolished.
A Kāinga Ora spokeswoman told the Herald tenants had only left in October “and this is due to be demolished as part of our Oranga large-scale project”.
“Given it will be removed, it would not be a prudent use of funds to bring it up to the healthy homes standard that would be required to re-tenant it. This is one of a number of properties in Oranga that will be demolished under a single contract to keep costs to a minimum,” she said.
Last month, the Government announced former Prime Minister Bill English would lead a review of Kāinga Ora’s financial situation.
Housing Minister Chris Bishop has been a longstanding critic of Kāinga Ora’s financial management and had promised to review the performance of the agency within 100 days of the new Government taking office.
Bishop said since coming into office, he had received “worrying advice about the financial situation of Kāinga Ora”.
He said the Government would not be releasing that information as it was “commercially sensitive” but said it confirmed “an independent review is the right course of action at this time”.
Patrick Dougherty, Kāinga Ora’s construction and innovation general manager, said 747 state homes were renovated nationally in the last financial year for $251 million.
Another 820 would undergo renovations this year for a further $323m. Renovations are part of a public housing renewal programme piloted in 2019 when 69 homes were renovated.
The programme has grown steadily each year, Dougherty said.
“Some of our homes date back to the early days of public housing. They have been great homes, but they were designed for a different way of living and are starting to show their age,” he said.
New kitchens, bathrooms, insulation and double glazing bring homes - all built around mid-last century - up to modern standards.
Kāinga Ora used nearly 85,000 litres of paint, more than 11,000 new double-glazed windows, about 46,000sq m of new carpet and nearly 200,000sq m of insulation.
Rhys Finlay Contractors was upgrading about one Hutt Valley state home a week, employing 50 staff fulltime, including seven apprentices and more than 100 tradespeople, Dougherty said.
Rhys Finlay of that business said the work was excellent apprentice training.
“We live and work in the Hutt Valley area so many people know us and we’re seeing the impact these renovations are having on neighbourhoods.
Dougherty said the upgrades were on top of regular maintenance work. In the last financial year to June 30, 2023, Kāinga Ora through its maintenance programme had:
“Our homes are cared for by around 11,000 tradies across the country, who complete more than half a million maintenance jobs a year - that’s roughly one every minute, 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Dougherty said.
Kāinga Ora manages more than 72,000 homes for 185,000 residents.
Around 230ha to 270ha of state house land is being sold to private or sharemarket-listed developers to build free-market homes across the city.
From Northcote to Tāmaki, Oranga to Hobsonville Point, Mt Roskill to Māngere and throughout Northcote’s town centre, large blocks of state land are being sold bit-by-bit in a 15- to 20-year plan.
Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 23 years, has won many awards, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.