Smoking prohibition, medical assessments and an update on financial capabilities may be on the way for elderly Invercargill City Council tenants.
Councillors received an Elderly Persons Housing Policy during an Infrastructure meeting on Tuesday.
Strategy, policy and engagement manager Rhiannon Suter said the document was important as there was a great demand for housing in the city as well as to give clear direction of council’s roles and responsibilities to its tenants.
She said the council owned 21 housing complexes which provided 216 rental housing units for older people in Invercargill and Bluff.
"On average, the council receives around 60 applications for an average 15-20 vacancies per year.
"At present the waitlist has 88 people on it, and the current wait time for a unit is around 18 months to two years."
She highlighted the document was drafted based on the current practices and procedures, but there were some changes or amendments which might affect current and future tenants.
These included a prohibition for new tenants to smoke or vape in the property, a requirement for applicants to inform the council if their financial circumstances change and applicants or tenants may be asked to undertake a medical assessment to determine their level of independence.
Ms Suter said if they no longer met the financial eligibility criteria, the council might choose to impose a market rent rather than the discounted rates in place and the medical assessment would be to ensure people were in the right accommodation for them.
Cr Ria Bond asked about the medical assessment part as if an existing tenant was deemed not able to live independently, she worried they would not be able to find a rest-home. "They are not available for at least 20-plus days."
Council policy analyst Hannah Kennedy said they did not have the provision to kick the tenant out.
"Nobody will be forced out quickly — it is a conversation about facilitating those options [for them."
The document also clarified some other points which Ms Suter said were already part of the policy.
Among them were a proposal that the general age requirement for applicants be raised to 65 and that all dogs were banned from housing units.
Councillors unanimously approved the recommendation and the policy is set to be adopted at the next meeting.
