Partnering for new housing opportunities

About community housing

Community housing providers (CHP) play an important role in delivering long-term public housing places for people in urgent need of housing support.

CHPs are regulated by the Community Housing Regulatory Authority (CHRA).

Build-to-own developments

Redirects

Redirects are when a community housing provider wants to use an existing house for social housing. For example, they may have a house that was previously used as a private rental, which they now want to use to house an individual or whānau from the housing register and receive the income-related rent subsidy.

No longer accepting redirects

From July 2024, we stopped accepting any new redirects, unless by exception. There will be no changes to existing social housing tenants because of this change.

 This means community housing providers need to cap their current number of redirect tenancies as the maximum.

Tenancies and properties can still be replaced when they become vacant or unavailable over time. However, community housing providers won’t be able to increase their net overall number of redirects. We may grant a limited number of exceptions on a case-by-case basis.

Exclusions for specific programmes

We’ll still accept redirects that we’ve committed to or where we’ve provided funding for a redirect through a specific programme. This means that some separately funded services, such as housing first and rapid rehousing where immediate access to housing and client choice are key service elements, are not included in the redirects approach. 

Exceptions

From July 2024, we stopped accepting any new redirects, unless by exception.

We may grant an exception on a very limited case-by-case basis. We’ll do this in limited situations and volumes, for example where a community housing provider needs to temporarily relocate tenants from a property while its being redeveloped.

Council housing transferred to a community housing provider

Our focus is on increasing the number of newly built social houses. This means our approach to redirects also applies to council housing that’s been transferred to a community housing provider. 

Redirects from councils that have already transferred to social housing can be relisted as social housing once vacant and renewed in line with current practices.

Council housing transferred to a community housing provider prior to 1 July 2024 that’s currently tenanted as a redirect can continue when vacancies happen and a new tenant is placed from the Housing Register.

Applying for funding

Read about how to apply for funding.

Partnering for new housing opportunities 

Contact us

If you’re a registered community housing provider, please contact your usual contact if you’ve any questions.

For other new build opportunities, please contact public_housing_panel_procurement@hud.govt.nz.

For queries regarding redirects please contact ProviderEnquiries@hud.govt.nz.

Application for Funding Public Housing (DOCX, 149 KB)(external link)

CHP Build to Own Model (XLSX, 859 KB)(external link)

CHP Build to Lease Model (XLSX, 177 KB)(external link)

Value for money 

Applications for funding are evaluated based on a value for money framework, which looks at: 

• Ability to deliver - is there capacity and capability to deliver the project and add value? 

• Fit for purpose - is the new housing or service the right type and in the right place to meet demand? 
• Financial viability - is the project or scheme financially viable for the contract period? 
• Price - does the proposal compare well against industry benchmarks and offer value for money? 

A full description of the value for money framework is provided in Appendix 2 to the Application for Funding Public Housing.