Tauranga City Council will review its Elder Housing portfolio, operations and future service delivery, ahead of the 2018- 28 Long Term Plan.

Councillors supported the establishment of a working group and tenant advisory group to assist in the review of council's Elder Housing during the Community and Culture meeting on Tuesday.

Under the Local Government Act, councils are required to periodically review the way a number of their services are provided.

TCC has 246 Elder Housing units spread across nine villages in Greerton, Mount Manganui and Tauranga Central.

Community Services general manager Philip King says the New Zealand Housing Foundation will help council identify future demand for Elder Housing in Tauranga and provide options on how TCC can best deliver this service in the future.

'This is an opportunity to look at how we are currently providing our Elder Housing service, and how best to provide this service in the future. Council's aspiration is to provide a higher standard of living for all our residents, and this includes affordable housing for our ageing population.”

Council will now start recruiting for both the working group and the tenant advisory group.

The role of the two groups will be to review the options recommended by the NZ Housing Foundation, as well as any other potential options, with recommendations presented to councillors in August.

Representatives from a range of community organisations, and government agencies, plus technical experts will be invited to be part of the working group.

A representative from each of the nine Elder Housing Villages in Tauranga will also make up the tenant advisory group.

'The needs of our tenants are our primary consideration, and we want to ensure they have every opportunity to participate in the review process. The tenant advisory group is going to be vital in ensuring the needs of our tenants are heard.”