Eight new homes to be rented to low income families will be officially opened in Nelson on Thursday.
The homes are part of an affordable housing development by the Nelson Tasman Housing Trust, built on St Lawrence St, near Victory.
The trust says the opening marks the end of the development’s first stage and the two and three bedroom homes will be rented at 80 per cent of the market value. Trust director Keith Preston says affordable housing is one of the pressing social issues of our time.
“These homes are warm, dry and affordable and contribute to our strategy of building a portfolio of quality homes for low to mid income families living in the Nelson, Tasman and West Coast regions.”
A $1 million grant from the Social Housing Fund made up 46 per cent of the scheme cost and the trust raised a mortgage to cover the balance of the costs. Nelson City Council contributed to the scheme by waiving the development contributions.
The development is one of the first to be funded through the Social Housing Fund. Michael Pead, director of the government’s Social Housing Unit, says it’s great to see the trust responding so positively to the need for quality affordable housing in the region.
“The government is pleased to partner with the trust to help deliver more affordable homes for New Zealanders in need”.
The trust was established in 2004 and already owns 36 houses at a value of more than $10 million. It offers secure tenancies to local people and families who do not qualify for state housing and who find it difficult to access the private rented sector but can afford to pay up to 50 per cent of their income on rent. The homes were built by Jennian Homes and will be officially opened by Nelson MP and housing minister Nick Smith.
