Homes to be built offshore and arrive by barge by mid-year
The government has launched a new Papakāinga housing project in the Chatham Islands for low- to medium-income Māori whanau.
As part of the project, Minister for Māori Development Willie Jackson said the government will host five new homes by the middle of the year. They will be built offshore and arrive by barge.
“Building houses on the Chatham Islands (Rēkohu/Wharekauri) is difficult logistically and made even harder because banks don’t readily lend there. Plus, it costs $100,000 more to build a house there than it would to build on mainland New Zealand,” Minister Jackson said.
Te Puni Kōkiri invested $974,760 towards the retained equity in the houses through its Te Ara Mauwhare initiative. Sorted Kainga Ora and whānau navigation support, other whānau on the Islands, also funded $100,000.
“I mihi to the whānau who will live on the papakāinga, who have just completed the Sorted Kainga Ora programme. They are putting their best foot forward by doing these courses to build their financial skills and prepare for homeownership,” Minister Jackson said.
The papakāinga development project is part of a $9 million investment into innovative models supporting Māori whanau into homeownership. Six trials are underway across New Zealand, which will develop around 70 new homes for whānau to purchase under rent-to-own and shared ownership models.
The homes, built on land that Chatham Islands Enterprise Trust gave to Chatham Islands Housing Partnership Trust, are part of the first stage of the Sandstones papakāinga – thanks to a bespoke rent-to-buy model revealing that bank finance is not readily available on the Island. Whānau are expected to achieve ownership within 10 to 20 years.
