Community Group Housing
Helping provide residential and non residential community 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 diagnosed with mental illness
- people who have physical and/or intellectual disabilities
- people who abuse substances or have addictions
- people who require refuge
- families who need emergency housing
- children/youth at risk
- family support (such as Plunket, Barnardos, Tamariki Ora, budgeting).
The Supported Housing 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 Supported Housing team continue this support through regular property visits, meeting with stakeholders and exchanging key information about their lease.
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 services by another government agency
- accredited, audited and monitored by a government agency to provide 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.
This excludes transitional housing funded by HUD or Corrections Housing and Support Services Contract or housing contracted directly by a government agency.
To find out more about the eligibility criteria call 0800 801 601.
How to apply
Once eligibility has been confirmed a Supported Housing 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.
Change in circumstances
Groups renting Community Group Housing properties are obligated to inform Kāinga Ora of any change in their circumstances. A change in circumstances for a Group can impact on their eligibility for a CGH property, compliance, rent support and obligations under their funding contract.
Ideally, Groups should advised Supported Housing of any change in their circumstances well in advance of the change occurring.
If Kāinga Ora is not notified before the change, Supported Housing will advise the funder of any breaches in health and safety or fire compliance resulting from changes in circumstances that could have been addressed if the change had been notified before occurring.
Changes that will require re-assessment of eligibility
The following changes in circumstances will require a re-assessment for eligibility for a Community Group Housing property (via the application process) and/ or the rent support subsidy:
- changes to funding contracts
- change of service
- change to the group
- changes to sources of income
- changes in clients
- changes to property requirements
If your organisation has changes coming up in the near future, or changes have already happened please contact us on 0800 801 601 to discuss.
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.
How often is a Rent Support application required?
A completed application for Rent Support, including full documentation, is required annually or whenever there is a change in a groups funding or service provision. Funding contracts supplied as part of an application must show the full contractual figures.
Are Independent Living services eligible for Rent Support?
No, as people who are supported to live independently with minimal support are eligible for other accommodation subsidies, such as the Accommodation Supplement. The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) will be able to determine if your services users are entitled to receive other accommodation subsidies.
Can providers apply for Rent Support for transitional housing services funded by the Ministry of Social Development or the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development?
No, transitional housing services funded by the Ministry of Social Development and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development are not eligible for Rent Support, or for Community Group Housing. For more information, please contact your Funding Contracts Manager.
What do we take into account when we calculate Rent Support?
Depending on the service provided, there are a number of factors taken into account when we calculate Rent Support:
- Government funding received for rent;
- Rent contributions from service users;
- Donations and grants specifically for rent;
- The number of bedrooms in the property;
- The number of service users; and
- The number of bedrooms used as office space or for staff accommodation.
Are bedrooms used as office space or for staff accommodation covered by Rent Support?
If your agreement with us is to provide residential services, bedrooms used as staff accommodation or as office space will be excluded from the total number of bedrooms when we calculate the amount of Rent Support
If your agreement with us is to provide non-residential services, no one can reside at the property. Rent Support is calculated using funding, donations and service user contributions for rent. It does not take into account the number of bedrooms at the property.
What information do I use to give you the actual rent received figure?
Please look at your actual rent received from your service users for the previous financial year. You can then use this amount to estimate the rent received figure for the next year.
What period is required for the audited accounts?
Audited accounts provided should be for your last financial year as this is the most recent.
How do I provide the weekly funding amount for rent from the Government if it is not the same figure for each service user?
Please provide an average figure. This figure would be based on any rental amount received from your funding contract.
My funding contract does not show what amount is specifically for rent. What should I use?
Some contracts will clearly show what the rent amount is, but we do know this is not the case for all contracts. You will need to talk with your funder to identify the correct amount for rent. If you are still not able to work out how much is specifically for rent, we suggest you look at the previous year to work out how much of your funding went towards rent. You will then be able to give an estimate on how much of your Government funding will go towards rent in the current year.
My health contract has a per day rate with different amounts applied to the level of needs. How do I work this figure out for the Rent Support application?
Work out the rent portion of the per day rate, for each of your service users. The total figure from this is the figure you use in your application for Rent Support. If you have information from your previous year on what you received for rent, you can also use this to help work out what you think the rent portion is for the next year.
We receive a Ministry of Social Development Residential Support Subsidy for some of our clients. How do we know how much of the subsidy is towards rent?
The Residential Support Subsidy is intended to pay for accommodation and incidental costs for your client, from their benefit. Your client will receive a personal allowance from the Ministry of Social Development. You will need to tell us the amount of Residential Support Subsidy you receive on behalf of your clients, or how much rent or board you are charging your clients. For more information on the Residential Support Subsidy, please see the Ministry of Social Development website.
What documentation is required where the weekly market rent cannot be met?
Along with the documentation you have already provided for funding and budgets, you also need to show any plans you have for increasing your funding or income, such as fundraising or additional client charges. You should also show the level/s of your other costs.
If you have any further questions please contact your Supported Housing Regional Lead on 0800 801 601 or email us.
More information
- Oranga Tamariki - Ministry for Children(external link) - Our people are passionate about caring for kids and supporting families. We are the single biggest employer of social workers in the country.
- Ministry of Health(external link) - The Government's principal advisor on health and disability: improving, promoting and protecting the health of all New Zealanders.
- Tenancy Services(external link) - We want everyone to have safe, healthy, durable homes and buildings, supporting MBIE's goal to grow New Zealand for all.
Page updated: 29 June 2022