100 signatures reached
To: Minister of Housing, Megan Woods, Minister of Finance & Wellington MP, Grant Robertson
Income-Related Rent Subsidies 4 ALL
This campaign has ended.
The Income Related Rent Subsidy or IRRS must be extended to council housing tenants. Income-related rents cap tenants rent at 25% of their household income, the government subsidises the rest of the rent.
Currently tenants in Wellington City Council housing pay 70% of market rent. This does not protect tenants from the volatility of skyrocketing rent, nor does it provide any security about their futures in council housing.
This is a tool which will guarantee security for tenants, and allow them to live better lives. It is already available to Community Housing Providers and Kainga Ora tenants - so why not those in council housing, who are sometimes living right next door?
Why is this important?
The cost of rent in Wellington is skyrocketing. The impact this is having on those in private rentals is well documented. But for those in housing run by the council, already in difficult circumstances to meet the criteria for a private market placing, the cost of rent is also having a massive impact on tenants who have to pay market rates.
Currently, tenants in Wellington City Council housing are facing immense hardship due to the “percentage of market rate” model. One of our tenants is a single mother, who spends 86% of her income on rent and struggles to make ends meet after that. Another one of our tenant leaders talks about the panic her and other tenants feel as some of them face homelessness due to the high rent.
It does not have to be this way, so tenants are standing up!
The tools available to the council are not sufficient to solve the high cost of rent.
But one tool not currently accessible by council could solve this problem