Old people face rent increase

Press, 29 January 1986, Page 1

Old people face rent increase

Elderly tenants in Christchurch City Council housing will pay more rent in a council bid to balance its elderly persons* housing account. The account was budgeted to have a deficit of $173,577 for the current financial year. That operating loss would reduce the previous credit balance of $80,899 to a deficit of $92,678. These rent increases were approved yesterday by the council’s community services and health committee—along with increases for public rental housing—to make up the deficit The council’s housing activities do not draw from rates for money.

They are self-funding. The deficit has arisen because of the rent freeze and increasing maintenance costs as housing complexes get older. Although the rent hikes approved yesterday are as much as 50 per cent in one category of units, they are still below the Housing Corporation figure of one-sixth of national superannuation for similar units. The rents, once increased, will range from $lB a week to $4O a week. An interim increase of up to $5 a week will be made between April and October, and then the full increases will take effect The council’s “fair

rent” for elderly persons’ housing, previously set at $4O a week as a maximum paid by tenants still working or with other pensions, will be lifted to $5O. The E.P.H. (elderly persons’ housing) rents were last reviewed in April, 1985, the first review after the rent freeze was imposed in 1982. The council has 1505 units for the elderly; 632 are in Category 1, which face 50 to 30 per cent increases. At present the waiting list for E.P.H. units numbers 340. Forty-six allocations have been made in the last three months. The council’s property division director, Mr Bill

Morgan, said the aim was to achieve a nil balance in the account. The public rental housing account seems set to achieve that with a budgeted deficit of about $l7OO. Public rental housing rents will be up on April 23 also for those who have not had a rent increase in the last six months and on June 4 for those who increased on December 5. The provision for a GST charge in maintenance on the units—as with the E.P.H. units—and the cessation of Government funds for this sort of housing meant rents had to go up to build up the account, Mr Morgan said.

If the council was to develop land already held for housing, it needed to build up the account The public housing increases will ;be between $2.50 and $lO a week with a 50c increase for garage rents.

The rents will still be below the market rent for similar units. The waiting list for public rental housing is 811. It is council policy to. provide this housing for those in the greatest need, on low or fixed incomes. This has led to low rents, a long waiting list and a low turnover of tenants. Cr Rex Lester said the council tried not to undercut market rates by too much.