Our 2011 election manifesto - Labour Party

Labour will reaffirm Housing New Zealand's role as a social housing provider
providing security and support for those most in need. Housing New Zealand will
provide assistance for tenants with high and complex needs, ensuring that they are
connected with the necessary support to help them sustain their tenancies.
Labour will continue to invest in the acquisition and maintenance of state houses and
is committed to income-related rents for state house tenants.
Labour will abolish the bureaucratic 'one size fits all' policy of reviewable tenancies,
and instead allow tenancy managers to work on a case by case basis with tenants to
move them on if their situation improves.
Labour will ensure that every client who comes into Housing New Zealand has a
needs assessment before being offered the 'options and advice' service. Category C
and D clients will not be denied access to the state house waiting list but will continue
to be offered advice on alternative accommodation options.
Labour will ensure there is a tenants advocate representing their interests on the
board of Housing New Zealand.
Labour will empower Housing New Zealand to be more proactive at a regional level,
both in asset and tenancy management, allowing them to operate in a way which
more efficiently and effectively meets the specific needs of their local community.
Labour will cease the selling down of the state housing stock in order to keep up the
stock of state housing and to enable the quality integrated renewal of state housing
communities.
Labour will ensure that where Housing New Zealand tenants are displaced because
of urban renewal projects, or major rebuilds such as in Christchurch, that they are
given the option of moving back to their communities when they are rebuilt.
Labour will focus on new builds for any state house acquisitions, rather than
purchasing existing properties, to increase the overall housing stock. Where possible
new state houses will be built in accordance with the disability sector approved
Lifemark standard for accessible, adaptable lifetime design.
Security for those who rent
A stable healthy home is crucial for the wellbeing of all children, whether a family rents or
owns their own home. However the New Zealand rental property market is not set up to
deliver long term rental arrangements, despite such arrangements often benefitting both
tenant and landlord. Labour will work with landlord and tenant representative groups to
investigate options for increasing security of tenure in the private sector.
While most landlords maintain their properties to appropriate healthy standards,
unfortunately some do not. An EECA survey of landlords reported that 40% of landlords
288