Rent increase confirmed for Taranaki town’s pensioner units

The 10 one-bedroom units on Page Street in Stratford are owned by Stratford District Council. Photo / Ilona Hanne

The 10 residents of Stratford’s pensioner housing units will face a $19 increase in their weekly rent, Stratford District Councillors have decided.

The decision, to be confirmed at the April 9 council meeting which takes place in Whangamōmona, was made by elected members at a policy and services meeting on March 26.

In February, councillors had decided against approving an updated ‘housing for older persons’ policy which contained a slightly higher rent increase, instead asking for further information on the costs to be brought to a workshop for them to discuss further.

That workshop took place in March, and the policy was brought back to the March policy and services meeting for a decision to be made.

Councillor Vaughan Jones spoke in favour of changing the policy from the original proposed rent to be set at 80 per cent of current market rate to 75 per cent.

Jones said that “75 per cent still meets the return we need but also allows for the social aspect of this housing”.

Councillor Grant Boyde seconded the motion.

Deputy Mayor Min McKay said she didn’t agree as she felt costs would continue to climb.

“I would like it to go to 80 per cent. Our costs will continue to go up ... I would like to give the fund some time to replenish.”

Jones agreed costs would continue to go up. “But the market rate will also go up so that increase will be reflected,” he said, pointing out the policy was linked to market rate.

The decision was put to the vote and was carried with eight in favour. McKay, councillor Mat Watt and councillor Amanda Harris voted against. Councillor Clive Tongaawhikau was absent from the meeting.

It had already been agreed that the increase would be incrementally applied for current tenants of the units, meaning they would move from their current rate of 40 per cent of the market rate to the final rate of 75 per cent over a series of years.

Originally it was proposed that increase would roll out over four years, but at Tuesday’s meeting councillor Annette Dudley asked for it to change to five years, a suggestion supported by the majority of councillors at the table.

While current tenants will see the increase rolled out incrementally, any new tenants will immediately move to paying the full amount of 80 per cent of current market rental, something Mayor Neil Volzke said would give elected members some insight in the future.

“If a vacancy occurs, we will see if there is still demand. It will be interesting to see how far down the list of applicants we will go before we find someone who wants to take an offer up.”

The policy, which is set to be formally adopted at the next council meeting, means the current tenants will go from their current weekly rent of $145 to a new weekly rent of $164 later this year. Next year, that rent would increase again to $191, with incremental increases continuing until the rent reaches 75 per cent of market value.

Disclaimer: Editor Ilona Hanne is married to the chief executive of Stratford District Council

Ilona Hanne is a Taranaki-based journalist who covers breaking and community news from across the region. She has worked for NZME since 2011.