Local Focus: The social housing transforming lives in Hastings

When the brand new social house came to Fred Fuji, he couldn't believe it.

"I told Kāinga Ora to ring me back. I was wondering, is this true or not?"

The move into a new social house has been life-changing.

He has spent five years living in a one-bedroom home with seven other family members.

"We could never sit down and have dinner together. We could never do it as we do now. We had to keep the kids inside because the place was insecure for children."

Fuji told Local Focus his old home was not even as big as his new living room.

Today, Fuji enjoys even the most mundane household chores in his new home. And the best part is that he finally has his own space, a separate bedroom for himself.

There are 40 new Kāinga Ora homes on the Kauri Place site in Mahora, Hastings, which are fully tenanted.

Among them, Fuji's neighbour Marie Tuu shares a new home with her husband and five children.

Tuu and her family moved to New Zealand from Samoa in 2016.

They rented a house in Flaxmere until the landlord sold the house. They had nowhere to go and ended up in emergency housing.

The family of seven spent nearly three years living at Camberley Court Motel. Their youngest child, 3-year-old Sola, has grown up as part of the "motel generation".

Now, Sola is enjoying his newfound freedom, as these brand-new homes transform families' lives.

The Kauri Place public housing development took 20 months to complete, a significant achievement under Covid delays and supply chain pressure.

Since July 2021, Kāinga Ora has delivered 174 homes in Hawke's Bay and 138 in Hastings.

The increasing pace of housing development in the region seems to have a positive impact.

Data from the Ministry of Social Development shows the Housing Register in Hastings applicants dropped from 804 at the end of March 2022 to 762 at the end of June 2022.

In Napier, it decreased from 801 to 774 applicants in the same 3 months.

Kāinga Ora community engagement and partnerships manager Dale says they are trying to deliver new housing at pace.

"We're working with our build partners and local communities to increase housing stock and get more people into homes."

There are 1200 Kāinga Ora homes in Hastings, accommodating nearly 4000 people.

And 253 social homes are under construction across Hawke's Bay, including homes Kāinga Ora is building and homes it will purchase from developers.

"There are always challenges regarding the availability of land and accessing opportunities. Working with our local partners, we can support the creation of new homes to address the housing crisis."

Despite recent challenges in the construction industry, Kāinga Ora is investigating the feasibility of building additional 125 homes in Hastings.

The aim is to get more people out of motels and into real homes.