Temporary housing opens for Kaikōura residents

5:21 pm on 28 April 2018

A temporary village has been built in Kaikōura for people waiting for their quake-damaged homes to be fixed or rebuilt.

A red stickered house in Kaikōura

Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly

The seven two-bedroom units, built on Kaikōura District Council land, were officially opened today with the first residents due to move in within the next few weeks.

Residents of the town, still recovering from the 2016 earthquake, have repeatedly complained of a housing shortage in the town.

Business owners warned before summer that the shortage would make it difficult to find extra staff, with nowhere for them to stay.

Long-term residents said they were also struggling to find alternative accommodation.

Already, 51 households have applied to move into the cabins, but others can still apply. Both homeowners and tenants are eligible.

The self-contained homes, which rent for $225 a week, have an ensuite and furnishings but no laundry facilities.

Hurunui district mayor Winston Gray said the temporary village would help ease the burden on the town's housing stock.

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