KEY POINTS:
Labour says National's new policy of letting state house tenants buy their own homes was a "flop and a sham" because state house tenants could not afford to buy their own homes.
Labour's Housing Minister, Chris Carter, yesterday said Housing NZ records showed the average net income of the tenants was $15,795 a year - enough only to service a $58,000 30-year mortgage on standard bank terms. The value of the average state house was $276,000 in Auckland, $289,000 in Wellington and $204,000 in Christchurch. "It can quickly be seen that John Key's state house sales programme is illusory."
Mr Carter's comments follow National leader John Key's announcement of allowing state house tenants to buy their homes as part of the party's policies to address home affordability at the National Party Conference on August 5.
Tenants could buy their homes and HNZ would replace it by buying another house for the state.
Yesterday National housing spokesman Phil Heatley said the policy was aimed at about 6000 state house tenants who were already paying market rents because their income was too high to qualify for income-related rent subsidies. He said some HNZ tenants earned $80,000-$90,000 and should have the chance to buy the homes they lived in.
Mr Carter said even market renters would struggle to afford a mortgage, because many were based in small provincial centres where there were very low rents.
"If these are the houses National is targeting for sale the policy is extraordinarily stupid since it would take the proceeds from two or three house sales at least to generate sufficient revenue to buy a new state house in Auckland where housing need is greatest."
However, Mr Heatley said that HNZ's own figures showed more than half of the 5937 tenants paying market rents lived in Auckland (2168), Wellington (1039) or Christchurch (545).
"If even some of them are in a financial position that they could afford to buy the state house they live in with the proceeds injected back into replenishing the housing stock, the HNZ waiting list would benefit."
He said it was a "win-win" idea.
