Q'town's 'ground-breaking' affordable housing scheme wins international award

A “first-of-its-kind” programme that’s been helping give Queenstown Lakes residents a step up into their own home has been given a big thumbs up by international observers.

The Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust (QLCHT) has won an international accolade for its “ground-breaking” Secure Home Programme.

The programme has won the Leading Innovation Award at the Australasian Housing Institute's annual Brighter Future Awards, entered by community housing providers from around New Zealand and Australia.

The award recognises new thinking in the housing sector for initiatives or projects that have led to significant change in an organisation, with lessons that can then be applied more broadly to other housing organisations.

QLCHT chair Richard Thomas welcomes the award, saying it's an acknowledgement of years of innovation by the trust.

“With a number of other organisations across the country now lining up to use our Secure Home programme, we’re incredibly proud of breaking ground here and honoured to receive such recognition.

The first of its kind in New Zealand, Secure Home is a programme where people purchase the properties through a 100-year land lease arrangement, with the trust retaining ownership of the land in perpetuity.

QLCHT is a not-for-profit social enterprise created to manage and deliver affordable housing solutions to those vital to the community who cannot afford it.

Although now an independent entity operating throughout the district, the trust was initiated in 2007 by the Queenstown Lakes District Council, which recognised the housing affordability issue the district faced and acted upon it.

Earlier this week, neighbouring Central Otago District Council voted to take a hands-off approach to the issue of affordable housing.

Main image (Supplied): New homeowners Kris and Karla Lodge outside their new Secure Home property in Lake Hayes Estate earlier this year.