Kainga Ora
Building better, brighter homes, communities and lives.
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The outcomes we are asked to achieve as Kāinga Ora go beyond being a social landlord or urban development agency, and our legislative framework puts in place operating principles that enable us to have a much larger impact on New Zealand and the quality of New Zealanders’ lives.
This mandate is reflected in our Vision Statement:
Building better, brighter homes, communities and lives.
We’ve been given a broader range of responsibilities, customers and stakeholders to work with, and the foundations for our success begin with a deep understanding of communities and the challenges they face right across New Zealand.
Fundamentally we are an organisation that cares and aligned to our values of:
Manaakitanga - People at the heart
Mahi Tahi - Better together
Whanake - Be bold
Our core purpose as an organisation is to make a positive difference in people’s lives.
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World-class public housing landlord
Kāinga Ora provides tenancy services to nearly 200,000 customers and their whānau and owns and maintains nearly 69,000 public houses while also providing home ownership products and other services. We are focusing on prioritising our tenants’ wellbeing, and provide tenants with good quality, warm, dry and healthy homes.
Urban development
Kāinga Ora is also focused on delivering quality urban developments that connect homes with jobs, transport, open spaces and the facilities that communities need. This includes accelerating the availability of build-ready land, and building a mix of housing including public housing, affordable housing, homes for first home buyers and market housing of different types, sizes and tenures.
We have delivered nearly 7,000 homes in the past four and half years, the vast majority being newly built homes and our assets are worth nearly $40 billion.
Through our large-scale developments up to 40,000 public, affordable and market homes will be delivered over the next 10-15 years.
Partnering
Kāinga Ora can not do all this alone. We are partnering with others, including councils, government agencies, local government, Māori and mana whenua, infrastructure providers, private developers, and community housing providers. We will enable and complement, rather than compete with, the private market.
Partnering with Māori
One of our key functions is to understand, support and enable Māori aspirations for urban development. This means operating in a way that provides for early and meaningful engagement with Māori when doing urban development, understanding Maori perspectives and the active pursuit of opportunities for Māori to participate in urban development.
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For all enquiries and feedback, complete our online form
Freephone: 0800 801 601 (New Zealand only)responses for all enquiries between 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday and 24/7 for urgent calls.
Overseas callers: +64 4 439 3253 between 8am to 6pm NZT.
The formation of Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities in October 2019 marked the beginning of a step change in housing and urban development in New Zealand.
Kāinga Ora provides social housing and support to individuals and families across New Zealand.
Your first step is talk to the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) - Work and Income about your housing needs (search 'Public housing on their website). They’ll discuss your situation with you, and look at the best way to help. If you are eligible for social housing, they’ll arrange an assessment interview for you.
To get started visit or call:
Work and Income - Apply for public housing on 0800 559 009 or
Senior Services on 0800 552 002 if you’re over 65.
Emergency housing - Kāinga Ora does not offer emergency housing, this is organised through Ministry of Social Development. For more information on emergency housing and how to apply visit https://check.msd.govt.nz/services/emergency-housing
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Sorted budgeting tool
This free online tool will guide you through every step to creating your budget, reducing the stress out of setting yourself up and making sure nothing’s missed.
Check out the Sorted budgeting tool on their website.
From pet food to the transport you use, Sorted’s budgeting tool will help you take care of all your costs – and you can create an account to save and update your budget.
Sorted.org.nz is run by Te Ara Ahunga Ora – The Retirement Commission, and its website also includes lots of other tools, guides and tips for managing money.
Work and Income
Check out the Work and Income budget worksheet for a list of all the costs you need to plan for, along with links to other support you may be able to receive from the Ministry of Social Development
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Keeping the power bill under control is always a challenge, but it is especially difficult in winter. Here are some easy ways to cut down on power, helping you save money, and the environment.
Remember to take a sensible approach to power saving, and don’t let yourself get so cold in winter.
