National will look to improve our social housing stock so that homes are the right size, in the right place and of the right quality for New Zealanders to live in, National's Social Housing spokesperson Simon O'Connor says.
"National believes that good homes build strong families. Right now, there's an unmet need for more social housing so that every New Zealander has somewhere warm and dry to live.
"The current Government is single-mindedly obsessed with its failed KiwiBuild policy, but in its two years in office, the social housing wait list has more than doubled to over 13,000 families.
"The previous Government built more than 3,000 new state houses, and many of the newest state houses today are from projects started by National.
"There are four aspects we want to address within social housing:
- Increasing ownership options;
- Structural reform of Housing New Zealand;
- Encouraging rental responsibility and;
- Addressing homelessness.
"We'll review whether Kāinga Ora (Housing New Zealand) should both build houses and manage tenancies, or these responsibilities should be separated to ensure one isn't neglected in favour of the other. We want your thoughts on how this could be managed.
"We'll also review the state housing portfolio to ensure the housing stock matches the needs of vulnerable New Zealanders, and we'll make sure our social housing programme is well-run so that it's responsive, efficiently managed and families can find the right home.
"National wants to work with Community Housing Providers (CHPs), who know the needs of their communities best. We want to find local solutions to local housing challenges.
"We're keen to work with CHPs to develop shared equity and long-term partnership models, so more Kiwis have pathways to home ownership.
"The previous National Government sought to address homelessness through our 'Housing First' programme, which focussed first on housing the homeless and enabling engagement with further social services. This approach has been proven to work, and the next National Government will expand it.
"We're aspirational for New Zealanders. We want to give Kiwis targeted, tailored support so they have a place to call home, can reach their full potential and live better lives."
