Groups want financing and processes introduced to help families into homes
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New Zealand community housing providers are renewing their call for government support for the affordable home ownership initiative KiwiBuy ahead of the 2019 Budget announcement.
According to Community Housing Aotearoa, an organisation which represents more than 100 housing organisations, the ideas in KiwiBuy are tested and proven, and that they must be included in the Wellbeing Budget announcements if the governement is serious about solving the housing crisis.
“Community Housing Providers are ready to help more Kiwis into homes of their own, but they can’t do it unless they have government support,” Community Housing Aotearoa CEO Scott Figenshow said.
Community Housing Aotearoa, alongside The Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity and Housing Foundation, claims Kiwibuy programmes make home ownership possible for people locked out of the housing market. They said programmes like Progressive Home Ownership and Shared Ownership have been successfully used to assist families, who are locked out of the housing market to own their own home. They want this year's Budget to introduce financing and processes for these programmes.
“For many families the opportunity for home ownership remains out of reach” Habitat for Humanity NZ CEO Claire Szab said. “We see this budget as a chance for the government to do something about that.”
“Home ownership can be the inoculation against intergenerational poverty,” Szab noted.
Read more: Government extends second underwrite for KiwiBuild homes
Meanwhile, Housing Foundation operations GM Dominic Foote said Housing Foundation and Habitat alone have assisted hundreds of Kiwi families into home ownership, noting many more of the 120,000 plus households trapped renting can become homeowners with this assistance.
“We hope this budget will provide that opportunity to these families - and we know many other iwi and community providers across Aotearoa are ready to as well,” Foote added.
