Outcome 2

About us

Where the Corporation has a significant influence, people will live in safe, inclusive communities.

What is the Corporation seeking to achieve?

Where it has a significant influence, the Corporation is seeking to:

support revitalisation, through housing redevelopment, of communities with high concentrations of social housing and social need into areas that have a strong sense of community pride, more employment and less crime
develop partnerships with the community, government agencies and local authorities to improve social, education, employment and health outcomes
support community-based organisations to deliver specialist services in the community, including increased emergency and transitional housing for organisations such as Women's Refuge, through an increase in the Community Group Housing portfolio
assist iwi and other social housing providers to increase the supply and quality of social and affordable housing
work with other agencies on supporting higher-needs occupants of social housing, and to help prevent the future concentration of higher-needs tenants.

Why is this outcome a priority for the Corporation?

New Zealanders today are better educated, healthier and more prosperous than previous generations. The Corporation, however, is landlord to some of the poorest and most disadvantaged households. These households, particularly in larger urban areas, are grouped in neighbourhoods that are marked by high levels of social deprivation.

Families and households living in these communities often have low incomes and experience social exclusion, poor education and poor health. In general, there is a strong correlation between social housing and the geographical locations of high social need communities.

Continuing hardship for such communities can result in long-term social polarisation, and anti-social or criminal behaviour. The challenge is to help lift outcomes for such communities and prevent new areas of deprivation from forming.

Because the Corporation has a presence and role in many deprived areas, it can have a positive impact on the lives of those in greatest need beyond the simple provision of rental housing. Improving outcomes beyond housing requires a combined approach from government and non-government agencies, and support for determined action by the communities themselves.

What will the Corporation do to achieve this outcome?

Priority: Expanding social housing options

The non-government social housing sector is small, with only a few larger providers. There is an opportunity over the longer term for increased social and affordable housing solutions for the growing number of New Zealanders on low to medium incomes.

Other social housing providers deliver housing services tailored to meet the needs of their local communities. These providers offer an alternative to state housing and assist people with rental or home ownership products.

The Corporation supports social housing through Community Group Housing and the Housing Innovation Fund. Community Group Housing rents houses to providers¹¹ who support people with physical, intellectual or sensory disabilities, or people unable to live in their own homes owing to violence or abuse. The Housing Innovation Fund supports providers to build their own houses.

This priority focuses on supporting growth in communitybased housing organisations and iwi to provide an increased supply of social and affordable housing. Funding will be used to support providers that are able to contribute resources, are well established and demonstrate the ability to grow. The Corporation will review how to get further value from the fund before making future financial commitments.

The commercial assets of iwi, hapu and whanau are key resources that could support the development of housing. Mutually beneficial partnerships between the Corporation and Māori entities will help address growing demand for affordable housing and help Māori achieve their housing aspirations. Strong partnerships will enable the development of joint venture housing developments with iwi that increase the affordability of housing for Māori. The first five Māori Demonstration Partnerships will be initiated by June 2009.

The Gateway Housing Initiative, currently under development, will provide more affordable housing for community groups by enabling them to develop housing on Corporation and Crown-owned land (including Hobsonville), with the opportunity to buy the land at a later date.

To achieve this priority, the Corporation will:	This priority will be delivered under:
Work with other organisations to develop policies on funding to support higher-needs occupants of social housing including Community Group Housing	Output Class 3 Policy Advice
Target Housing Innovation Fund loans to providers with a proven track record of helping people into affordable rental accommodation and home ownership	Output Class 4 Financial Assistance - Housing: Output Loans and Grants
Establish Māori Demonstration Partnerships that support Māori to use their assets to develop affordable and sustainable housing	Output Class 1 Advisory Services: Output Advisory Services - Capability Building Output Class 4 Financial Assistance - Housing: Outputs Loans and Grants and Co-ownership Arrangements
Remove unreasonable legislative impediments to building on Māori land	Output Class 3 Policy Advice (working with Te Puni Kokiri, the Māori Land Court and territorial local authorities)
Extend the Welcome Home Loan product to facilitate lending for papakainga housing and for nongovernment organisations	Output Class 4 Financial Assistance - Housing: Output Mortgage Repayment Assurance
Develop and implement the Gateway Housing Initiative on Corporation and Crown-owned land to provide affordable ownership opportunities to communitybased organisations	Output Class 3 Policy Advice Output Class 4 Financial Assistance - Housing: Output Co-ownership Arrangements Output Class 5 Property Management Agency Services

Priority: Facilitating improvement in communities where state housing dominates

There is a strong correlation between concentrations of social housing and high social need. Improvement requires attention to the quality of housing, the layout of neighbourhoods, and should address the anti-social behaviour of a minority of tenants.

The Corporation has implemented the Community Renewal Programme since 2001 in areas of very high deprivation and high concentrations of state housing. Community Renewal Programme projects are delivered in partnership with government agencies, local authorities and the community.

Community development involves working with communities to help them do the things that improve the lives of the people in the community. The Corporation is not a community development agency but rather a housing agency promoting community development in the context of facilitating improvement in communities where state housing dominates.

Aspects of community development such as activities to improve neighbourhood safety always occur alongside housing upgrades. Examples are initiatives to reduce low-level crime (such as graffiti) and after-school and holiday programmes and community gardens facilitated by the Corporation but run by the community.

Community development enhances the neighbourhood as a whole and reduces vandalism and other crime. The Corporation also links with other government and non-government agencies, at little cost to the Corporation, with benefits to all tenants and other local residents. On bigger projects, the cost of community development activities represents under 1 percent of the total project expenditure.

Successful redevelopments can increase dwelling intensification to reduce state housing concentrations and create blended communities, characterised by a mix of incomes and housing tenures.

An example of successful cross-agency collaboration is the Healthy Housing Programme, where the Corporation works in partnership with the Ministry of Health to improve housing conditions in communities where health risks are high. Another example is the Tamaki Transformation Programme in Auckland which will involve redeveloping state housing in the Tamaki area (Glen Innes, Point England and Panmure) and provide affordable housing for rent and home ownership options.

The Tamaki Transformation Programme takes an interagency approach aimed at improving social and economic outcomes for local residents.

To achieve this priority, the Corporation will:	This priority will be delivered under:
Deliver the Tamaki Transformation Programme in partnership with other government agencies, the private sector, non-government agencies and the local community	Output Class 2 State House Tenancies State Housing Portfolio - Redevelopment Projects (Corporation)
Identify and implement new Community Renewal projects	Output Class 1 Advisory Services: Output Advisory Services - Capability Building Output Class 2 State House Tenancies: Output Tenancy Management State Housing Portfolio - Redevelopment Projects (Corporation)
Implement the Healthy Housing Programme in Central Auckland, South Auckland and the Hutt Valley to improve the Corporation's housing in communities with health risks	Output Class 2 State House Tenancies: Output Tenancy Management State Housing Portfolio - Upgrading Existing Properties (Corporation)
Improve processes so that tenants in Corporation neighbourhoods are not exposed to tenant neighbours who are disruptive, violent or abusive. This process includes reviewing and closely monitoring tenants who have shown serious anti-social behaviour. A new national tenancy agreement has been implemented to clearly define a tenant's rights and responsibilities to their neighbours and community	Output Class 2 State House Tenancies: Output Tenancy Management

11 The Corporation does not charge market rent to most Community Group Housing providers, resulting in an implicit subsidy of approximately $4 million per annum based on 2007 QV estimates.