Renovations at social housing properties all over the country are expertly achieved by Citycare Property teams dedicated to ensuring tenants have warm, dry, safe and secure homes.
“With property maintenance expertise as one of Citycare Property’s core strengths, it is really satisfying for our teams of specialists to play a part in delivering healthy homes,” Chief Executive Peter Lord says.
“We are proud to work with clients such as Kāinga Ora, the Christchurch City Council and Ōtautahi Community Housing Trust, supporting their goals as landlords caring for more vulnerable people and maintaining their assets with a long-term focus.
“On a daily basis our teams may be fixing issues in bathrooms and kitchens, redecorating walls, upgrading heating systems, and improving weather-tightness, just to name a few property maintenance tasks.”
For example, in Christchurch the minor capital works team of painters, carpenters, plumbers and electricians, led by Operations Manager Building Maintenance Aidy Hodson, undertake planned maintenance and renewal of social housing properties.
A drive to provide healthy homes
For Aidy, the job has many rewards as he is passionate about social housing because his grandmother lived in a council property in the United Kingdom her whole life.
“She was comfortable until the day she passed away and I will never forget that,” he says.
“For me to be helping out other people’s grandparents and parents, it’s more than work, it’s very rewarding.”
The property owners are constantly investing in its social housing assets and redevelopment.
Sometimes tenants are home during the renewal, but more often than not they move into temporary housing for the duration of the refurbishment.
From a single room to an entire complex
Every scope of work for the properties is different and can vary from a new bathroom, to external painting, or a roof upgrade, to a complete internal refit and everything in between.
The work can be undertaken throughout a complex or at one unit in a complex depending on what is planned and needed.
“I’m fortunate to own my own home, but some people don’t, however they still need to have warm, dry, comfortable and healthy homes so they can have a good life,” Aidy says.
“It’s a basic right to be able to sit in your house in nice, warm surroundings. It doesn’t have to be a palace, but a warm place, nice carpet and walls, clean water, everything working – that’s basic,” he says.
“Refurbishment is more than a word to me,” Aidy says.
“Being in a fresh, home environment makes people feel they are cared for. It can change a person’s life, inspire them,” he says.
“This is more than a job to me. I feel I’m on a mission to make things better for social housing tenants in Christchurch and that is very important for the city,” Aidy says.