Keeping the community informed

Pressing need for homes

We are constantly looking for opportunities to increase our public housing stock as we know a Kāinga Ora home can be life-changing and have an impact that spans generations.

Having a stable, warm, healthy home is important to all aspects of a person’s life – from education and employment to physical and mental health. There are too many families and children in unstable living conditions, and our commitment is to deliver new homes as quickly as possible to help meet this urgent need. 

Where we develop homes is determined by need for housing and the opportunity to provide more homes in areas that are close to schools, public transport links, shops and other services whānau need easy access to.

Engagement aims to inform

We understand that people want to know what’s happening in their neighbourhood.

The engagement work we do is designed to keep communities informed, through sharing information about our developments.

How and when we engage with communities depends on the scale and size of a development, and whether we are overseeing the build or purchasing homes from a developer. We’re committed to keeping the community informed as soon as we can.

We often focus our engagement activity on local councils, mana whenua, schools, service providers and local MPs, as they are representative of community interests.

We use a range of engagement tools, including community information sessions, online forums and digital tools, and letter drops.

One of the ways we engage with communities

Working within the consenting process

Most new housing developments, whether initiated by us or a private developer, need to go through a resource consent process.

The resource consent process is run by the local council. It takes into account factors such as whether there is enough infrastructure and services to support the proposed new development and how it aligns with the District Plan.

It is the Council that decides whether there is a need for the public to be notified of the consent application.

If a local council approves a non-notified resource consent for a new housing development, we have no additional obligation to engage or consult with the community about new public housing, however our practice is to keep communities updated as plans progress.  

Where Council require a resource consent for a development to be notified, neighbours will be consulted on the plans for the site as part of this process.  

Large scale projects

For our large scale projects, which are master planned and developed over decades and produce thousands of homes, we engage in a different way.

Our engagement for large scale projects is extensive, reflecting the co-investment and partnerships we enter into for these developments.

In this process we work with communities on the master plan, with a specific focus on local councils, mana whenua, schools and service providers who have a presence in the community and deliver services.   

Find about our large scale projects.