Housing New Zealand Corporation is a Crown agency that provides housing services for people in need. It is also the New Zealand Government's principal advisor on housing. Mission:
Housing New Zealand provides access to decent homes, helping New Zealanders to manage their own circumstances and contribute to community life.
Purpose:
Our main role has traditionally been to provide good quality, affordable rental homes for people on low incomes or with special housing needs. Rental housing is still a large part of what we do. We own or manage more than 66,000 properties nationwide, including about 1,500 homes for community groups providing residential services. We also work in many ways to improve access to affordable homes for New Zealanders.
For example: * home ownership loans and education for people on low to medium incomes * support for councils and community groups wanting to increase their involvement in providing social housing * research on New Zealand's housing market * locally-based programmes to strengthen communities * partnerships with Māori, iwi, local government and community organisations to address housing issues in their areas.
Most people in Wales live in suitable homes. However, there are many people in Wales who do not have a home, or one which is so poor or insecure that it can hardly be called a home. For example:
* Over 46,000 people applied to a local authority as homeless in 2005; * In 2005, over 7,300 children belonged to homeless families in Wales; * It is estimated that there are 57,700 occupied unfit homes in Wales and around 36,000 children live in unfit housing in Wales; * Thousands of people live in poor short term lets in the private rented sector; * Thousands of households face eviction each year from social, private rented and owner-occupied accommodation
The Welsh Government must make a commitment to build on current powers and acquire new ones to address housing and homelessness issues and to re-direct more resources towards tackling housing and homelessness.
Annette Strauch wrote...
I am shocked about how most people in Wales live. Yes, most have a home of some sort. That is true. When I left University & started my job in the National Library of Wales I was looking for a nice flat to rent in Aberystwyth. First of all, I had trouble finding a choice. One flat proved to be okay. I paid 750 pounds a month. Not everything was perfect. It was in Pier Street. The windows were not properly glazed. There was one wall that was damp. Anyway, my partner and I later were looking for a plot to build our house. This was difficult, too. One day I think the whole housing system will collapse. What I am shocked about mostly are the high house prices in Wales. Sometimes you see a house - no often you see a house for let's say 200,000 pounds and it has no paint on it, parts are damp and in need of repair. In Germany, people would not buy these houses. Here people seem to buy anything. There is so much neglect! I feel sorry for the poor people, the sick and the unemployed. I wish I could do something but I feel I am wasting my time.
Posted by: Annette Strauch | July 23, 2007 8:36 PM