The Christchurch City Council has been providing low-cost accommodation to low-income residents of Christchurch for almost 70 years, being a pioneer of social housing in New Zealand.
Christchurch’s housing need and the development of the Council’s Social Housing Strategy have been influenced by:
- Decreasing housing affordability.
- An ageing population.
- Demand for an increase in the number and type of emergency and supported housing services.
- A limited supply of housing suitable for the needs of people with disabilities.
- A lack of suitable and safe housing options for a range of other groups.
Challenges faced by the Council are:
- A housing portfolio which is of a relatively high density and not necessarily compatible with today’s housing needs or those in the future.
- Managing the increasingly complex housing needs of applicants.
- The compatible placing of tenants of varying backgrounds, ages and levels of health and well-being within the same
complexes. - Co-ordination with other social housing providers and services.
The Social Housing Strategy sets out the direction for both the Council’s provision and support of social housing, and the types of roles it can undertake to deliver this vision. It was developed through research and consultation with key players in the social housing sector. Partnerships and collaboration are central to this Strategy, which emphasises that addressing social housing needs is something that cannot be done by one agency or sector alone.
Maintaining, upgrading and expanding its provision of social housing where needed are all seen as important directions for Council within this Strategy. It is expected that this will need to include some reconfiguring, remodelling and relocating of existing stock. This falls within the context of a housing portfolio that aims to be financially self-funding and sustainable in order to maintain existing levels of provision and to be able to achieve the desired outcomes of the Strategy.
