- Hon Chris Bishop
More than 65 new social homes will be delivered in Canterbury by Community Housing Providers (CHPs), Housing Minister Chris Bishop says.
"Our Government backs social housing, and we're determined to deliver it better. That means building the right homes, in the right places, with the right support, for the people most in need," Mr Bishop says.
"Across New Zealand, CHPs and Kāinga Ora have delivered over 6,800 net new social homes since November 2023, with 837 of those places being in Canterbury.
"On top of that, the Government has committed funding for more than 2,000 additional homes to be delivered by CHPs over the next two years. Canterbury is one of the regions benefiting from this pipeline."
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has allocated social homes based on regional need, which has been assessed using a range of factors including the housing register and emergency housing use.
"In Canterbury, the CHP projects are expected to deliver:
- At least 65 new social homes through CHPs including Christchurch Methodist Mission and Ōtautahi Community Housing Trust
- Homes located in suburbs including Lyttelton, Linwood, Merivale and Somerfield
- More than 80 percent of these homes will be one- and two-bedroom units, which will help address the greatest gap in social housing supply in Canterbury
"Half of those waiting for a home nationally need a one-bedroom property, yet only 12 percent of Kāinga Ora's stock meets that need. In Canterbury, 88 per cent of the housing register demand is for one- and two-bedroom places so these new homes will make a real difference," Mr Bishop says.
"Every set of keys handed over is another person or family in a warm, dry social home. We're focused not just on delivering more homes, but on delivering the right homes that match the needs of people and communities.
"The Government's wider reset of the social housing system is already showing results. Recently the Community Housing Funding Agency achieved an A+ credit rating from S&P Global, and just yesterday we announced the introduction of a new loan guarantee scheme, reducing borrowing costs for CHPs and enabling them to deliver more homes.
"We're simplifying the funding system so providers can get on with building homes, instead of navigating a confusing web of overlapping funds. These Canterbury projects are a good example of the progress being made."
Four of the homes have already been delivered by the Christchurch Methodist Mission, and over 60 others will be delivered from early 2026 by Ōtautahi Community Housing Trust working in conjunction with construction partners of their choice.
