Mr Cadogan said local government needed to take the lead and work closely with developers "and perhaps an outside agency that might be formed to facilitate people into low-cost housing, such as a housing trust-type arrangement".
Mr Cadogan said the "exact nature of that [a trust] has yet to be determined", but he was "working towards" a solution and had met the Queenstown Housing Trust.
"Where to from here is still being actively worked on."
Mr Cadogan said the fact the Alexandra Council of Social Services (Acoss) had written to Social Housing Minister Amy Adams about its concerns about social housing issues in the region showed there was still a problem.
Acoss has told Ms Adams of an Alexandra woman living in a sleepout with her five children being refused a three-bedroom Housing New Zealand home as it was not big enough for the family. The agency, which is comprised of social service, education, health and community agencies, was "extremely concerned" about the shortage of social housing in Central Otago, and housing was "increasingly becoming the number one issue" of those Acoss was assisting, Acoss chairwoman Deirdre Jolly said.
Mr Cadogan said the sudden growth in population in Central Otago, "alongside issues such as homes formerly tenanted long-term now being used for AirBnB and similar operations", meant the price of housing had jumped dramatically for those wanting to buy or rent.
"I have heard of one person who had their unit sell and the new owner seek an immediate 30% rent increase. Stories like these concern me greatly."
The Central Otago District Council owns 98 housing units which cater primarily for the elderly in Central Otago: 23 in Alexandra, three in Clyde, 31 in Cromwell, 15 in Roxburgh and 26 in Ranfurly. They had an overall 90% occupancy rate for the October to December 2016 quarter.
