The 10 new affordable rental homes are receiving finishing touches in Wanaka St, Tikipunga.
The 10 new affordable rental homes are receiving finishing touches in Wanaka St, Tikipunga.
With some of the most unaffordable rental properties in New Zealand, Whangārei will be welcoming a new low-cost rental programme offered by housing charity Habitat for Humanity.
Applications have opened for the charity’s affordable rental programme, with 10 new homes on Wanaka St in Tikipunga ready to welcome whānau from February.
The two and three-bedroom homes are on top of the 24 new rent-to-own homes Habitat for Humanity is having built in Tikipunga and Kensington. It had 700 expressions of interest for this programme.
The charity also recently opened a 22-home community housing development in Maunu, which provides homes for whānau living in emergency and transitional housing.
The affordable rentals are a new type of housing solution, offering a middle ground between public housing and market rental or progressive home ownership, said Habitat for Humanity northern chief executive Conrad LaPointe.
Rents are set at a maximum of 80% of market rate, so tenants can save the remaining amount for their future housing goals.
“The affordability allows tenants to consolidate debt, save for the future and, if they aspire to, start accumulating a deposit for a new home,” LaPointe said.
“The tenure security provides tenants with the knowledge that this is a place they can call home.”
Infometrics’ rent-to-income data shows Northland has some of the most unaffordable rent rates in the country, with tenants needing to spend an average of 25.4% of the average income to get the average rent. This is far higher than the national average of 22% and even more expensive than Auckland at 20.1%.
LaPointe said many people in Whangārei can barely afford to live in rental accommodation and, for some, rentals are not meeting their needs.
The 10 new two and three-bedroom homes will be rented at 80% of market rentals, thanks to a partnership between Habitat for Humanity and Soul Capital.
“With a very low rental supply in Whangārei – we see this problem only increasing. Being able to offer affordable rental [properties] is a start to addressing this problem, beyond simply a market supply approach.”
Habitat for Humanity will manage the homes and provide support to help tenants reach future home ownership goals.
The programme is funded by Soul Capital, an “impact-first investment fund manager”, which means it invests in projects with a social, environmental or cultural benefit but also a financial return.
Soul Capital’s fund Te Pae ki te Rangi is focused on projects in Northland and Auckland, and backed by cornerstone investor Foundation North.
Soul Capital chief executive Jamie Newth said there is “a compelling need” to provide healthy and affordable homes in Whangārei, with an increasing population and a notable housing shortage.
Applications for the affordable rental programme can be made on Habitat for Humanity’s website, www.habitat.org.nz.
Denise Piper is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years’ experience in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.
