Building better, brighter homes, communities and lives.
​Tūhono mai | Be a part of our team

What is exciting about working for Kāinga Ora is getting the chance to use our skills and knowledge to create the homes and neighbourhoods that will make a real and positive impact on New Zealanders’ lives and build a better future for Aotearoa New Zealand.

We are passionate about transforming New Zealand for the better. This includes being a trusted partner for Māori and iwi, protecting and enabling their rights, interests and aspirations under the guidance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Our past has laid the groundwork and now as a team, we are focused on creating a legacy for the good of future generations of New Zealanders.

You can/will be part of a team that plays a vital role in where Aotearoa New Zealand is heading.

We provide tenancy services to over 199,000 public housing customers and we maintain and develop around 78,000 houses. We help many other New Zealanders into their own homes through our home ownership products and other services.

We are building many thousands of homes each year and transforming entire communities all across the country. And we have an exciting plan for the future that will enable us to do more to help New Zealanders than ever before.

Ō Tātou Uara - Our Values

Manaakitanga – Putting people first
​We place people at the heart of our decision-making, ensuring everyone we serve feels valued and respected. This commitment means:

• taking time to listen deeply to communities and understand their unique needs
• creating safe, stable housing environments where families and individuals can flourish
• connecting tenants with tailored support services that enhance overall wellbeing.

Mahi Tahi – Achieving more by working together
​We believe meaningful partnerships create better outcomes for all New Zealanders. Our collaborative approach involves:

• nurturing genuine relationships with tenants, communities, and stakeholders
• maintaining transparent communication about our housing initiatives and development plans
• working alongside Māori and iwi to develop housing solutions that honour cultural values and needs.

Whanake – Striving for better
​We continuously seek improvement and embrace innovation in everything we do. This forward-thinking mindset drives us to:

• deliver homes that exceed standards for sustainability, accessibility, and comfort
• invest in long-term solutions that build resilient, connected communities
• develop integrated urban projects that thoughtfully blend housing with essential infrastructure and vibrant public spaces.

These values inform and shape our long-term vision for creating sustainable, integrated communities, and our daily that ensures that social housing is more than just a place to live. Together we are setting the foundation for a better, brighter future across New Zealand.

Our History

Kāinga Ora was established in 2019 following the merger of:

• Housing New Zealand Corporation
• HLC (Housing New Zealand’s development subsidiary)
• KiwiBuild

New Zealand has a long history of public housing, dating back to 1894, with governments committed to providing secure, high-quality homes. Explore our history.

The Gift Of Our Name

Our name, Kāinga Ora, carries deep meaning.

Kāinga represents not just a whare (house) but the concept of home, wellbeing, and belonging. Ora means life, health, and prosperity. Together, Kāinga Ora reflects our commitment to creating thriving communities where people feel safe, supported, and connected.

To learn more about the story behind our name and its significance, watch a brief conversation between Te Ariki Pihama, Ringa Raupā Deputy Chief Executive Māori, and the Honourable Nanaia Mahuta, former Minister for Māori Development as they discuss its meaning and cultural importance.

Resetting Kāinga Ora

Kāinga Ora is resetting its focus so it can better serve tenants and communities and leave a sustainable social housing legacy for future generations.

Why change is needed
​Kāinga Ora was established in 2019 to replace Housing New Zealand as the country’s largest social housing provider. Since then, its mandate has been expanded to incorporate non-core functions like large land purchases, complex urban development projects and shared equity schemes, all of which have stretched the organisation’s resources and attention.

We have delivered thousands of new homes in a short period of time, but high levels of inflation, rising interest rates, and increasingly complex mandates, coupled with high organisational overheads, have made our operating and commercial model unsustainable.

We need to reset to improve our financial sustainability and to bring our focus back to our core mission. Our new plan for Kāinga Ora is intended to keep us focused on being a good landlord who looks after its tenants, a good neighbour who engages well with the community, and a fair, rational and common-sense developer who spends money wisely to get the right housing to the people who need it.

Our Board will be closely monitoring implementation of the plan and will provide regular progress reports to the government.

Read our Plan [PDF, 3.1 MB].

Refocusing on our core mission
​We’re refocusing on our core mission of providing and managing state-owned social housing in a financially sustainable way.

We’re going back to basics and concentrating our resources on being a responsible landlord who looks after our homes and tenants and serves communities well.

We are currently working on identifying the best value for money approach to continuing our six large scale urban development projects. But, over time, we will scale back or transfer other work that we’ve picked up in recent years that doesn’t fit within our core business (such as large-scale land purchases, industry innovation and affordable housing).

Improved tenancy management
​We’re improving our tenancy management and using the Residential Tenancies Act more to get better outcomes for both our tenants and our communities.

We’re a social housing landlord and we need to support tenants when they’re going through tough times. But we’re making it clear to our tenants rent must be paid and they must treat their neighbours with respect. If they don’t meet either of those obligations, their tenancy will be at risk.

Our tenants’ needs vary. And they can change over time. A key part of our reset will be ensuring tenants are in the right type of home, at the right time, with the right support in place.

Managing build costs and improving our housing portfolio
​We’re going to continue to deliver new social housing – to either add to the state housing stock in places where more homes are needed, or to replace existing homes that have reached the end of their life.

Over the two years to 30 June 2026, we will be adding 2,650 homes to the state housing stock, increasing the total number of state houses throughout New Zealand to around 78,000, as well as renewing almost 3,000 homes.

We have a backlog of poor quality, older homes that are expensive to maintain and can lead to poor health outcomes for tenants. Our goal is to complete 11,500 renewals by the 2030 financial year and renew all pre-1986 homes within 30 years.

We’re going to achieve greater savings in how we build. We are optimising our housing designs and standards so that we can significantly reduce costs. The new homes we deliver will be in line with the market.

Keeping our internal costs down
​We are driving down costs throughout the business and taking a more disciplined approach to spending.

We’re working to right-size the organisation, lift performance, and ensure we get value for money for every dollar spent.

We're going to achieve significant savings through changing the way we manage the maintenance of our homes, while ensuring they remain warm and dry.

Improved financial sustainability
​Our financial sustainability will improve considerably as key cost-saving initiatives are embedded.

Kāinga Ora will continue to perform its functions and deliver the new housing and renew its older stock while remaining under the $22.9 billion cap. Debt-to-assets is expected to peak at 37% in 2025, which compares favourably with other infrastructure entities. After 2025, debt to assets will begin to decrease year-on-year.

We’re revising our Investment Management Framework to reflect our focus on managing and renewing our existing housing portfolio.

To reduce debt over time, we will look to sell surplus land that no longer meets our core objectives. Through selling vacant land that is surplus to requirements, Kāinga Ora is also providing an opportunity for the market to deliver new housing.