Business case for social housing entity underway
Published on 26 September 2024
Whanganui District Council is developing a business case for a social housing entity to help grow housing stock in Whanganui – with the aim of providing 1,000 new dwellings over the next 10 years.
Community wellbeing manager Lauren Tamehana says Whanganui has significant challenges in all areas relating to housing. She says, “These include high rents, few rental properties available, household incomes below the national average and rising house prices.
“As of June this year, there were 276 people registered with MSD for social housing.”
Capital works manager Rosemary Fletcher says the council’s housing stock for older persons is ageing and insufficient to keep up with the district’s growth.
She says in 2022, a feasibility report conducted by Turley and Co indicated the need for the council-owned portfolio of housing for older persons to grow from 275 units to between 460-470 units by 2050.
“We’re predicting our population will grow by 4,281 over the next 10 years, which means we’ll need at least 2,000 new dwellings in Whanganui by 2034. Our ageing population is expected to grow by 1.8 percent per year.”
Rosemary Fletcher says, “The council is approving around 90 consents per year at the moment for new dwellings. Even if we round that up to 100, as a district we’re still going to be short of around 1,000 homes.
“The mission for a new housing entity would be to contribute to closing this gap. To deliver on this we anticipate an investment of approximately $300 million would be required.”
Lauren Tamehana says, “The council does not have the capacity for this scale of investment, but a standalone entity would allow for a dedicated board with the right capability as well as partnership opportunities. It would be able to register and become a Community Housing Provider if needed – and have access to income related rent subsidies for some tenants, operational funding from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and potential private equity funding.”
She says the business case is being developed in alignment with principles in the council’s housing strategy. “To support good housing for a wide range of households; work in partnership where appropriate, demonstrate local leadership and influence; and future proof the needs of our people and district.”
She says, “Options for the structure of a housing entity will be investigated as part of the next steps and will include a legal structure and partnership opportunities along with private sector developer opportunities or social enterprises.”
Whanganui District Council’s business case is expected to be completed in December 2024. Following the completion of the business case, options will be presented to the council for consideration and endorsement.