Refreshed and ready for 2023

“I love it, it’s just beautiful. I’ve been living here for eight years and it’s such an improvement. I know how lucky I am,” Marilyn says.

Carol agrees that she couldn’t be happier with the way her home is transformed. “When I came back, I thought oh my goodness, it smelt new. That was the first thing that struck me,” she says.

Carol and Marilyn’s one-bedroom homes are among 10 units at the Nayland Road complex that have recently undergone significant repair and upgrade work as part of the Kāinga Ora retrofit programme. The retrofit work, which aims to improve older homes by making them warmer and drier, was also completed on the complex’s other eight units in July this year.

The homes have been freshly painted inside and out and new carpet and vinyl laid. New double glazing, insulation and heatpumps have been installed to make them warmer and drier and to help bring them up to the Government’s Healthy Homes standards.

Marilyn and Carol’s one-bedroom homes have recently been significantly refurbished as part of the Kāinga Ora retrofit programme.

The homes have new bathrooms and kitchens and their layout has been changed so they now have an open-plan living space. Solar panels have also been added to their roofs as part of the Kāinga Ora solar panel trial, which aims to reduce customers’ power bills. New fencing has been put up and solar lighting will soon be installed.

Marilyn, who has a serious lung condition, says her home’s previous dampness was an issue during the winter but she’s looking forward to a healthier winter in 2023. “I go swimming every day [to help with symptoms]. The new heatpump will make everything much better,” she says.

Carol has lived in her home for around nine years and says she has noticed how much brighter and lighter it is now. “It’s open and, with the old fireplace now gone, there’s a flat wall with a heatpump so the room is much wider than it was. It’s a lot lighter because I’ve got a back door with glass in it and there’s so much light coming through.”

She also can’t wait to finish unpacking after moving back into her home, and to get stuck into some baking in her new kitchen. “I’m looking forward, when I’ve got a bit of time, to using my new oven. I’ll make some afghan biscuits, and maybe some fruit cake,” Carol says.

The Nayland Road units were transferred from Nelson City Council to Kāinga Ora ownership in 2021. Kāinga Ora will carry out retrofit work on three other former Nelson City Council complexes next year, and in 2024.