Council nearly doubles affordable Te Kāinga rental properties

The new apartments bring the total number of units within the programme to 473, nearing half of the Council’s 1,000-unit target by 2026.

Te Kāinga is an affordable rental programme charged with increasing the supply of rental housing in Pōneke. It is a partnership between the Council and private building owners that re-purposes underutilised commercial buildings and provides quality, family-friendly, long-term rental apartments.

“Everyone deserves a warm, dry, safe place to call home. It is people that give Pōneke its character, and that’s why, ultimately, it’s important to me to make sure Wellington is a place where everyone can afford to live,” says Mayor Tory Whanau. 

“In order to keep Pōneke thriving, we need to make sure the rental sector is accessible for young people and those on lower incomes in our central city, instead of being pushed further out of the city.

“This positive council intervention in increasing the supply of rental housing means that more people will be able to live closer to where infrastructure, jobs and communities already exist.

“Our District Plan will also greatly expand the potential for more housing in Wellington. This, combined with positive signals from central government to enable more housing, means we can build a modern city and enable people to build an affordable, vibrant, and resilient city,” says Mayor Whanau.

The two new buildings are under contract and are expected to be fully complete by the end of 2025. The first building on The Terrace will include 103 apartments comprising 29 studios, 62 one-bedroom apartments and 12 two-bedroom apartments over 13 levels and responds to feedback that prospective tenants would like to see more affordable studio and one bedroom units on offer through the programme.

The second building is also in the city centre and will include 80 apartments, comprising eight studios, 61 one-bedroom apartments, eight two-bedroom apartments and three three-bedroom apartments.  

Both buildings will be seismically strengthened, provide bicycle parking and a quarter of apartments will achieve Lifemark 4 certification meaning 14 percent of the total portfolio will have either accessible or universal design.

The building owners are responsible for construction and maintenance of the apartments and Council is responsible for the tenancy management. Council balances the rent it charges tenants with the cost to lease the building.