Another 40 families will soon move into their new homes as part of an urban transformation project. Today Tāmaki Regeneration Company (TRC) opened new social and affordable homes in the Auckland suburb of Glen Innes.
The moment has finally arrived for this Māori family as they wander through their new home.
General Manager for TRC, Neil Porteous says, "They've moved in from damp, draftee homes into these new dry houses, they really appreciate that."
They're one of two families moving into these new homes in Glen Innes, as part of a systematic plan by the Tamaki Regeneration Company.
"We're going to be working with the Tāmaki community on a regeneration programme to replace two and a half thousands of those houses with 7,500 new warm, dry houses and they'll be a mixture of social houses."
Porteous says he's surprised the programme is being launched just before Election Day.
"That's a pure coincidence because we certainly didn't plan anything around that, because this has been in planning for weeks. We did it today because this is when the houses are ready for the whānau to move into."
Most of the homes will be available to families in Auckland over the next 10-15 years.
Local iwi rep, Tautoko Witika says, “They're doing everything they can that think is right but as far as people think on the ground we don't have a full view of how thinking or how they operate.”
Tenants will be able to remain in the newly built homes as long as they are eligible for social housing.