Iwi Ngāti Rangi has taken its next step in plans to improve housing for whānau in a central North Island tourism town.
Ten new whānau rental homes with at least three bedrooms will be developed by the iwi’s commercial board Te Kūmete o Paerangi, backed by the Government.
The iwi said of around 1200 homes in Ohakune, about 800 are Airbnbs or holiday homes, leaving locals short of affordable housing.
“That puts a lot of pressure on our whānau,” Te Kūmete chairperson Kemp Dryden said.
Income disparity coupled with the housing shortage meant many whānau struggled to find affordable housing in the region.
“Housing has been a longstanding issue across the community – sub-standard housing, erratic or transitional housing has prevented whānau from being able to enjoy the quality of life a good home brings with it.
“A lot of our whānau are house sharing, with multiple generations living in one house.”
Dryden said most of the town’s houses weren’t available for long-term rent during the ski season, and off-season whānau could only get a six-month tenancy.
However, the growth of tourism outside of the ski season, thanks to the growing popularity of adventure activities like cycling and canoeing, meant even fewer rental opportunities for locals.
The second phase of the iwi-led housing initiative would give local whānau greater access to affordable and secure homes, Dryden said.
At the end of last year, the iwi completed its first development – a small-scale project that housed four whānau in new, three-bedroom affordable rentals on land Ngāti Rangi bought under its Treaty settlement provisions.
Tenants are offered rental discounts averaging 20% off the market rent, depending on their household incomes.
Ngāti Rangi turned the first sod last week on its Ohakune Affordable Housing Programme.
The 10-home project is funded jointly by Te Kūmete o Paerangi and Te Tūāpapa Kura Kainga, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.
The Government grant contributed $2.93 million from He Kūkū Ki Te Kāinga fund, which aimed to increase the number of Māori-led housing supply projects, and $1.52 million from the Māori Infrastructure Fund.
The new homes would be developed on three sections purchased by Ngāti Rangi in Raupo and Te Ara Rewa Lanes, in the Korokio subdivision off Shannon Street, and in Kōwhai Street, off Old Mountain Road.
The Korokio subdivision is named after the stream that runs through the area and includes a small wetland of great importance to local Māori.
The wetland provided a unique habitat for native plants, birds and fish, building and weaving materials such as raupo and harakeke, and medicines and dyes used for seasoning timber and restoring precious artefacts.
Dryden said the new homes would be delivered in about 12 months.
To be eligible for tenancies, iwi members were first required to complete a financial literacy programme run in partnership with Ka Uruora, a charitable trust developed by a Taranaki iwi collective.
Ngāti Rangi already had a number of eligible whānau on a waiting list.
Potential tenants were being identified through expressions of interest, the financial literacy programme and the iwi’s work in the Whānau Ora space, Dryden said.
“We are rapt to be able to do this,” Dryden said. “This is an iwi-led solution – an investment in ourselves and our communities – but there’s still a lot more to be done. In time, we would love to build more.”
With the support of Ka Uruora, Ngāti Rangi hoped in the future to help whānau into home ownership.
“In time, we’d love to look at shared equity, progressive home ownership and outright home ownership for whānau. As whānau work through the financial literacy programme, our operations arm Ngā Waihua o Paerangi is there to provide local Whānau Ora wraparound services to support whānau to make progressive steps toward home ownership, if that’s their desire.
“Being able to contribute to whānau wellbeing, to ensure our whānau are living in safe, secure, warm and affordable housing is a great step forward in our thousand-year planning.”
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
