Government support

The Government provides financial support for housing and accommodation to those of modest means.

There are two main ways the Government provides this support:

• the Accommodation Supplement (AS), which provides a large proportion of the accommodation cost for those with low incomes
• Income-Related Rents (IRR), which are subsidies to Housing New Zealand Corporation that allow it to provide houses at rents that do not exceed 25 percent of the renter’s total household income.

As of September 2007, there were 246,424 AS recipients and 59,405 IRR tenants.

 
^{Source: Housing New Zealand Corporation}

Priority on the waiting list for Housing New Zealand Corporation housing is divided into four groups that reflect different levels of need.¹

• An A-priority household has severe and persistent housing needs that must be addressed immediately. The household’s wellbeing is severely affected or seriously at risk by housing circumstances that are unsuitable, inadequate or unsustainable and there is an immediate need for action. The household is unable to access or afford suitable, adequate and sustainable housing without state intervention.
• A B-priority household has a significant and persistent housing need. The household’s wellbeing is affected in a significant and persistent way by housing circumstances that are unsuitable, inadequate or unsustainable. The household is unlikely in the near future to be able to access or afford suitable, adequate and sustainable housing without state intervention.

• C- and D-priority waiting lists are for households with low to moderate housing need.

¹ Source: Housing New Zealand Corporation