Tenants with a disability to benefit from Auckland Housing NZ complex

Housing Minister Phil Twyford says the Government will build 6400 new state houses by 2022. Photo / Jason Oxenham

Tenants with disabilities and mobility issues will be able to move into a new 71-unit Housing NZ complex within the next two years, Housing Minister Phil Twyford says.

The two-block apartment complex is scheduled to open on Galway St in Onehunga in mid-2020, Twyford said today at a site unveiling.

"In this building, seven units on the ground floor will cater to tenants with mobility issues, requiring accessible designs including ramps, wider doorways, and other specifications," he said.

"The design also includes a community room and space for on-site staff, meaning the development will be able to cater to a more intensive level of tenant support."

The announcement comes as 10,589 people and families - including 4458 in Auckland - were waiting to be either granted a public home or transferred to a new one as of the end of June.

The Government plans to build 6400 new public houses by 2022 with Housing NZ progressively replacing older, worn out homes "with an incredible variety of buildings" for households of different sizes, Twyford said.

"Building more state housing places relieves pressure on emergency and transitional housing as well as private rental accommodation," he said.

"As more homes like the 71 in Galway St are ready to move into, they will play a big part in improving housing affordability."

The unveiling of the site follows the opening of three new Auckland public housing developments last week.

These included eight new public housing units in Mangere, built at the request of the Lotofale'ia Tongan Methodist Church and five community houses in west Auckland, owned by the VisionWest Community Trust.

The third development in Otahuhu included public houses owned by the Community of Refuge Trust.