Are community housing providers operating in Rotorua required to prioritise people from Rotorua when placing tenants from the Housing Register and if not, why not?

Answer

I am advised that Community Housing Providers (CHPs) prioritise placement of applicants from the Housing Register into social homes in accordance with MSD’s assigned priority rating system. This requirement is further expanded upon in CHPs’ contracts with the Ministry for Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport and as specified in the associated Operational Guidelines. The contracts require that properties must be allocated fairly, transparently and on the basis of need, balanced with achieving a sustainable match (taking into account specific characteristics of the client and the neighbourhood). The Operational Guidelines state that when selecting a potential tenant, CHPs should give preference to clients with the highest priority.