Transitional housing

Transitional housing provides temporary accommodation for individuals and whānau who don't have anywhere to live and urgently need a place to stay. It also offers tailored support to help these individuals and whānau into longer-term housing.

On this page you'll find information about who transitional housing is for, who pays for and provides it, and information for providers.

About transitional housing  

Transitional housing is diverse. It includes new-builds, residential homes, re-purposed and long-term leased properties. Properties are sourced a number of ways, including buying and leasing properties from the private market, using service providers’ existing properties and building new properties.

To increase the supply of transitional housing we’re working with: 

  • Kāinga Ora 
  • Ministry of Social Development 
  • transitional and community housing providers 
  • Māori and iwi 
  • developers 
  • councils and other agencies.  

You can see up-to-date information on transitional housing numbers on the Housing Dashboard. 

See the Housing Dashboard. 

Who transitional housing is for 

There are all sorts of reasons people might need transitional housing. Their rental property might have been sold, or they might have been staying with family but circumstances have changed and that’s no longer possible.  

People using the transitional housing service are helped to find longer-term housing. In most cases, once they have secured a longer-term home, service providers also help them access other support, including Work and Income services, budgeting advice and health services. 

 

 

Who pays for it

People living in transitional housing pay rent of up to 25 per cent of their income, in line with income-related rents for public housing and Emergency Housing Special Needs Grants. The rest of the costs are paid by Te Tūāpapa Kura Kāinga - Ministry of Housing and Urban Development. 

Who provides it

Approved social service providers manage transitional housing and are responsible for making sure the properties are warm, dry and well-maintained. 

Become a transitional housing provider 

If you’d like to supply transitional housing services, you can apply to be appointed to the Transitional Housing Provider Panel on the New Zealand Government Electronic Tenders Services (GETS) website(external link). 

Guidelines and advice for providers of transitional housing and support services

The Transitional Housing Operational Guidelines outline the business processes, administrative functions and recommended interactions between contracted transitional housing providers, HUD and MSD. The Guidelines have been updated (July 2023) to reflect the new Transitional Housing Code of Practice and the transfer of the contract management and other administrative functions from MSD to HUD.

These Guidelines are being released as a working document that will be updated as the Code of Practice is implemented over the next few months. HUD is seeking feedback on these (draft) Guidelines from providers. Future updates will include information relating to the Housing Agreement and Independent Dispute Resolution Service. We will update the Guidelines in September 2023.

See the Operational Guidelines for Providers of Transitional Housing. (PDF, 780 KB)

Transitional housing and MAIHI

Māori are disproportionately affected by the housing crisis. Te MAIHI o te Whare Māori - Māori and Iwi Housing Innovation (MAIHI) is a framework and strategy, created by HUD in partnership with Māori, to reset the housing system so it delivers better solutions for Māori.  

MAIHI’s vision is that all whānau have: 

  • access to warm, dry and safe homes, with the security of being able to stay in them for as long as is appropriate for their circumstances 
  • connections to the services they need to be able to sustain their housing 
  • opportunities to fully participate in their communities.  

Providing transitional housing falls under one of MAIHI’s key workstreams, which is responding quickly to the immediate and urgent needs of whanau who are experiencing homelessness and housing stress. 

Read more about MAIHI. 

Emergency housing 

Transitional housing is not the same as emergency housing. Emergency housing is funded by Work and Income to help individual and whānau who can’t access transitional housing. The EHSNG pays for short-term accommodation for up to seven days at a time.

See more about emergency housing support from Work and Income(external link).   

The Transitional Housing Code of Practice  

The Transitional Housing code of practice came into effect on 1 July 2023, and sets out the expectations and standards for providers and households operating or in transitional housing.

These include setting expectations around healthy and safe housing, pleasant living environments, fair and transparent exit processes and issues management.

It comes into full effect from 1 December 2023, but once a household has signed a housing agreement with a provider, their rights will include:

  • warm, dry, clean, accessible and safe housing
  • any repairs or maintenance to the housing to be undertaken in a timely manner
  • a pleasant living environment, encouraging respect
  • a fair and transparent exit process
  • a formal process for resolving issues

Download the Transitional Housing Code of Practice

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