Eight new Kāinga Ora homes have opened in Kerikeri to help meet the demand in the Far North where almost 500 households are on the social housing waiting list.
The new homes, at 3 Clark Rd, were opened in a ceremony with local hapū Ngāti Rēhia,
Eight new Kāinga Ora homes open in Kerikeri to help housing shortage
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One of the eight new Kāinga Ora homes opened recently on Clark Rd, Kerikeri, with 14 homes planned in stage two of the development.
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They are warm, dry and energy efficient, having been built to Homestar 6 standards. Homestar is a holistic tool that awards points across various credits to rate a home’s performance and environmental impact. There are mandatory minimum requirements focused on keeping the home, warm, dry, well-ventilated, and operating efficiently.
The four ground-floor homes have enclosed outdoor patio areas, while the four upstairs homes have enclosed decks.
Stage two, which is already under construction, will have 14 new two and three-bedroom homes, and is due to be finished in the first half of 2025.
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The site will include a shared outdoor space and children’s play area. A bike shed and carparking will be available for residents, with the development a two minute drive or five minute walk from central Kerikeri, and within walking distance of childcare and schools. Clark Rd is also about five minutes walk from Kerikeri Domain.
Leaders from the hapū of Ngāti Rēhia conducted a whakawātea (blessing ceremony) to open the new homes.
Kipa Munro, chairman of Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Rēhia, said housing in Kerikeri is out of reach for many.
“The name Te Tira reflects the vision of the development, in that these homes are climate smart, secure and respectful. To be considered for one of the kāinga at Te Tira, whānau must be on the Ministry of Social Development’s Housing Register, so I encourage anyone who needs housing support to reach out to MSD to discuss whether they are eligible.”
Far North District Mayor/Kahika Moko Tepania, who spoke at the opening, welcomed the new social housing.
“Initial research for our Far North Housing Strategy has shown our region has the worst quality housing in the country and hundreds of families on the Housing Register. Te Tira is a welcome step in the right direction to address this, and I am stoked for the whānau who will move into these homes, which are close to all the amenities of our Kerikeri Town Centre,” Tepania said.
Murray said the new homes are built to high standard and feedback from locals was positive.
“Following the blessing we opened the homes and invited the community to come down and take a look for themselves. Over 100 Kerikeri locals looked through the homes and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Gemscott and their contractors are now hard at work on stage two of the development, which will deliver an additional 14 homes,” he said.
Research for the Far North Housing Strategy found that 15.5% of residents live in overcrowded conditions. The Far North population is projected to peak at 83,200 in 2049, but already 15.5% of the Far North population were living in overcrowded conditions. When it came to Māori, overcrowding in the Far North was at 27.6%.
In March last year there were 480 applicants on the Public Housing Register, compared to 90 in March 2018, and the situation has got worse since.
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The Far North district has a housing affordability index of 6.6, which is defined as severely unaffordable.
Developing the strategy is expected to cost $150,000 over a two-year span, and $75,000 annually has been proposed in the Long Term Plan 2024-27.
Kāinga Ora is spending nearly $150 million on new and revamped state houses in Northland.
