The new state house is a central city Auckland apartment.
Thursday, May 19th 2005, 7:09AM
by The Landlord
Housing New Zealand is leasing 115 one and two- bedroom apartments in five central city properties to meet demand for housing in the area. Work and Income New Zealand is also topping up rents for beneficiaries and low-income workers living in central city apartments.
Apartment sizes vary from 40sq m to 74sq m for Housing New Zealand tenants, smaller than a suburban home but bigger than some 19sq m "shoebox" studio apartments in the city.
A Housing New Zealand spokeswoman said the 10-year leases covered no more than 30 per cent of the apartments in each of the buildings, which she would not name for privacy reasons.
The corporation had no intention to buy any of the properties and "at this stage" no plans to lease many more inner city apartments over the next two years. Central city apartments accounted for 7 per cent of the 1723 leased properties across Auckland, she said.
The decision by the state housing corporation to enter the Auckland City apartment boom coincides with the debate about the quality of high-density development. Many critics, including Auckland City Mayor Dick Hubbard, say the council-led push has led to scores of ugly apartment towers which will become ghetto areas.
