The public housing waitlist has continued its steady march upwards, with 11,145 eligible households waiting for state or social housing at the end of January. The most recent quarterly report on public housing had the median wait time at 98 days - up from 58 a year prior. In the quarterly housing report Ministry of Housing and Urban Development officials blamed several factors for the rising numbers: higher rents, greater awareness of public housing, and a slowdown in the rate of people exiting public housing. "The current average rent prices across the country mean that state housing is currently one of the only available options for the thousands of people on the public housing waiting list." "The Government will demolish 2,700 homes in order to make way for the 3,000 state homes being built, meaning the net increase of state homes in that development will only be of 300."

Source: Stuff March 12, 2019 21:45 UTC