aug 19, 1990 - Housing Advice and Delivery Service for older people - starts

Description:

The Housing Advice and Delivery Service (HAND) was piloted by the Housing Corporation. This scheme was to provide guidance for relocation of some older people into more suitable/better accommodation and advice for older people about maintaining their property. People did not have to be clients of the Housing Corporation to use the service.
In addition to advice, the service assisted older people to access Housing Corporation programmes including:
• Home-Swap Scheme: to help older people who found their home a problem to maintain or too large for their needs. If the house was suitable, Housing Corporation would buy the house at market value and in return sell the person a low maintenance modern home. If the former house was worth less, then a loan from the Corporation was available.
• Home Improvement Loans for Elderly Homeowners of Limited Means: Loans were available from the Housing Corporation to help elderly homeowners with essential repairs where they had a low income and could not afford to borrow elsewhere. To be eligible a person had to be reliant on Guaranteed Retirement Income and have cash assets of less than $16,000 for a single persons or $19,000 for a couple. Loans of up to $20,000 were available, though larger loans could be provided depending on circumstances. The interest rate on the loan was set with regard to income so that total housing outgoings did not exceed 25 percent of gross weekly income. The Corporation could also defer payment of principal or capitalise interest charges, with the loan recovered when the house was sold.
• Relocatable Cottages: The Housing Corporation could provide a relocatable cottage (a small detached unit that could be placed on a property close to an existing house). This was intended to provide elderly or handicapped people with a home that was near to friends or relatives, but far enough away so that they could be independent. People aged 60 or over, recipients of an Invalids Benefit and handicapped people, who had minimal assets (cash, investments and property of less than $16,000 for single people or $19,000 for a couple) could apply for a relocatable cottage. The Housing Corporation paid for the cost of the cottage, for installing it on the property and connecting services. The Corporation was also responsible for exterior maintenance. There was a hire fee/rent payable to the Corporation. When the cottage was no longer needed the Corporation removed it from the property. Under certain circumstances the property owner could purchase the cottage.

Source: https://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/about-msd/history/social-assistance-chronology-programme-history.html

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