Keeping the community informed
Kāinga Ora has a mandate to deliver more homes to meet the urgent need in our communities. Our engagement work aims to keep communities up-to-date about the homes being built in their area, and to support thriving communities.
Pressing need for homes
We’re committed to working hard to deliver as much quality housing as we can, as quickly as we can, through redeveloping our land and partnering with others including developers and iwi.
We are constantly looking for opportunities to increase our 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.
Building thriving, sustainable and inclusive communities
Our aim is to not only provide warm, dry homes but also to support communities and help build neighbourhoods.
We want to work alongside communities to help build thriving, sustainable and inclusive places to call home. One of the ways we do this is ensuring our homes and developments are designed in a way to allow people to connect and be active within their neighbourhood. At our larger developments this might include, play outdoor green areas, or in some cases a shared community space.
We are mindful of the impact development work may have on our customers, neighbours and the local community.
Our first priority is to work closely with our customers living in existing homes who may be impacted by redevelopment.
We also link with immediate neighbours and the wider local community to ensure they are aware of plans. Some of the ways we may do this include letter drops, community drop-in sessions, online forums, and digital tools.
We often also connect with councils, mana whenua, schools, service providers and local MPs, as representatives of community interests.
Drop-in sessions where people can learn more and ask questions are 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 social 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.
Page updated: 17 October 2023