Housing New Zealand makes secure damaged vacant houses

Over the next few weeks Housing New Zealand will be making secure nearly 400 of its damaged vacant Canterbury homes, while it waits to find out if they will be demolished or repaired.

"We have recently found squatters living in some of our houses and others have been damaged by fire and vandalism,” Housing New Zealand Regional Manager Kevin Third said.

To secure its vacant properties and keep them tidy, the organisation will be uplifting  letterboxes, turning off the power and water, taking away Council rubbish bins and boarding up the houses. A regular maintenance programme will be in place to keep lawns and gardens tidy.

Housing New Zealand’s damaged vacant houses are largely concentrated in areas that have been worst affected by the earthquakes such as Aranui, Avonside, Dallington, Woolston, New Brighton, Bromley and Kaiapoi.  There is however a sprinkling of vacant homes across the region and it is possible that more damaged homes will need to be made safe in the future.

Neighbours in affected streets are being delivered a letter, asking them to help take care of the vacant properties by reporting anything untoward to the Housing New Zealand Contact Centre ( 0800 801 601) or the Police. Members of the public are advised not to go on to the properties as the houses  may be unsafe, particularly in an aftershock.

Mr Third said the Corporation will be making decisions on its vacant damaged  homes as quickly as possible but there is a complicated mix of issues to consider. “It is still undecided whether some of our houses can be repaired or need to be rebuilt; government land decisions will impact on where we can rebuild; and we need to plan where we are going to place our houses in the future,” he said.

“We are patiently working through what needs to be done in the same way as a lot of other Canterbury property owners. The most important thing is that we are still able to provide state housing to those who need it in this region.”

Most of Housing New Zealand’s Canterbury homes with minor damage are being repaired to ensure that the region maintains a good stock of state housing for those in need.