Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith today welcomed Parliament's passage of the Government's Social Housing Reform Bill through its third reading without a party vote being called.

'The fundamental change in this bill is shifting from state housing to social housing. Governments for 75 years have believed that only the state can meet the housing needs of disadvantaged families. These reforms will encourage the growth of a more diverse range of new social housing providers,” Dr Smith says.

'High needs families want a warm, dry, safe home available at an affordable rent and don't care who owns the bricks and mortar. These reforms enable approved social housing providers to receive the same rent subsidy as Housing New Zealand and tenants to receive the benefit of paying a discounted income related rent.

'International experience shows that community housing providers are better able to provide complementary services to tenants to support disabilities and families, that they do better at transitioning people to independence, they more consistently maintain the quality of their housing, and that they can stretch the taxpayer investment in social housing further. The Government's ambition is to grow the community housing sector to provide 20 per cent of New Zealand's social housing over the next five years.

'The bill also extends reviewable tenancies to focus social housing on families with the greatest need. It is poor policy that Housing New Zealand has 4,000 tenants whose incomes are sufficiently high to pay a market rent but whom are legally entitled to occupy that house forever, while we have an equivalent number of high needs families on a waiting list unable to be housed. The Opposition's claim that Governments can simply build their way out of this dilemma is financially unrealistic.

'Reviewable tenancies will be undertaken with common sense and care. To ensure this, the bill includes a provision to enable Ministers to identify groups of people, such as vulnerable elderly or disabled tenants, who will not be subject to tenancy reviews.”

Reviewable tenancies are expected to cost the Government $46.8 million over two years, as state houses freed up will be provided to higher need tenants, who are eligible for more Government financial support. Through reviewable tenancies 1,000 tenants are expected to be supported into housing independence in 2015/16 and 2,000 in 2016/17.

'The Act also makes the housing needs assessment independent of housing providers by transferring it from Housing New Zealand to Work and Income in April 2014. It does not make sense to have Housing New Zealand determining eligibility for the income related rent subsidy and Work and Income the accommodation supplement and other support. This transfer will enable Work and Income to be a one-stop shop for assessing people's housing, financial and employment needs,” Dr Smith says.

'This legislation builds on the Government's work to grow the community social housing sector through start-up grants from the $139 million Social Housing Fund and Housing New Zealand's record $2.9 billion three-year investment focusing on new builds, housing extensions, insulation, earthquake repairs, and maintenance.

'These reforms are founded on the 2010 visionary report ‘Home and Housed.' The passage of this bill is a major milestone but a huge amount of work lies ahead in implementing these significant reforms.”