Earthquake relief information for Housing New Zealand tenants
This is a dedicated page for Christchurch state house tenants only.
Read our updates to tenants in Christchurch newsletters.
Frequently asked questions for the rent abatement letter
More than 800 Christchurch tenants are being sent a letter on 16 January advising them that the 50 per cent rent reduction they have been receiving for reduced water, power or sewerage services to their homes will end on 15 February. Full services have been restored to all but a very small number of Christchurch residents.
What do I need to do after receiving the letter?
Nothing if you did not change the amount of rent you paid. Some people who had a rent reduction continued to pay the full amount and were reimbursed.
If you reduced the amount you paid you will need to make sure you change the payment amount back to the level of your full current assessed rent.
What should I do if I don’t know what to pay?
If you are unsure of what you need to pay from 15 February 2012 or have any other queries, please call the Customer Services Centre on 0800 801 601.
What do I do if my property still has reduced services?
If you believe you should continue to receive a rent reduction, you should contact the Customer Services Centre on 0800 801 601 before 8 February 2012. We will then send someone to assess the services at your property to check your eligibility for continued rent reduction.
Update for Housing New Zealand tenants - 19 December 2011
This newsletter is primarily to wish you, your families and friends a wonderful Christmas and New Year.
This year has without question been the hardest in Canterbury’s history. Every single one of us has been affected by the earthquakes whether we have lost friends or family members, had to shift homes, had our belongings damaged or simply experienced the fear of the quakes.
Everyone living here is in a sense rebuilding their lives and we all need to support each other to come back stronger over coming years.
Housing New Zealand is among the many agencies committed to restoring the region for its people.
After each of the earthquakes, our staff from around the country came to help. They have checked homes to see whether they were safe, helped find new accommodation for tenants that needed to shift, worked in the Recovery Assistance Centres and helped Cantabrians in general to find temporary accommodation.
Our Earthquake Recovery Team is now working hard on the long term recovery of Housing New Zealand homes in Canterbury – planning for repair work, working towards demolition of some homes and looking ahead to
see where homes will be best placed in the future.
On behalf of everyone at the Corporation, I wish you all the very best for the festive season and 2012.
Yours sincerely
Bob Hardie
Acting Regional Manager
Maintenance of vacant properties
As we advised in the last newsletter to you, work is underway on securing more than 400 vacant damaged homes. This work includes boarding up houses, removing letterboxes and removing any rubbish on the properties.
An ongoing maintenance programme is being established for each of these vacant properties. The length of the lawns on some of them has become quite high in recent months as Housing New Zealand has had to prioritise its work, with safe accommodation for all tenants being at the top of the list.
Lawn mowing teams are now making their way around the city, bringing lawns down to a height that they can easily be mowed in the future. Because of the large number of vacant properties, this work will take a few weeks but we wanted you to know that it is well underway.
You can help us to look after any vacant Housing New Zealand homes in your neighbourhood by:
- informing our Customer Services Centre on 0800 801 601 if any visible damage has been caused to the home
- calling the NZ Police emergency number 111 if the house is being damaged or broken into
- picking up any newspapers/leaflets/letters near the front gate. Addressed letters should be marked ‘return to sender’ and posted. Unaddressed mail can be placed in a recycling bin.
Please do not go on to the properties or allow your children on to them as the houses may be unsafe, particularly in an aftershock.
Carols by candlelight
To help you and rest of your family get in the Christmas spirit, head to the Events Hub in North Hagley Park for Carols by Candlelight on Saturday 24 December.
The free event will run from 9pm until 10pm, with entry via the Armagh St or Salisbury St bridges.
Take a picnic, a blanket, your children, friends and family. This will be the 64th Carols by Candlelight in Christchurch since it was first started in 1947.
Changing the way we help you
From January, we’ll be changing the way we help you. The changes are about making our services better, faster and fairer for you, our customers.
Our Customer Services Centre will become the first contact point for all phone calls. Our housing advisers will be able to get repairs done and make arrangements to pay off debt. They’ll also be able to answer questions about things like debt, credit, income-related rent, the waiting list for a house, and the options you have if you want to move out of your state house.
You can call the Customer Services Centre any time on 0800 801 601.
Assistance during the holidays
If you require urgent assistance with any housing related issues over the Christmas/New Year period please call our Customer Services Centre on 0800 801 601.
Housing New Zealand also has a roster of people ready to work if needed in an emergency during the holidays.
