Now here’s some radical new thinking on the housing crisis!
‘Tents and warehouses’ suggested for homeless
Real estate company Colliers International suggested the government house homeless people in tents and warehouses in an urgent report for the Ministry of Social Development.
Radical and unworkable, a sign of just how desperate we have become.
“Other options that may be viable, but are not commercially procurable and are already assumed to be exhausted are surplus housing from Housing NZ, housing held by the NZ Defence Force, and charitable offerings from marae and churches.”
Other suggestions – including “enhanced tents” and warehouses – were suggested, but rejected by Ms Bennett. Shipping containers were given a “maybe”.
You’d have to do a lot of work to a shipping container to lift it to “maybe” status, and even then it’s a short-term emergency measure. We need to build more state houses.
Meanwhile some desperate car-dwellers are also breaking new ground:
Would-be tenants seek to live in cars on driveways to beat Auckland rents
Auckland’s rent crisis is forcing would-be tenants to seek driveways and front yards as dwelling options.
Advertisements are being placed at supermarkets by people wanting to live in cars seeking “driveway and shower” arrangements.
One of the people featured in that piece is a construction worker:
At Countdown Browns Bay, Frenchman Alban Morin also placed an ad looking for “a place with my car in your garden”.
“Just need a shower and kitchen,” Morin said in the ad. “Will pay for it any prices (sic) reasonable.”
The 25-year-old construction worker wrote that he would sleep in his car. “Auckland’s rent is really expensive and the pay in New Zealand is really low,” Morin said. “With my minimum wage job, I just cannot afford to pay it any longer.”
He is paying $230 in weekly rent for a room in the city, but was planning to live in his car once he could find someone’s driveway to park in. …
Say – has anyone seen John Key? He used to be clowning about all over the media, but he’s gone a bit quiet lately. If anyone knows where he his, could you let him know that the country could use a bit of leadership right now?
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