Govt plans to ditch Housing NZ properties

[PC]

UP to 12,000 state houses could be transferred to community groups and charities under a plan outlined by Housing Minister Nick Smith today.

Smith's ambition is to see Housing NZ scaled back to provide far less a share of what he called "social housing".

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/8662181/Govt-plans-to-ditch-Housing-NZ-properties

Since PI seems so popular - why don't they float HNZ?
The next MRP share offering?
The expression on the Greens faces would be worth it alone.

[eri]

a lot of sense in that

nowadays some groups consider it almost their sacred duty to rip off the state

as it is simply too big for them to fully comprehend their place in it or see the damage they do to it

but their small local community of peers

they are far more likely to toe the line there

[props4u]

a lot of sense in that
nowadays some groups consider it almost their sacred duty to rip off the state
as it is simply too big for them to fully comprehend their place in it or see the damage they do to it
but their small local community of peers
they are far more likely to toe the line there

simple common sense ... how true

Since PI seems so popular - why don't they float HNZ?
The next MRP share offering?
The expression on the Greens faces would be worth it alone.

yep ... that should have gone ... not the MRP!

[Davo36]

I can't see nice friendly community group types looking after these houses and the people in them. They just won't have the expertise and hard nosed business acumen.

If the houses are given to the community groups, I can see them being handed back to the government trashed within 5 years.

[Winston001]

I agree Dave. I'm involved with Habitat For Humanity which builds houses for the "deserving poor" (not that anyone ever uses that term). The families which qualify must demonstrate the ability to budget and take responsibility for their own lives. All they need is a decent chance. We have plenty of winners and a few disappointments as you'd expect.

Habitat builds new houses (or refurbished ones) which the family rent for 5 years and then if they are on track, buy at the build valuation price. The process can take 20 years in some cases but usually far less - refinancing with a bank.

Its a sweat equity type scheme which you may recall HCNZ tried in the early 90s.

[Winston001]

Anyway, one the one hand I can assure you that Habitat (and Salvation Army) have some hard nosed real-world people to balance the soft hearted (I probably fall in the softies camp ).

On the other hand...providing housing is a huge jump in responsibility compared with food parcels, gifts of furniture, and emergency accommodation. Most charities are run by unpaid volunteers with maybe one or two paid staff. From my own experience I really doubt that a local charity no matter how well intentioned could manage housing for the poor. The knowledge and resources simply aren't there.

It could work in Auckland/Wellington/Chch where there is a critical mass - and if government provided the running costs - but that leaves huge gaps across our nation and I have no confidence local organisations will cope.

[cube]

Let's speculate and say that responsibility for social housing is to be privatised (or at least handed over to an SOE with a responsibility to return a profit to its stakeholders).

What skills would that organisation need, and which existing organisation (or invent a new one) would be best to handle it. Maybe from the replies, we can invent a new-look HNZ that could better serve tenants and landlords.

Sourcing housing stock - build, buy or lease from the open market?
Tenant selection - outsource to a national body, or a network of local PMs?
Maintenance - managed at a local level, or centralised to take advantage of buying power. Own tradesmen and women or contract out to others?
Tenant management - I imagine it would need to be local in order to perform the regular inspections, but who?
Rent Levels - market rent and let WINZ pick up the pieces, or subsidised? How to avoid having million $ properties rented out for a few $ a week?

(I have a bet with myself that, once we've decided all the required qualities of said organisation, we'll need a name. And the name shall be Glenn!)

[essence]

Okay the original posting just made me laugh.

What will happen ? -

a) Government withdraws/reduces from current levels of social housing
b) Private LL's step in
c) PLL's won't put up with the s*** that the Government does
d) Professional bad tenants keep getting evicted
e) Bleeding heart Tenant Advocates cry "foul" on mean PLL's (so what's new)
f) Private rentals become MUCH more expensive to rent esp in Auckland

IMO, there isn't enough support for LL's through the RTA at present. Professional LL's struggle to get timely, fair and just adjudications from incompetent Adjudicators, how on earth are the Adjudicators going to cope and be competent when there are a s*** load more cases going to TT.

House prices are going nuts in Auckland and rental prices will follow. If a Tenant can't pay their rent, the LL doesn't need to put up with the nonsense, they'll just kick them out and get decent tenants.

[Perry]

If a Tenant can't pay their rent, the LL doesn't need to put up with the nonsense,
they'll just kick them out and get decent tenants.

I'm sure many LLs hoped it was as easy as that implies.