Kāinga Ora Retrofit Programme

Following the successful pilot in the Hutt Valley, we’re rolling out the Retrofit Programme to more areas to help more of our tenants have warm, dry and healthy homes. The programme is an investment of $500mil and will see 1,500 homes across the country upgraded over the next two years. This is a significant investment in our homes and the regional economies they are located in.

What work is carried out?

Full insulation, double glazing and improved air tightness

The objective is to bring the homes up to, or above new build standards and add another 50 years of life to the property.

The improvements to make homes warmer, drier and healthier, include full insulation of the homes (walls, ceiling and floor), double glazing, improved airtightness, ventilation, and new heating,

Work varies for each home, and we may also upgrade bathrooms and kitchens, convert homes to a more open plan living layout, and make the home more accessible.

Retrofitting a home takes around four to five months. This includes construction, and time for tenants to relocate to temporary accommodation.

Delivering more warm, dry and healthy homes

Alongside our build programme which is delivering more homes at scale and pace, Retrofit is part of the wider Kāinga Ora programme to improve our older stock as around 40,000 homes will need upgrading over the next 20 years.

Retrofit helps our work to deliver more warm dry and healthy homes, as it can be more efficient and sustainable to retrofit rather than build new.

Retrofitting a home can take around 4-5 months, and can be more sustainable, as we make use of existing materials, rather than demolishing and building new homes on land where there isn’t significant benefit to redevelopment.

There are also benefits for our tenants, and build partners. It supports our tenants’ wellbeing by making homes warmer, drier and healthier and keeps tenants in their homes and communities. It is also an opportunity for local contractors of differing sizes.

Installing new double glazed windows

What homes will be retrofitted?

Retrofit is part of the wider Kāinga Ora programme of work to improve our older homes.

New kitchen and open-plan living layout

When we assess properties to see if they are a good candidate for retrofit, as part of the wider strategy for the area, we look at a range of factors. This includes effectiveness and efficiency of upgrading the house, and how the house and land can best be used to meet housing needs, including considering if redevelopment is an option.

We will be in touch with tenants if retrofit is potentially an option for their home. It’s important to note not all homes assessed for retrofit will end up having the work carried out. We welcome tenants to get in touch with us if they have any concerns or queries about their home, and we will look into what we can do to help.