Partnering for new housing opportunities

We’re committed to working in partnership with Community Housing Providers (CHPs) on new housing opportunities.

CHPs play an important role in delivering long-term public housing places for people in urgent need of housing support.

About community housing

A Community Housing Provider provides public or affordable rental housing.

CHPs are regulated by the Community Housing Regulatory Authority (CHRA).

Public housing

Public houses are properties owned or leased by Kāinga Ora and registered CHPs that can be tenanted by people who are eligible for public housing. Public Housing is regulated by the Public and Community Housing Management Act 1992 and managed under the Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

Read more about the Public and Community Management Act 1992

Community Housing Regulatory Authority

The Community Housing Regulatory Authority (CHRA) registers and regulates CHPs.

CHRA works:

  • as a registrar and regulator of social and affordable rental housing
  • to make sure that tenants of community housing providers are appropriately housed
  • to support the growth of a fair, efficient and transparent housing sector.

Find more information about CHRA and applying to become a registered CHP on the CHRA website.

Go to the Community Housing Regulatory Authority website

What we look for in proposals from CHPs

New public housing provided by CHPs needs to complement the delivery by Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities, in line with the approach set out by the government in the Public Housing Plan.

Find out more about the Public Housing Plan 2021-2024(external link)

Additionality criteria

We are particularly interested in public housing opportunities which satisfy one or more of our additionality criteria.

  • Where a CHP owns or has access to land for development

    This needs to be land already owned by a CHP, or land that is made available by another organisation, for example a parent entity, subsidiary group, or other partner such as church groups or iwi.

  • In locations where Kāinga Ora has a limited presence or development pipeline

    CHPs play an import role in meeting demand across New Zealand. Our team works constructively with both the Ministry of Social and Development and Kāinga Ora in considering each new build public housing opportunity that is presented.

    We will also consider proposals for developments in the focus areas detailed in the Public Housing Plan 2021-2024(external link)

  • Which provide bespoke housing solutions to meet the needs of individuals, families and whānau

    We are looking for opportunities where CHPs can provide bespoke housing solutions for groups, with an emphasis on Māori, Pacific families, people requiring accessible or multi-generational homes.

    Proposals will need to demonstrate how the specific needs of this target group can be met by considering housing typology, proximity to appropriate amenities or services; and other factors which would enable positive housing outcomes for the target group.

  • Involve innovative delivery models

    Where an opportunity does not meet any of the above criteria, HUD might be interested if it is otherwise exceptional or innovative.

    For example, portfolio-based arrangements could be considered an innovative delivery model if it puts in place financing for several projects at once, and if this financing is in advance of land being identified.

  • Meet Accessibility and Universal Design Standards

    We recognise the need to design and build homes that meet a diverse range of household needs, including for individuals and whānau who require accessible homes.

    We support and encourage proposals that meet accessibility and universal design standards, and look forward to partnering with you to provide homes that meet the needs of all New Zealanders.

    Read more about standards for accessible homes on the Office for Disability Issues website(external link)(external link)(external link).

Build-to-own developments

Our preference is that new supply of public housing is delivered as build-to-own, where the CHP retains ownership of the place when it is completed. This approach will help to strengthen CHPs ability to develop more housing in the future by owning a long-term asset, while making sure that places funded by the government are more likely to be kept over the long-term as public housing.

Where build-to-own developments aren’t possible, build-to-lease, where the CHP leases the place from the owner, may be appropriate in certain circumstances. These include:

  • opportunities that are in one of the nine Public Housing Plan focus areas, and
  • opportunities that will deliver tailored housing solutions.

Small build-to-lease opportunities will be considered in limited circumstances in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, which may be dependent on the partnership arrangement.

We are interested in opportunities that may enable CHPs to deliver different types of housing through mixed models, shared equity or future ownership.

Redirects

To support an increase in the number of newly built social houses, from July 2024 HUD is not accepting any new redirects unless by exception. This means CHPs need to cap their current number of redirect tenancies as the maximum. Tenancies and properties can still be replaced when they become vacant or unavailable over time. However, CHPs will not be able to increase their net overall number of redirects. HUD may grant a limited number of exceptions on a case-by-case basis.

Redirects arise when an existing house is used for social housing where it was previously used for a different purpose. For example, when a CHP has an existing property that was being used as a private rental and would like to use it to house an individual or whānau from the Housing Register, and receive the Income-Related Rent Subsidy (IRRS).

There will be no displacement of existing social housing tenants because of this change.

Notable exclusions: What this means for specific programmes such as Housing First and Rapid Rehousing etc.

HUD will still accept redirects where it has provided a commitment to do so or where funding has been provided for redirects through a specific programme. This means that some separately funded services such as, Housing First and Rapid Rehousing, where immediate access to housing and client choice are key service elements are not included in the redirects approach. 

And finally, redirects for Te Toi Mahana are also separately funded - so are not counted or have any implications for the 1500 places funded through Budget 2024.

Exceptions

Any HUD exceptions to redirects are on a very limited case-by-case basis.

Exceptions can be granted by HUD in very limited situations and volumes, for example where a CHP needs to relocate tenants from a property in the short term to enable it to be redeveloped.

Redirects: Council housing transferred to a CHP

Our focus is on increasing the number of newly built social houses.

To clarify, the same approach to redirects as outlined above applies to council housing that is transferred to a CHP. 

Redirects from councils that have already transferred to social housing can be relisted as social housing on becoming vacant and renewed in line with current practices.

Council housing transferred to a CHP prior to 1 July 2024 that is currently tenanted as a redirect can continue when vacancies arise and a new tenant is placed from the Housing Register.

Contact us

If you are a registered Community Housing Provider, please contact your Business Development Manager if you have any questions.

For other new build opportunities, please contact public_housing_panel_procurement@hud.govt.nz.

For queries regarding redirects please contact ProviderEnquiries@hud.govt.nz.