Affordable Rental Pathway

Last updated: 28 November 2025 The Affordable Housing Fund’s Affordable Rental Pathway offers grant funding to not-for-profit organisations to deliver newly built affordable rental housing.  

It’s often too expensive to build or sustain new housing and offer rent at a rate that is affordable for lower income people and whānau. The Affordable Rental Pathway helps to address this by offering funding to make these projects financially viable.   

These affordable rental homes will be for lower income people and whānau who can’t afford market rent but can’t access or don't need public housing.   

Not-for-profits include organisations such as community housing providers, iwi and Māori housing providers, councils, and charitable trusts. 

Both rounds of funding are closed.

Round one of the Affordable Rental Pathway

Round one of the Affordable Rental Pathway offered $50 million of grant funding in six locations with the greatest need for an increased supply of affordable rentals for those on lower incomes. These locations included:

  • Auckland  
  • Tauranga-Western Bay  
  • Rotorua  
  • Napier-Hastings  
  • Wellington metro (including Wellington, Porirua, Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt and Kāpiti), and  
  • Nelson-Tasman.   

Proposals have been received and assessed and funding decisions have been confirmed subject to contracts being confirmed.

Round two of the Affordable Rental Pathway

Round two of the Affordable Rental Pathway made a further $100 million available for affordable rental developments across New Zealand, prioritising developments in areas with the greatest need for affordable housing.

This funding supported 174 affordable rentals around the country through 9 new partnerships with providers under the Affordable Housing Fund.

Rents for the homes are expected to be less than 80% of the median market rent for the type of home.

The successful providers

Northland region - $5.1 million for 16 new houses will be shared between:

  • Te Pae ki te Rangi Limited Partnership up to $3.2 million to develop 10 affordable rental homes.
  • Tambourine Trust up to $1.9 million ($1,858,683) to develop six affordable rental homes.

Bay of Plenty region - $21.4 million for 64 new houses will be shared between:

  • Western Bay of Plenty District Council up to $6.6 million ($6,556,534) to develop 26 affordable rental homes.
  • Home in Place NZ Limited up to $11.2 million ($11,223,075) to develop 28 affordable rental homes.
  • Tauhara North Kāinga Limited up to $3.6 million ($3,582,245) to develop 10 affordable rental homes.

Hawke’s Bay region $22 million for 65 houses will be shared between:

  • Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga up to $14.8 million ($14,816,128) to develop 26 affordable rental homes.
  • Hastings District Council up to $7.2 million ($7,187,887) to develop 39 affordable rental homes.

Blenheim region - $2.2 million for five new houses will be allocated to:

  • the Marlborough Sustainable Housing Trust to develop five, 4-bedroom houses comprising of two duplexes and one stand-alone dwelling.

Christchurch City - $6 million for 24 new houses will be allocated to:

  • the Ōtautahi Community Housing Trust in partnership with Paenga Kupenga, the economic arm of Ngāi Tūāhuriri Rūnanga for a mixed tenure development.