Our approach to delivering social housing

Growing our housing portfolio

Kāinga Ora builds additional social homes based on the Government direction, which tells us how many houses are needed and where they are needed.

Over the two years to 30 June 2026, we will be adding 2,650 homes to our social housing stock, bringing the total number of social homes throughout Aotearoa New Zealand to around 78,000.

We will do this through:

• removing old Kāinga Ora houses and redeveloping on the land;
• working with construction firms to build houses;
• buying completed homes from private developers.

A focus on renewal

We also have a focus on renewing our existing homes, to make sure we have homes in the right locations and our homes are suitable for the people that need them.

We renew our homes through:

• renovating them through our retrofit programme, adding at least 50 years to their life;
• removing homes and redeveloping on the same land;
• selling the houses and the land and replacing it with a new warm, dry home elsewhere.

Over the two years to 30 June 2026, almost 3,000 Kāinga Ora homes will be renewed, delivering warmer, drier and healthier homes for people in need, in the right locations.

Selling our homes

Our focus on renewals means Kāinga Ora will strategically sell some social homes or land it owns. Generally, this will be because selling makes the best economic sense, or we need to prioritise social housing in another area.

It’s important to note when we sell, we are not reducing our overall number of social homes. For each Kāinga Ora home we sell, we deliver a newly built social home elsewhere.

When we sell, the funds are reinvested to renew even more of our homes.

This approach means we are releasing more homes into the market for all New Zealanders, while continuing to provide social housing in the right locations.

Design and planning

Kāinga Ora’s construction activities incorporate design principles and controls that ensure the housing we develop is of good quality and meets the needs of the communities we serve.

When we build we consider infrastructure, like roads and amenities, such as parks, to create neighbourhoods that are functional, attractive and that further local community aspirations. 

We have design guidelines in place for the building of social housing and our standard and bespoke designs for new homes apply Te Aranga Design Principles. These principles are founded on intrinsic Māori cultural values and aim to enhance mana whenua presence, visibility and participation in urban design.