4. Question No. 4—HousingHon JUDITH COLLINS (National—Papakura) to the Minister of HousingQuestion No. 4—Housing4. Hon JUDITH COLLINS (National—Papakura) to the Minister of Housing: Are there any plans to sell unsold KiwiBuild homes to Kāinga Ora for State housing?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS (Minister of Housing): I have not been advised that Kāinga Ora are currently assessing any unsold KiwiBuild homes for purchase for State housing. If the member is referring to former KiwiBuild houses in Wānaka Te Kauwhata and Canterbury that were released to the open market at the KiwiBuild reset the first broad assessment of Te Kauwhata and Wānaka was that they weren't suitable as State houses. However we continue to take a pragmatic approach in Canterbury and if the demand is matched with the specific needs of people on the State house waiting list then they would and could be considered. I'd like to point out to the member that this Government is building a record number of State houses with 2178 extra houses added in the last financial year. Our Government is committed to increasing State house supply and ensuring that houses meet people's needs. In fact we're a Government that's built more houses than any Government since the 1970s.Hon Judith Collins: How many current or former KiwiBuild homes have been built but not sold?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: Of the current KiwiBuild homes there are 75 that are not currently sold. Some of those have conditional sales attached to them. The number that have been on the market for longer than six months is around 18 and four of those have conditional sales. In terms of the former KiwiBuild homes that was all released at the time of the reset. Hon Judith Collins: What is the longest amount of time a KiwiBuild home or former KiwiBuild home has been unsold since the programme began?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: If the member wants to put that question in writing I'll happily answer it but as I intimated in my previous answer there are currently around 18 houses that are unsold and have been unsold for longer than six months and four of those have conditional offers attached to them.Hon Judith Collins: When she wrote in the Resetting the Government Build Programme Cabinet paper Any development carries some risk and we may find we cannot sell some homes." what does she propose doing with those homes that cannot be sold even on the open market?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: If the member had read through the Cabinet paper not just that paragraph what she would have seen is there is a clear process for the disposal of unsold KiwiBuild homes that was built into the reset—that is they will not have the conditions of KiwiBuild first-home buyers or second-chance buyers attached to them; they will be open market sales.Hon Gerry Brownlee: Sold at fire-sale prices.SPEAKER: Order!Hon Gerry Brownlee: It's fair.Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: We have not had to see any former KiwiBuild homes fall into—Hon Gerry Brownlee: Fire-sale prices.Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: —the category of unsellable at this stage.SPEAKER: I indicated to the shadow Leader of the House that he should be quiet and he defied me. He won't again—at least over the next 10 minutes I hope.Hon Judith Collins: When she wrote in the same Cabinet paper "The homes are not generally suitable for HNZ as they have not been built to the public housing design standard and community housing providers have not expressed interest." does that mean that Kāinga Ora State tenants are not expected to live in former KiwiBuild homes?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: I think the member is getting quite confused around different typologies. There are homes that are built for first-home sale which are KiwiBuild homes. When it comes to the provision of State housing there are quite different design standards and I'll talk through that. The bedroom size for instance is quite different in a house that is built for public housing needs. These are built with the intention of two or three beds being put in children's bedrooms. This is not what the first-home buyer market is demanding. The fixtures also have a focus on durability so that maximum flexibility can be provided to the landlord. I understand very well that members on the other side of the House probably don't understand what it takes to build a State house given that they finished their last term of Government with fewer than they started with.Hon Judith Collins: Does she not understand that there is a cohort of elderly people who need a State home that does not necessarily have three or four or five bedrooms; and if she does then why cannot they be considered as people who can be housed in these brand new and unused KiwiBuild homes?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: Quite simply because they're not the houses that are currently being offered on the open market. For example if we look at demand in Canterbury the majority of the demand is for one-bedroom units. These are not the former KiwiBuild homes that are being offered. We have looked very carefully at the demand of the public housing waiting list and register against the stock that is for sale and they simply do not match.Hon Judith Collins: Does the proposal to dispose of unsold KiwiBuild and former KiwiBuild houses mean a possible fire sale at a discount price on the build cost?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: No."