Kāinga Ora to deliver world-class public housing

Public housing tenants can expect world-class public housing services through the new government provider, Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities. The bill to establish the new entity was read for the final time tonight, allowing for it to be established on 1 October 2019.

“Kāinga Ora will be a world-class public landlord, providing good quality, warm, dry and healthy rental housing.

“Their attention will be on building up New Zealand’s stock of public housing, and maintaining and improving the quality of existing properties, with a strong focus on promoting the wellbeing of current and future generations.

“The new operating principles reflect increased expectations on Kāinga Ora to be a fair and reasonable landlord. This includes prioritising tenants’ wellbeing and treating tenants with integrity and respect.

“The legislation also removes the ability of future Governments to sell-off state homes and removes the requirement for state housing to return a dividend to the Crown. Kāinga Ora will instead place whānau and families at the centre of its work and have an essential role in ending homelessness and making houses more affordable.

“The passing of the legislation brings together the KiwiBuild unit, Housing New Zealand and its development subsidiary, HLC, plus their people, resources and assets to tackle the national housing crisis.

“This is the time to make this important change. Critical functions and expertise are split up across multiple agencies, and with the passing of this legislation, we’ll have one unified agency that can deliver the Government’s Build Programme.

Kāinga Ora will work in partnership with iwi and Māori, the private sector, local government and other agencies to deliver as many homes as they can, as fast as they can. These developments will include a mix of KiwiBuild, public, and market-priced housing.

ENDS

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