Private landlords want state houses

Housing New Zealand property in Western Springs, Auckland. Photo / Doug Sherring

Private landlords are asking the government to sell them unwanted state houses which have been on the shelf for a year without sale.

The Auckland Property Investors Association (APIA) is preparing to lobby the government for the right to buy and rent the homes after Bill English admitted attempts to sell off the state houses to community providers had failed.

Private landlords have been excluded from sale attempts on state houses as they are not registered community housing providers.

In July 2015, the Herald reported that Gold Coast company Horizon Housing had visited New Zealand with interest in purchasing at least 400 state houses.

At the time Labour's housing spokesperson Phil Tywford described English's admission as "the latest lurch in the Government's stumbling, half-baked housing policy".

"Bill English should face reality and admit his state house sell off policy has collapsed. The Salvation Army didn't want a bar of it. Iwi leaders said they'd only take them if they got them for free.

"Now Bill English is so desperate to keep his failed policy afloat that he'll even flick the houses off to the Aussies," he said.

APIA vice-president Peter Lewis said the government was trying to divest itself of the state housing portfolio "while maintaining the integrity of its social housing programmes."

"The question that would be interesting to raise would be whether we have come to the point, considering the proposition has not attracted any viable interest in over a year, for private landlords/investors who have an interest in social housing to be considered as viable buyers," said Lewis.

Many private landlords are already associated with social housing providers, said Lewis.

"APIA members are not entirely closed off to playing a part in social housing provision and in fact, some members are already providers through community agencies," he said.

"Additionally we are collaborating with community housing providers to connect and get buy-in from our members. Obviously for private investors to purchase state houses there has to be certain caveats to ensure that the rights of social housing consumers are not being derailed."

Private landlords want to play a part in helping their community, Lewis said.