It will also introduce companion legislation that will help the agency with specified development projects
The government has established a single Crown agency that will be responsible for housing and urban development across the country.
The Housing New Zealand (HNZ), KiwiBuild Unit, and HLC have banded together to establish Kāinga Ora – a new housing agency that will build “thriving communities with a diverse mix of public, affordable, and market housing.”
“It will end the duplication, splitting of key roles, fragmented decision-making and limited coordination that occurred over recent years because house building programmes were spread across multiple agencies,” Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford said.
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Kāinga Ora is expected to be a world-class public housing landlord that will work closely with iwi, developers, local and central government, and non-profit organisations to facilitate and build urban development projects.
“Kāinga Ora is set up so it can work alongside others in a wide variety of ways – enabling and complementing, rather than competing with, the private sector. This will include working with the development sector on large scale urban development projects,” Twyford said.
The government will also introduce companion legislation this year to help the new housing agency to undertake specified development projects.
“These will be essential and complex projects that would struggle to progress under standard development processes,” Twyford explained.
“Kāinga Ora will have a tool-box of powers to help housing and urban development be built at scale and pace.”
Kāinga Ora will start operations on October 1, 2019.
