The Government has announced where it plans to build 6400 new state and community houses.
More than half of them - 3550 - will be in Auckland, with significant numbers also planned for Wellington and Canterbury.
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"The national housing crisis has hurt too many New Zealanders, from those locked out of the Kiwi dream of home ownership, to those left homeless and those suffering the health effects of poor quality housing," Housing Minister Phil Twyford said on Friday morning.
"The single most important thing the Government can do to solve the housing crisis is to build more affordable homes, and the best way to tackle homelessness is to build more public housing."
The 6400 new places come on top of those already in the pipeline.
- Auckland - 3550
- Wellington - 715
- Canterbury - 480
- Waikato - 330
- East Coast - 330
- Bay of Plenty - 275
- West Coast/Tasman - 200
- Northland - 180
- Central Region (Manawatu, Whanganui) - 180
- Southland/Otago - 105
- Taranaki - 55
About 2850 of the 3550 Auckland homes will be directly paid for by the Government, and another 700 will come from partnerships with community housing providers and councils.
To pay for the 6400 new homes the Government will spend $234.4 million from its operating funding, while Housing New Zealand will spend $900 million and borrow another $2.9 billion.
There are presently just over 67,000 state and community provided homes. Nearly 31,000 of them are in Auckland.
"The waiting list for a state house - now at 8704 - shows the extent of the suffering in our communities," said Mr Twyford.
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The homes will be built over the next four years. Mr Twyford says they could end up with even more than the planned 6400.
"Demand for housing changes all the time, and we'll constantly monitor what's needed across the country and will continue to invest in places where New Zealanders need public housing the most."
Demand in Auckland is highest for one- and two-bedroom places. The Otara-Papatoetoe Local Board area has the highest demand, with 262 families currently on the waiting list.
Outside of Auckland, the biggest demand is in Lower Hutt, with 221 waiting, and Hamilton, with 165.
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