Upgrades for more homes through Retrofit Programme

Here they shared more information about plans for retrofitting more homes across New Zealand(external link).

Prime Minister and Minister Faafoi visit a retrofit home

Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities is making our homes warmer, drier and healthier to improve the wellbeing of our customers.

Through our Retrofit Programme we're upgrading and improving our older homes to help provide great places to call home for our customers.

Following the successful pilot in the Hutt Valley which has seen nearly 200 homes retrofitted, we’re rolling out the Retrofit Programme to more areas to help more of our customers 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.

Patrick Dougherty DCE Construction and Innovation is excited about the expansion and the difference this will make for our customers, along with the opportunity for contractors across the country.

"We plan to retrofit over 1,500 homes in 30 towns across NZ in the next two years as part of our work to deliver more warm, dry homes. We are also looking to use contractors of all sizes to carry out the work."

The Retrofit Programme

Full floor and ceiling insulation and double glazed windows

The Prime Minister and Minister Faafoi visited one of our homes currently being retrofitted to see the extensive work that is carried out to upgrade these homes.

Patrick outlined that the Retrofit Programme aims to bring these homes up to, or above new build and Homestar 6 standards, and add another 50 years to the life of the property.

"The work includes full insulation of the homes (walls, ceiling and floor insulation), double glazing, improved air-tightness, ventilation and new heating to ensure a healthy indoor living environment.

"The work can vary depending on each home. We will also look at carrying out work such as upgrading bathrooms and kitchens, converting homes to a more modern, open plan living layout, and making the homes more accessible," said Patrick.

Making a difference for our tenants

We have heard from our tenants how Retrofit has helped their wellbeing.

Barbara has been in her Lower Hutt home for over ten  years, and was beyond excited to have her home retrofitted.

When Barbara saw her new home for the first time, with her family and Kāinga Ora staff alongside her, she was over the moon at the transformation: “I can’t believe it’s mine! It’s just so new and beautiful, and now the family love it, and are saying they want Christmas round here!”

Tenancy Liaison Officer Carol stepped her through the process of relocating while the work was being carried out. Through workshops, customers learn what happens to their homes get to add a personal touch by choosing colours for the carpets, vinyl and exterior paint.

See the difference

Barabra was kind enough to let us film her seeing her new home for the first time. Check out the video(external link) to see the difference retrofit is making for our tenants.

You can also view a walk through of a home(external link) that is currently being retrofitted which the Prime Minister and Minister Faafoi visited.

Before (left) and after (right). Through Retrofit, we upgrade the home with double glazing, full insulation, new paint and accessibility features