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National | Government

100,000 social houses needed in the next decade - Salvation Army

The Salvation Army's latest report 'Taking Stock' shows a minimum of 2000 social houses are needed each year over the next decade to address the country's homelessness problem, with more than half required in Auckland.

The Salvation Army says government needs to increase its efforts twenty-fold to meet social housing requirements highlighted in its report.

Salvation Army Policy Analyst and report Author Alan Johnson says, "There is no easy answer. We also have to think about what the government can afford and what the building industry can build so it's a sort of a balance between what we see on the streets and in the car parks right now and what we really need to do as a longer term response."

The report identifies more than 100,000 dwellings will be needed in the next decade with 150,000 working age people and nearly 200,000 over 65s being the base of those in need.

Johnson says, "One of the things we think is going to happen is that older people probably aged 50-plus at the moment are increasingly at risk of becoming homeless partly because they hit retirement or close to retirement and they don't have enough money to rent a house."

Johnson says the government needs to rethink its priorities but Social Housing Minister Amy Adams disagrees.

"You'll have to ask them about their methodology but what I'm saying is they've said we should be looking to increase the number of social houses by about 2000 a year and I'm confirming that that's exactly what the government is committed to."

Adams says the 6400 dwellings will increase housing stock numbers to 72,000 by 2020.