REOI for Contract 24-045 - Long-term Lease and Management of RLC Pensioner Housing

Details

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This Request for Expression of Interest (REOI) is issued by Rotorua District Council (trading as Rotorua Lakes Council) (Council).
The purpose of this REOI is to invite suitably experienced Community Housing Providers (CHP's) to submit a proposal to enter into a long-term lease for Council's Pensioner Housing portfolio.

Council currently manages 152 pensioner housing units across five locations in Rotorua for older people who meet age, asset and independent living criteria. The Pensioner housing provides affordable housing options for older people on low incomes. Approximately 26 of the pensioner housing units are current vacant as they do not comply with healthy homes standards and require refurbishment. Funding has been committed through the 2024-34 Long Term Plan to undertake the refurbishment of the vacant units and this is actively being progressed.

Following engagement with the Rotorua community through the 2024-34 Long Term Plan, the Council agreed that the preferred option for the future of the pensioner housing portfolio, that would achieve Council's objectives, is to enter into a long-term lease with a suitable community housing provider.
Council's objectives include:
Ensure ongoing housing security for existing tenants.
Provide greater support services for vulnerable tenants.
Ensure the portfolio is financially sustainable including not requiring rate payer funding to meet ongoing capital and operational costs.
If possible, create opportunities for growth of the portfolio.

The intention of this REOI is to identify suitably experienced community housing providers who may have an interest in leasing all or part of the Council pensioner portfolio, the realistic range of leasing options, and the conditions/assumptions those options are based upon. It would be preferable that all five sites were leased collectively. However, alternative options may be considered. This could include:
A lease for all of the land and dwellings in the pensioner housing portfolio in its entirety.
A lease for the land and dwellings of one or more of the individual pensioner housing complexes.
A ground lease for the land (either for the portfolio in its entirety or for one or more of the individual complexes) and the purchase of the dwellings.