Progressive Home Ownership Fund

As house prices have increased, many individuals and whānau who would have once bought a home have been priced out of home ownership. Progressive home ownership is one way to help them into their own homes.

How progressive home ownership works 

Progressive home ownership (PHO) can help people into their own homes through arrangements like rent-to-buy, shared ownership or leasehold schemes.  

Rent-to-buy

An eligible household initially rents their home from an approved PHO provider. Within period of up to 20 years the household puts aside savings and buys the home from the provider.  

Shared equity 

An eligible household becomes a part-owner in a home, along with an approved PHO provider. Within period of up to 20 years, the household buys out the PHO provider and becomes the sole owner of the property. 

Leasehold 

The eligible household buys a registered leasehold interest in a home from a PHO provider with the right to occupy the property over the long-term, such as 100 years. The freehold interest in the property is retained by the provider and the leaseholder pays a modest ground rent, as well as servicing any mortgage commitment.  

Freehold home ownership is not achieved using a leasehold model, but the leaseholder has secure tenure in their own home and the opportunity to build savings over the term of the lease. 

About the Progressive Home Ownership Fund 

The $400 million Progressive Home Ownership Fund offers approved PHO providers funding via an interest free loan. The PHO providers then use that money to fund homes that are then used to partner with individuals, families and whānau in a rent-to-buy, shared equity or leasehold arrangement.  

Who the PHO fund helps

The PHO fund can help: 

  • lower-to-median income households who are unlikely to be able to buy a home without a reasonable level of financial and non-financial support 
  • first-home buyers who can service a mortgage but don’t have a sufficient deposit 
  • households that have at or above median incomes but don’t earn enough to service a low-deposit home loan at current house prices. 

It aims to increase home ownership for three priority groups: 

  • Māori 
  • Pacific peoples, and 
  • families with children.

Eligibility  

Applicants must: 

  • be legally able to buy a home in New Zealand (or be married to, or in a civil union or de facto partnership with someone who is legally able to buy a home in New Zealand) 
  • have a household income before tax of no more than $150,000 (except for multi-generational households (a household that normally lives together and is made up of either three or more generations (e.g., grandchildren, parents and grandparents living together) or two generations with multiple related family units (or cousins living together with their families) or Larger Whānau  of 6 or more who normally live together)
  • be a first homebuyer or a second chancer (someone who has owned a home before but is back in the same financial situation as a first-time buyer e.g. due to a divorce). 

Applicants must also commit to living in the house as their main place of residence for at least three years i.e. they’re not buying it as an investment property. 

As well as this general eligibility criteria, PHO providers can also apply their own criteria.  

How to buy a home through the Progressive Home Ownership Fund 

There are two ways for individuals and whānau to buy a home through the PHO Fund: 

  • through First Home Partner, a shared-ownership scheme run by Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities.
  • through a programme managed by an approved PHO provider. 

First Home Partner with Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities 

First Home Partner is a shared ownership scheme for first home buyers who can service a standard mortgage but don’t have a big enough deposit or don’t qualify for a big enough home loan to buy a place on their own.  

With First Home Partner, Kāinga Ora takes an equity share in a house, which the household buys out over time.  

Unlike other PHO schemes, where providers will match applicants to homes, with First Home Partner, applicants must find a suitable home themselves.  

Please note due to high demand, the First Home Partner fund is currently not accepting new applications.

Find out more about changes to First Home Partner  on the Kāinga Ora website.(external link)(external link) 

 

Total number of homes contracted

Number of homes settled

Kāinga Ora (First Home Partner) 

769

551 (as at 30 September 2023)

Becoming a PHO provider  

Funding pathways 

There are two pathways that organisations can use to apply for a loan to establish a new progressive home ownership programme, or expand an existing one: the provider pathway for private organisations with housing experience or Te Au Taketake for Māori and iwi organisations. 

 

Provider pathway 

Applications can be made at any time by contacting PHO@hud.govt.nz. 

Te Au Taketake 

Te Au Taketake provides dedicated funding for iwi and Māori organisations to develop or expand their PHO programmes, supporting better housing outcomes for whānau Māori. Applications for funding can be made at any time by contacting PHO@hud.govt.nz .

Te Au Taketake reflects the Crown’s responsibility as a Treaty Partner to support pathways that let Māori communities to thrive. 

The name Te Au Taketake likens the pathway to the currents of the ocean, the dominion of Tangaroa. It acknowledges the connection between housing in Aotearoa to the traditional narrative of Te ika a Māui and the home of Tonganui. Māui, who pulled Aotearoa into the world of light when his hook caught on the top of the home of Tonganui and became the first whare of Aotearoa. 

We will work with iwi and Māori organisations through Te MAIHI o te Whare Māori the Māori and Iwi Housing Innovation (MAIHI) Framework for Action to enable them to support more whānau Māori into home ownership. 

See more about MAIHI

The PHO provider pathway

To receive funding, organisations must become an approved PHO provider and submit a plan showing how they'll deliver their PHO scheme. They can do this by responding to an Invitation to Participate in their chosen pathway. 

Organisations must prove that they have: 

  • a sound financial situation 
  • good governance practice 
  • sound organisation processes 
  • designed a viable PHO product 
  • financial institutions that are willing to work with the product 
  • the ability to work with households. 

Their delivery plan must include: 

  • the type, number and location of the dwellings that need PHO funding 
  • evidence of demand for their PHO scheme 
  • the amount of funding needed 
  • estimated delivery timeframes 
  • drawdown milestones and an estimated timeframe for reaching them 
  • what security the organisation intends to offer for the loan
  • demonstrate how the loan will be repaid within the 15 year term .

Download detailed requirements for becoming an approved PHO provider. (PDF, 164 KB)

Te Aho Tāhuhu Webinar Series (Dec 2021) 

A series of 10 webinars was produced in conjunction with Te Matapihi to discuss various aspects of the Progressive Home Ownership Scheme and these webinars can be accessed through the links below.

Financial modelling 

We have partnered with The Property Group to produce financial modelling tools to help new and aspiring PHO providers to get a clear understanding of how to:  

  • assess whether households/whānau can afford to enter the scheme and achieve independent home ownership within 15 years, and  
  • demonstrate that the development to build PHO homes is feasible, and if the project will have sufficient funding throughout the development process through to completion.  

 The financial modelling tools below are designed to be used for three types of PHO schemes: 

  • shared equity 
  • rent to buy 
  • leasehold

PHO Approved Providers 

The following organisations are Approved PHO Providers (as at 30 September 2023):

Name of provider

 PHO scheme

Bridge Housing Charitable Trust

 Leasehold

Doing Good Foundation Limited

 Rent to Buy

Habitat for Humanity New Zealand Limited

 Rent to Buy
Habitat for Humanity Northern Region Limited

Rent to Buy
Homes For People Trust Rent to Buy and Shared Ownership

Ka Uruora Aotearoa Trust

 Shared Ownership
Kāinga Ora (First Home Partner) Shared Ownership
Manawa Community Housing Trust Leasehold
New Zealand Housing Foundation (HF3 PHO Ltd) Shared Ownership and Rent to Buy

Ngāti Whātua Orākei Whai Rawa

 Shared Ownership (Leasehold)
Ōtautahi Community Housing Trust Leasehold
Penina Trust Rent to Buy
Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust Leasehold and Rent to Buy
Te Ranga Mārō - Te Tihi o Ruahine Leasehold
Te Runanga o Kirikiriroa Charitable Trust Rent to Buy

Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu

 Shared Ownership

Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira Inc (Toa Rangatira Trust)

 Leasehold

Te Tahua o Rangitane Ltd

 Rent to Own

Te Tumu Kāinga

 Shared Ownership

Whaakatu Whānaunga Trust

 Rent to Own

Progressive home ownership is already helping families into their first homes

We have supported the following providers (as at 30 Steptember 2023):

Provider 

Total number of homes contracted

Number of homes settled

Location 

Bridge Housing Charitable Trust 

15 

0 

Cambridge, Waipā 

Doing Good Foundation Limited 

13 

7

Tauranga 

Habitat for Humanity (Christchurch) Limited 

2 

2 

Christchurch 

Habitat for Humanity (Dunedin) Limited 

3 

0 

Dunedin 

Habitat for Humanity (Nelson) Limited 

24 

12 

Nelson 

Habitat for Humanity Central Region Limited 

46 

22

Hamilton, Upper Hutt, Tauranga & Rotorua  

Habitat for Humanity Northern Region Limited 

10 

4 

Pukekohe, Mangere East & Whangārei 

Homes For People Trust 

15 

6 

Palmerston North 

Manawa Community Housing Trust 

30 

0 

Papamoa 

New Zealand Housing Foundation (HF3 PHO Ltd) 

223 

51

Flat Bush, Mangere, Panmure, Tamaki, Papatoetoe, Ōmokoroa 

Ngāti Whātua Orākei Whai Rawa

19

0

Auckland

Ōtautahi Community Housing Trust

5

0

Christchurch

Penina Trust

5

0

Manurewa

Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust 

114

43

Queenstown 

You can track the progress of the PHO Fund in contracting and placing families in to their homes through our Housing Dashboard. 

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