Housing in Kaikoura

Information about the housing shortage in Kaikoura, work underway and the related support and information services.

On this page:

• Why is there a housing shortage?
• What's been done so far
• Support services and information
• Register with us
• The MBIE Temporary Accommodation Village 

Why is there a housing shortage?

Right now there’s a shortage of housing and accommodation in our District. Some of this is earthquake related, with around 50 properties now uninhabitable, some of it is seasonal as workers return for the summer and some of it is because our District population is estimated to be 30% bigger than it was pre-earthquake.

Kaikoura has never has a large amount of spare houses and has a history of slow population growth. So this kind of housing shortage is a relatively new problem for our District.

Although there’s no easy solution, we’re doing what we can to help and make sure we have all the information we need to make the best decisions we can.

The way we see it, there are five main parts to the accommodation situation:

• Local residents needing accommodation – some due rebuild/earthquake damage, some due to increased competition for rental accommodation
• Local business needing accommodation for seasonal (and some permanent) workers
• Tourists and visitors needing accommodation
• Road and rebuild workers needing accommodation while they work to get the roads fully reopened and resilient.
• Returning residents or ‘new locals’ wanting to move to the District

What’s been done so far:

Download an FAQ about housing here 

Council is:

• Continuing to ask people to register with us, and all the other support services so that we have an accurate idea about what’s going on.
• Meeting regularly with Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment,  Ministry of Social Development, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Department of Internal Affairs, NCTIR and others to coordinate central and local efforts to solve the problem. 
• Reaching out to homeowners who might not live here by letter, through Air BnB and other holiday rental sites to encourage them to rent out their houses if they’re not using them.
• Looking at our rules and regulations to see if there are ways to make things easier for those looking at building/rebuilding
• Working with MBIE to see if we can build a small number of rentals to help with their temporary accommodation work

 

Destination Kaikoura is:

• encouraging visitors and tourists to consider day trips to help get more people through our businesses without increasing the need for accommodation
• working with local accommodation providers and Council on ways to make it easier for our accommodation businesses to work together provide accommodation for tourists and visitors

NCTIR has:

• built a village to house 300 workers
• an accommodation policy that puts locals first – wherever they can they are freeing up houses for local use and housing their workers in either the village or commercial accommodation.

MBIE has:

• set up the temporary accommodation service
• agreed to build a Temporary Accomodation Village on Beach Road. Read more here.
• employed someone local to help. They’re not a miracle worker but they know our town and they’re here to help. If you’ve registered with the Temporary Accommodation Service they’ll be in touch over the next few weeks.

Other Council work:

We’re also working on several different projects about earthquake affected housing. Each project has a specific purpose and involves a lot of technical work. The table below summarises each project, you can also download a factsheet here 

	R you ok Kaikoura? Wellbeing survey and support	Natural Hazards and Land Damage	Winter Warmers	Temporary Accommodation	Waste Minimisation
What it is	Wellbeing survey of all households to see what issues they are dealing with and see how Council can help.	Working with land owners and central government on natural hazard and land damage issues arising from the earthquake.  Looking at options for future land use and building requirements.	Identifying and completing temporary fixes for weather tightness, security and heating issues for those most in need	Assistance finding somewhere temporary to live for those needing o move while repairs are completed (available for both renters and owners).	FREE identification and disposal of asbestos and hazardous chemicals and advice for demolition, deconstruction and recycling materials
Who it’s for	All properties will be visited.	All properties affected by natural hazard or land damage issues –mainly clustered in Boat Harbour, Rakautara, Torquay Street and Lyell Creek	Properties identified through the ‘R you ok? Kaikoura’ survey or other referral where people need short-term fixes to help make their houses warm and dry.	Those displaced by the earthquake.	All homeowners with earthquake damaged properties
Where to find more information	The ‘R you ok, Kaikoura?’ brochure The survey team when they visit	Click here  The Geotech or Council when they visit	Click here	Visit the Ministry of Business and Innovation (MBIE) website	Click here
Contact number	Arlene Brown 027 566 3064	03 319 5026	027 564 8252	Susi Haberstock 021 962 579	Natalie Absalom 03 319 5026

Support services and information:

Download a factsheet about these services here

MBIE’s Temporary Accommodation Service:

What is it:  Help finding somewhere temporary to live while repairs or rebuilding is completed.

Who’s it for:  This is for renters who are returning to the same house after repairs are complete or owners needing somewhere short term whilst building work is underway. We've got someone local working with MBIE to help as much as they can.

How you register: 

• Call 0508 754 163 or online here 

 

Register with Council:

Who’s it for:  Anyone with any accommodation needs, permanent or temporary

What is it: A five minute online or phone registration. The point is to help us get an accurate idea of how many people need housing of any kind in our District. Once we know this, we can work better on your behalf with Central Government and others. If we don’t have the numbers, we can’t prove any housing help is needed and we can’t get a long term solution sorted. Once you’ve registered, we will look at your information and get in touch if we think we can help. Even if you don’t hear from us, your registration helps us in the long term.

How you register: 

• Register online: click here!
• Register over the phone: 027 566 3064
• Get more information: visit the team on the first floor of the Civic Building or email arlene@kdc.govt.nz  

 

Ministry of Social Development– Emergency Housing

What is it:  Emergency housing for up to 12 weeks while you find longer term accommodation. If there aren’t any places available with emergency housing providers, you may be able to stay in other temporary accommodation such as a hostel or a motel, for a few days until a longer-term option is available.

Who’s it for: people who urgently need somewhere to stay tonight or in the next seven days

How do you register: call 0800 559 009 or find out more via http://www.housing.msd.govt.nz/housing-options/emergency-housing.html

 

Housing New Zealand – Social Housing

What is it: housing provided for people who’ve been looking for a place to live, but haven’t been able to find one that meets their needs,

Who’s it for:  NZ citizens who have an income of less than $585.30 a week (after tax) for people who have no partner and no dependent children or less than $900.45 a week (after tax) for people who have a partner and/or dependent children and have less than $42,700 in cash assets.

How do you register: call 0800 559 009 or via  http://www.housing.msd.govt.nz/housing-options/social-housing/who-can-get-social-housing.html

Questions about tiny houses/mobile homes or other creative building solutions: Anyone who is thinking about putting in a tiny home or other building or structure should get in touch. We think it’s a great idea and are keen to help you make it happen but there are rules and regulations so get in touch and we can help.

• For more information: Call Council on 03-3195026 or email kdc@kaikoura.govt.nz and ask for Building and Regulatory (for rules about how to build) or Planning (for rules about what and where you can build).