Home ownership one step closer for 31 families thanks to Habitat

Thirty one Kiwi families in housing need are one step closer to home ownership as part of Habitat for Humanity New Zealand’s rent-to-buy programme.

In the past 18 months, 16 families have moved into their own home, another 15 have been selected to partner with Habitat and further 42 houses are in the pipeline to be built or purchased over next couple of years as part of the Progressive Home Ownership (PHO) programme.

“A warm, dry and decent home to live in is life changing for the families we work,” says Alan Thorp, Group Chief Executive Officer, Habitat for Humanity New Zealand.

“It provides security of tenure, it provides a healthier environment to live in and it provides stability for each family that has long-term inter-generational benefits.”

The current suite of PHO homes Habitat is delivering has been made possible due to the Government’s $400 million interest free loan facility managed by Te Tūāpapa Kura Kāinga – Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.

For Habitat, the PHO loan facility covers about half the cost of the home, with the organisation having to find the remainder of the finance.

“We can’t do this by ourselves, which is why partnerships such as the one we have with MHUD are crucial to enabling community housing providers like us to continue to make a life-changing difference for the families we work with.”

Nationally, Habitat has secured in excess of $22 million from the PHO programme which has part subsidised the delivery of 73 homes in Dunedin, Christchurch, Nelson, Wellington, Hamilton, Bay of Plenty and Auckland in the next couple of years.

Habitat has been delivering a PHO programme in New Zealand since 1993 and has supported 540 families into home ownership over this period.

Habitat selects families for the PHO programme based on their housing need, willingness to partner and potential to fulfil the requirements of the programme. Generally, Habitat families are not in a position to apply for a mortgage when they start their journey with Habitat, and by the end of approximately a 10-year period they are in a position where they qualify to draw down a mortgage with a bank or other commercial lender.