Our role as a landlord
We care about both the quality of our homes and the wellbeing of the 190,000 people living within them – of which around 40% are children and young people.
As a social housing landlord, we work hard to support our tenants and provide them with a warm, dry, home that meets their needs. This also means connecting them with the support they need to live well, with dignity, in connected communities.
Ultimately, our job is to provide our tenants with a stable home for as long as they need it. In return, we expect them to be good neighbours and tenants.
What we expect of our tenants
Our job is to provide our customers with a stable home for as long as they need it. In return, we expect them to be good tenants and neighbours and we are clear about what that means.
Our approach to rent debt
We expect all Kainga Ora tenants to pay their rent on time and in full.
If a tenant misses a rent payment, we will get in touch quickly to understand why they have fallen behind, and help, get them back on track with their rent payments. Any missed rent must be repaid, and we can help put and get a reasonable repayment arrangement in place if needed.
We’re a fair landlord and will take all reasonable steps to make sure tenants have the right support to get on top of their finances and pay their rent. To help with this, we can refer them to other agencies or budgeting services for support, if they agree.
We’re also taking a firmer approach with the small number of customers who ignore their rent debt, regularly skip payments and refuse to work with us. In these cases, we will apply to the Tenancy Tribunal to end their tenancy.
Our approach to disruptive behaviour
We have changed our approach to managing tenancies and strengthened our response to disruptive behaviour.
We know that most of our tenants are responsible and treat their neighbours with respect. However, when disruptive behaviour occurs, you can expect us to use the tools available to us under the Residential Tenancies Act more often to drive behaviour change and provide a clear deterrent for disruptive behaviour.
Meet some of our tenants
Check out the stories of some of our wonderful tenants who are helping make their community a great place to live.
Information for our neighbours
If there are Kāinga Ora homes in your neighbourhood, there may be times when you will have questions, or need to get in touch with us.
Page updated: 11 February 2025