Rental arrears and community engagement also in focus
Housing Minister Chris Bishop (pictured above), alongside Finance Minister Nicola Willis, has issued an interim letter of expectations to Kāinga Ora, outlining a refocus on core functions including managing disruptive tenants and addressing rental arrears.
“The letter lays out a series of core functions that we expect Kāinga Ora to focus on,” Bishop said, signaling a shift towards stronger tenant management and operational efficiency.
Ending the Sustaining Tenancies framework
The government has called for an end to the Sustaining Tenancies Framework, criticised for allowing tenants with anti-social behavior to remain in social housing “no matter how threatening or disruptive their behaviour, or how much damage they cause to the property,” Bishop said.
“Sustaining Tenancies has had exactly the effect you’d expect: there is no incentive for tenants to improve their anti-social behaviour or to stop deliberately damaging their taxpayer-owned house,” Bishop said, highlighting the policy’s impact on community safety and the misuse of taxpayer-funded housing.
With hundreds of serious complaints about tenant behavior monthly, the new directive aims to hold tenants accountable.
“New Zealanders are sick of hearing about terrifying and heartbreaking stories from neighbours of abusive and antisocial Kāinga Ora tenants,” Bishop said.
“At a time when there are over 25,000 people on the social housing wait list, Kāinga Ora should not be prioritising tenants who abuse their home or their neighbours above families who are anxiously waiting for a home.”
Addressing rental arrears
The government has also emphasised the importance of Kāinga Ora addressing the issue of rental arrears accumulated by tenants.
From 2017 to 2023, the total amount of debt owed by tenants surged from $1 million to $2 million, with the number of tenants behind on rent nearly doubling from 4,248 to 9,519. By the end of the previous year, over 450 tenants owed more than $10,000 each in overdue rent.
“Frankly, this isn’t in anyone’s best interests – not taxpayers, and not the tenants themselves – so Kāinga Ora needs to address the current rental arrears issues and prevent future arrears from escalating,” Bishop said.
Ensuring community engagement and housing delivery
The government has raised concerns over the diminishing social license for social housing, attributing it to a perceived lack of genuine engagement with communities on development projects.
As a response, Kāinga Ora has been directed to intensify its efforts in genuinely involving local communities in discussing development plans and activities, going beyond the bare minimum of legal obligations. This move aims to rebuild trust and ensure that social housing initiatives are welcomed and supported by the communities they serve.
Bishop said the interim letter of expectations has already been dispatched to Kāinga Ora to align its focus “on the right things, right now.”
Furthermore, an updated letter of expectations is anticipated later in the year, following the conclusions of an independent review led by Bill English, set to report back to the ministers shortly.
Read the government media release here.
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