Housing Innovation Fund recipients

Six community housing organisations have been successful in securing government funding to build or acquire 45 new properties throughout New Zealand for families and individuals in need, Acting Housing Minister Maurice Williamson announced today.

Nearly $6 million will be split between the six housing providers as part of the first round of approvals for the 2009/10 year from Housing New Zealand's Housing Innovation Fund. A further $14 million will be distributed over the next three months, including $5 million which is part of the Maori Demonstration Partnerships project.

Mr Williamson says this decision means many New Zealanders will soon have the opportunity to rent or own a home which may have previously been out of their reach.

The government set aside $20m in last year's budget for the fund, with the view to boosting the resources available to the community and voluntary sector for affordable housing.

Of this, $15 million was available under a general fund, while up to $5 million was made available for Maori Demonstration Partnerships to support innovative housing solutions for Māori.

"This year the funding has been targeted at providers who have a proven track record of helping people into affordable rental accommodation and home ownership," Mr Williamson says.

"This way we can be sure they can hit the ground running in order to build homes for those who need them the most."

The successful organisations are as follows: