Like many locations around Aotearoa, adequate housing
provision continues to be a challenge for our community. Council, together with
the Government, iwi and local housing providers, has invested a significant
amount of work into responding to housing needs and we are now seeing positive
progress.
History of Rotorua
In November 1880 the Fenton Agreement was signed. The agreement was between the Crown and Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Rangiwewehi and Ngāti Uenukukopako, gifting the lands on which the then Rotorua township was built. Specific land areas were set aside for recreation, hospitals and schools. The area for the township was extensive, stretching from the lakefront to Tihiotonga, and from Utuhina to the Puarenga stream.
In essence, this was the first town plan and Te Arawa continues to have a major interest in the way the city and the district develops.
Story of growth
From 1996 to 2013, the average population growth rate in Rotorua was 0.2% per annum, and according to Statistics New Zealand, in 2012 the population of Rotorua was actually forecast to decline. However, like most places in Aotearoa, our city experienced a rapid increase in growth over the next decade jumping to 1.8% per annum from 2013 to 2020.
The number of people who call Rotorua home increased by more than 6500 people between 2013 and 2020 when the district’s population exceeded 77,300. The impact of that growth led to a local housing crisis.
The impact of growth
With the increase in population, the demand for housing has increased in parallel, both for public and private rental homes and homes for sale. The increase in demand also resulted in a rapid rise in rental and property sale prices. As a result, there was an increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness and requiring access to emergency housing services.
The number of new homes being built was not able to meet the significant demand and there were a number of barriers restricting growth such as an outdated District Plan rules, availability of land, historical underinvestment in infrastructure to support growth and availability of industry resources.
Fortunately, the market has begun to respond to the demand with building and resource consent numbers increasing steadily since 2020. Council continues to take action to ensure our city is able to meet the ongoing need for more homes and better housing choices for our community.
