February 7th 2018
Families struggling to live in cramped temporary accommodation which is the situation in New Zealand,need secure affordable homes.But that seems a long way off,as the new government has just started its rebuilding programme and ended the sell of state housing which was the hall mark of the previous government.Everyone in the previous government just refused to admit that there was a problem and that their polices concerning rental accommodation were working.The fact that the taxpayers had to pay for the purchase of motels and the leasing of motels for the homeless seemed to many, that here was a crisis in the rental housing market.The paying of low wages by employers and the selling of state assets[ state housing] and the accommodation supplement paid to landlords,created the perfect storm to create the homeless problems we face today.
So with a new government we hope to see a large rebuilding project around the areas that need help with their housing problems.Tenants,now make up the biggest sector of the housing market,home owners come second.Generation Rent is the future for most New Zealanders,their biggest assets will be their cars as they will be priced out of the home ownership market.
Homelessness has exploded over the last number of years,the main reason being rent arrears,which highlights the difference between low wages and high rents.New Zealanders like to think that they live in a fair society, but the differences between the poor and those on higher incomes is vast,we really do have a class issue Maori and Pacific Islanders could tell us that.
The new Labour led government will give the serious attention that rental housing deserves.
