Latest news with #KaingaOra
Otago Daily Times
12-07-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Sallies fighting ‘isolation' of winter
As the winter chill bites across the country, the Salvation Army is calling on New Zealanders to help bring warmth, dignity and hope to those struggling through the coldest and most challenging months of the year. The rising cost of living, unaffordable housing and job insecurity are pushing families to the brink. Heating bills, rent and the cost of food become overwhelming burdens, leaving some with impossible choices — and others with nothing left to give. Salvation Army Captain Andrew Wilson, of Wellington, said winter did not "just bring frost on the windows". "It brings isolation, emotional strain and a sense of hopelessness. For families already under pressure, it can feel like the world has gone cold." Salvation Army Dunedin community ministries manager captain Logan Bathurst said the picture was similar for the families and individuals in need in Dunedin, where the flow-on effect of economic hardship led to increased demand for services. "Typically, we provide about 30 food parcels each week, but in the winter that rises to about 40," Mr Bathurst said. "When we are working with people, our first focus is on food and the immediate physical and wellness needs that they have. "In addition, we are contacted by many people who are in need of housing, which continues to be a major issue across the community," he said. Due to recent changes to emergency and transitional housing arrangements, there were places available for the Salvation Army to offer in Dunedin, although the demand remained the same. "With the social housing places being essentially full, and Kainga Ora recently cancelling a list of local developments, the flow-on effect is real for people. "And it becomes more and more difficult to provide that housing support, which sadly has a huge impact on people's wellbeing." The Salvation Army had a team of social workers and a wellbeing worker, who spent time with people seeking help, giving them space to tell their stories and share their concerns, Mr Bathurst said. "Hopefully, then we can work with them to help solve some of the problems facing them, including advocating for them with MSD [Ministry of Social Development]." In June, the Salvation Army Dunedin launched the Whakawhiti Exchange Social Cafe — a weekly gathering space, open 10am-2pm on Thursdays, at 575 Princes St, where people can enjoy warmth, social connection, coffee and a hot lunch. No registration is necessary and entry is free, or koha for those who can manage it. "The Whakawhiti cafe has been going really well since we opened it — people respond to the warm, safe space and the nice social environment," Mr Bathurst said. "Our staff are here to welcome people in, and to be available if they want to talk or are looking for support. "Something that many of the people who come to us for help talk about is the feeling of being disconnected from society and life in general, so they need support to re-engage," he said. The cost-of-living crisis has an additional flow-on effect across the wider community, leading to a reduction in donations of funds and to the foodbank. "However, we are still very lucky to have the generous support of our community and are managing to keep up with the demand — so we don't have to turn anybody away." Recently, the Salvation Army launched its 2025 Winter Appeal, to help provide a top-up of funds, food and goods and to help support the organisation's vital ongoing work with those in need. For more information and to donate, visit
RNZ News
01-07-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Kainga Ora cuts new developments as the housing crisis escalates
In Onehunga, Auckland, the site where a 186-apartment Kainga Ora development was planned now sits empty, after tenants of the previous building moved out and the new project was cancelled. Photo: Sharon Brettkelly New Zealand is short tens of thousands of social houses, and billions of dollars to fund them, while the numbers of "stressed" renters is growing, but a community housing leader says we can still fix the crisis that has dragged on for decades. "I actually believe as New Zealanders if we put our minds to this and we make some different choices we can absolutely solve this housing crisis," says Community Housing Aotearoa chief executive Paul Gilberd. But it will not happen overnight, and as demand grows he warns that overall investment in new social housing is falling. The "magic thing" that unlocks the ability to build the houses at scale is government funding of the community housing sector, he says. "If the government is willing to turn that dial up, we can as a sector walking alongside Kainga Ora, deliver the things that I think New Zealanders want in terms of the vision of the sort of country they live in," he says. Gilberd has worked in the sector for decades and in his current role oversees 100 community housing providers (CHPs) that run more than 30,000 homes. He says Kainga Ora's announcement last month that it has cancelled plans to build nearly 3500 new homes around the country and is capping the numbers of state-owned homes it provides at 78,000 is a reflection of a government that sees itself in a diminished role in commissioning new affordable housing, while backing the CHPs to fill the gap. He is telling his members to find partners such as church groups and local councils to deliver as many affordable homes as they can. The new Community Housing Funding Agency is a step in the right direction to finding the tens of billions of dollars needed to build more than 20,000 extra homes, he says, but it falls short of similar agencies in other countries which have the gold standard full government guarantee. "Then it becomes a gamechanger because it reduces the risk to investors," he says. Jeremy, a neighbour of a cancelled Kainga Ora project in Onehunga, Auckland tells The Detail of the saga of the on/off development that went on for years before the final announcement last month. Jeremy and his wife bought their house in 2018, believing that they would be living next door to architecturally designed, state-owned apartments. "It's been an empty site for over a year now and that peace is lovely for us right now but it's not a long-term solution. The thing that I wonder about is how much of this development next door is now going to be completely piecemeal," he says. For Newsroom Pro managing editor Jonathan Milne, the development on Jordan Avenue is close to his heart, as an Onehunga resident and former local school board member. He says that the tenants who were moved out of the development for the rebuild were promised first dibs on the new apartments. When he tried to track down families who had lived there before it was demolished, they were nowhere to be found. "I spent days trying to find former tenants of Jordan Ave, I couldn't find any. No one knows where they've gone, no one knows their phone numbers anymore, they've just disappeared." He says the dramatic change at Kainga Ora is difficult for the tenants. "In all this discussion we've heard a lot about dollars and hectares and numbers of residences and square metres, but we haven't heard from the voices of the tenants." Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here . You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter .
RNZ News
10-06-2025
- RNZ News
Abuse survivor told to get rid of wagon bought
A survivor of abuse in state care is heartbroken after her long-held dream of buying a gypsy wagon to travel around in ran into a wall of bureaucracy. As soon as Robyn Dandy received compensation for torture at the Lake Alice child and adolescent unit in the 1970s she bought a wagon, fulfilling a promise she made to her grandson before he died in a house fire. Now, state housing provider Kainga Ora has said the wagon breaks its rules and must go. Jimmy Ellingham reports. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
RNZ News
26-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
New cost for first-home buyers
Buying a first home has just become more expensive. Photo: RNZ First-home buyers accessing the Kainga Ora-administered First Home Loan will pay a higher fee from 1July. The scheme allows borrowers to access loans with a deposit as small as 5 percent, if they earn less than $95,000 as an individual without dependents or $150,000 as a couple or single parent. These loans do not fall under the banks' loan-to-value rules and borrowers can usually access bank special rates and do not have to pay the low-equity fees and margins that could otherwise apply. Previously, borrowers had to pay lenders mortgage insurance of 0.5 percent of the loan amount. But from 1 July, that increases to 1.2 percent. Borrowers can pay it upfront or over the lifetime of their loans. The change applies to loans submitted after 1 July. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development said the government had agreed to cease its contribution to the mortgage insurance premium as part of the Budget. "This change is expected to generate savings of $17.9 million per annum from 2025/26 onwards. These savings, along with others identified across the housing portfolio, will be fully reprioritised to support both existing housing services and the delivery of new initiatives within Vote Housing and Urban Development, including investments in social housing, transitional housing, and housing support services." The ministry said for an average first home loan of $550,000 it would increase the premium paid by the borrower from $2750 to $6600. "This cost can be paid upfront or added to the loan, which would increase the total borrowing by approximately $3850. "HUD does not expect that moving to a full cost recovery model will materially affect the uptake of first home loans or households' ability to reach home ownership relative to current settings. The increase in cost is less than 1 percent of the average loan value and is not expected to significantly impact borrowers' ability to service their mortgage, meet deposit requirements, or access lending." David Cunningham, chief executive at mortgage advice firm Squirrel, said it was a change that was "snuck in". But he said it would not make a big difference to most borrowers. "On a $400,000 loan that lifts the LMI from $2000 to $4800. Whilst the $2800 difference seems big, it is just part of the cost of establishing home ownership. Changes to interest rates are a much bigger factor as they impact every year rather than a one-off. With interest rates about 1.5 percent lower than they were a year ago and house prices a bit lower, first-home buyers are in a better position than a year ago, despite this change." There were just over 5500 First Home Loans approved last year. Jeremy Andrews, a mortgage adviser at Key Mortgages, said the change had come as a surprise. "I've done a heck of a lot of Kainga Ora First Home Loans over recent years … a 0.5 percent fee was typically a no brainer even when clients could have been approved with their main banks [with a] low deposit outside the scheme. "There are still cases where it makes sense as that's a one-off fee rather than typical ongoing margin until clients reach the sweet spot of 20 percent equity. "It's also ironically the same 1.2 percent margin that BNZ charges their existing 'main bank' clients with between 5 percent under 10 percent deposit. BNZ, like most other banks, charges an ongoing low equity margin every year until clients can prove they have 20 percent deposit - and this might require an updated valuation to do so." He said a benefit of the First Home Loan scheme was that people could usually be preapproved and it was sometimes possible to get higher cashbacks from banks. "There are several different lenders who can provide preapproval with Kainga Ora First Home Loans, each with pros and cons such as considering either one or two boarders if applicable, turnaround time differences and varying rates and cashbacks. " Karen Tatterson, Loan Market mortgage adviser, said the main banks were generally not issuing pre-approvals for low-deposit borrowers not part of the First Home Loan scheme at the moment. "It means that the only time you can get an approval is if you are under contract on a property or going to auction on a specific property. It does cause a concern for first-home buyers as they cannot go to the market armed with a preapproval and this creates some nervousness for them. The key is good advice and ensuring they speak to an adviser so they know their numbers." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
14-05-2025
- General
- RNZ News
Increase in dogs tenants can't care for sent to dog rescue
A dog rescue working with Kainga Ora tenants on desexing their animals said some have multiple breeding dogs and authorites are simply not doing enough. Saving Hope said its increasingly being asked to take on dogs that tenants can no longer care for or have at their properties. Jo Coulam volunteers for Saving Hope Foundation and spoke to Lisa Owen. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
