Social service leaders this week said the shortage was reaching crisis levels as a trend of bidding wars for rental properties emerged and some families were living in caravans, tents, garages and camping grounds.
At the same time, news that two Housing New Zealand properties in Cromwell had been vacant for months was met with disbelief by community leaders, who said a co-ordinated approach was needed to develop more social housing in the district.
Mr Cadogan said he was surprised to hear about the vacant Housing New Zealand homes, as he had ''personally heard of the pressure people on low income or benefits have had in recent times in finding accommodation in Cromwell''.
He said he wanted Central Otago to be somewhere young families could ''still aspire to and work towards home ownership''.
''There is no doubt there is a lot of community concern regarding housing affordability, particularly in Cromwell, but also in Alexandra and Clyde ... I am very concerned that, while a rise in house values is good for those who are in the market, it makes for a very steep mountain to climb for those on the outside, especially with the rising cost of rental accommodation.''
Mr Cadogan said ''initial conversations regarding where we go from here'' had begun ''and are a priority to me''.
''A range of options need to be considered, with a model such as the Queenstown Affordable Housing Trust, which has been operating for over 10 years, needing close consideration. It is my view that council needs to work closely with developers and the community to find the best way forward.''
Meanwhile, Housing New Zealand has denied that community pressure led to two Housing New Zealand Central Otago properties being taken off the market last year.
Central Otago Budgeting Services (Cobs) manager/co-ordinator Pam Hughes said Cobs had found out last year that two Housing New Zealand properties in Alexandra were earmarked for sale.
The Alexandra Council of Social Services (Acoss), of which Cobs is a member, then wrote to Housing New Zealand to protest the possible sales, saying the houses were needed because of a shortage of affordable rental accommodation in the district. At the time there were five Alexandra families for which social services were trying to find affordable accommodation, including two families who were living in camping grounds.
Mrs Hughes also met Waitaki MP Jacqui Dean about the issue.
Alexandra social services agencies later discovered the houses were no longer for sale, and two families moved into the homes, Mrs Hughes said.
A Housing New Zealand spokesman said the properties were not pulled from sale because of community feedback.
''We always monitor and respond to demand for social housing and those houses were brought back from our sales pool to meet demand for social housing in Alexandra.''
Housing New Zealand has 20 properties in Central Otago, including the two vacant homes in Cromwell.
The spokesman said there had been ''consistently low demand'' for three-bedroom homes in Cromwell.
If that lack of demand continued, Housing New Zealand would consider selling any surplus properties, he said.
