Housing For Older People FAQs

• What type of accommodation is available?
• Do I qualify for rental housing? 
• How do I apply for a rental unit? 
• What are the costs of accommodation? 
• Is there any accommodation available for purchase?
• What car parking facilities are available? 
• Are there appliances or whiteware in the units?
• Who maintains the buildings and grounds?
• Are pets allowed?
• Who can I obtain further information from?
• Where are the rental units located?

Twenty-two complexes providing 458 units for rent are located throughout the city.  Within each complex, units are generally grouped in blocks of 3 or 4 with the total number of units in each ranging from 6 to 51.  There are three basic types of units.  These are:

• Single Bedsit Units providing self contained accommodation with a kitchen, bathroom, and a combined bedroom and living area.  In some cases communal laundry facilities are provided, (where this is not available in the units), and the cost of electricity and maintenance of machines is met by the Council.
• Single Bedroom Units with a separate bedroom, the living area, kitchen, bathroom and laundry.
• Double Bedroom Units with one bedroom but larger in area to accommodate couples.

The majority of units are rented totally unfurnished. All tenants need to provide their own drapes and in some cases their own floor coverings.

Low cost rental accommodation is available to older people who meet the following criteria.

Obtain an application pack from any area office or the Community Services Department on Level 1 of our head office in Takapuna.

The application form requests details about your current circumstances and your income and assets and includes:

• A statutory declaration to be completed before an authorised person such as a justice of the peace
• A letter for your doctor, with a medical certificate to be completed regarding any special health needs you may have and your ability to care for yourself

Once completed the forms should be forwarded to: Housing - Administrative Assistant, Community Liaison Department, North Shore City Council Building, Level 1, 1-7 The Strand, Takapuna.

The Council acknowledges every application.  If an applicant meets the eligibility criteria, they will be contacted by the Administrative Assistant for an interview with the coordinator.

Following the interview the application is prioritised according to housing need and the applicant is placed on a waiting list until a suitable unit becomes available.  Once a unit is allocated, a tenancy agreement is completed and a fortnightly automatic deduction from your bank is set up for payment of the rent.

Housing rents are set in accordance with council policy and are subject to an annual review.

Rentals on a weekly basis are:

To be eligible, applicants must:

1. Have reached the age of 60 years (in the case of couples, one must have reached the age of 60 years).
2. Be in receipt of income support i.e. Superannuation, Sickness, Invalids, Unemployment or Emergency Benefit.
3. Have assets totalling no more than the asset barrier of $47,000 for a single person and $55,000 for a couple. This amount does not include furniture, a motorcar or household items.
4. Have a genuine housing need. Council expects that as an applicant has a housing need, then that applicant will consider both types of accommodation that are available; bed-sits and single bedroom units.
5. Be able to care for themselves independently.
6. Have New Zealand Citizenship or Permanent Residency of longer than two years.
7. Have currently lived in North Shore City for at least five years and secondly, to those who have relatives who have currently lived in North Shore City for at least seven years.

The connection and cost of power and a telephone are the responsibility of the incoming tenant(s).

Council owns 37 units in three complexes for owner-occupiers for which different criteria apply.  A separate application form and an extensive information leaflet are available on request.

Limited parking is available close to the units in most complexes. However, some villages have waiting lists. We will discuss this with you prior to allocating a unit.

Refrigerators are not provided by the Council. Incoming tenants are responsible for the purchase and maintenance of these.

Washing machines are provided by the Council in communal laundries servicing some bed sit units, but if a unit has it’s own laundry facility incoming tenants must provide their own machine.

Heaters are provided in some units, however Council is not responsible for replacing these.

North Shore City Council maintains the buildings and the grounds in each complex, but tenants are responsible for the small garden area immediately outside their own unit.

Pets such as birds or a cat may be allowed under certain circumstances, but no dogs are permitted in any of the complexes.

You can obtain further information about Housing For Older People by emailing actionline@northshorecity.govt.nz

Bedsits usually have communal laundries but the 'bolded' complex’s bedsits have their own laundry facility.