Community Group Housing

Community Group Housing (CGH) is a service provided by Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities where we work with a wide range of organisations that provide residential and non-residential community housing for:

• people who experience mental or psychiatric illness
• people who have physical and intellectual disabilities
• residential alcohol and drug services
• women, men and children seeking refuge
• families (including those who need emergency housing)
• support for youth/children at risk; or
• prisoner reintegration

The CGH team work with community groups to ensure secure sustainable housing solutions that meet the needs of the clients or customer groups they support.

Once community groups are housed the CGH team continue this support through regular property visits, meeting with stakeholders and exchanging key information about their tenancy.

The CGH portfolio

The portfolio consists of properties of a bespoke design which are often heavily modified to suit the customers' needs. Over half of the portfolio is made up of 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom properties with the remainder being 4-, 5- and above. The largest property in the CGH portfolio has 18 bedrooms.

Eligibility criteria

When a community group makes an enquiry with Kāinga Ora for assistance, they are taken through the eligibility criteria to apply for a CGH property and if eligible, the application process.

To be eligible to apply for a home with CGH, groups must be:

• contracted to provide residential services by another government agency
• accredited, audited and monitored by a government agency to provide residential services
• a registered charity, incorporated society or a government funded provider and;
• have sufficient funding to operate and afford market rent, have the appropriate governance process and management structure to support the service.

To find out more about the eligibility criteria call 0800 801 601.

How to apply

Once eligibility has been confirmed a CGH representative will contact the community group to go through the housing application either face-to-face or over the phone.

To find out more about applying call 0800 801 601.

Rent support scheme

The Rent Support Scheme is a subsidy intended to support community groups who can demonstrate from the income they receive that they cannot meet market rent payable for the property that they rent from us.  This includes income from the following sources:

• other government contracts specifically for rent
• contributions to rent from residents and/or service users
• donations or grants specifically for rent.

There is an expectation that the group will work towards paying market rent for the properties they rent from us, as the Rent Support Scheme is not a long term solution.

Rent support is reviewed annually or reassessed at any other time (such as a change in circumstances) and based on the information from your application, the level of rent support may change. Changes will take effect as follows:

• A decrease in rent support (that is, an increase in your rent payment) will start 90 days from the date your rent support is assessed.
• An increase in rent support (that is, a decrease in your rent payment) will start the day after your rent support is assessed.

Who can get Rent Support?

The amount of the subsidy, and who can receive it, depends on the type of service provided. Services providing support for people in residential supported living situations, family, welfare and respite services (both residential and non-residential) may be eligible for Rent Support.

Rent support is not available for:

• Transitional housing services funded by Ministry of Social Development and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (these services are also not eligible for a Community Group House).
• Services providing support for people in independent living situations.
• The costs of providing office space or staff accommodation.