Housing New Zealand Corporation is a Crown agent that provides housing services for people in need.
Mission
We provide access to decent housing solutions for New Zealanders with priority needs.
Purpose
Housing New Zealand works in a community of government, charitable and private sector organisations providing social housing and housing support throughout New Zealand.
We have a specific role and focus within this community — providing good quality, subsidised rental houses to people in the greatest need of housing, for the duration of their need. Our customers are people who have no other housing options.
Rental housing is what we do. We focus on the efficient and effective management of state houses and the tenancies of those living in them.
We own or manage more than 69,000 properties nationwide, including about 1,500 houses for community groups providing residential services. More than 200,000 people live in our houses or flats.
We work closely with others to ensure our tenants have access to the right support services and future housing options, if and when they are in a position to move to housing independence.
We also provide products and services to improve access to home ownership for New Zealanders.
How we provide our services
Our Customer Services Centre (freephone 0800 801 601) provides national coverage 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our trained housing advisors provide a range of services and answer most questions on the spot.
Services provided at the Customer Services Centre include:
- housing needs pre-assessment for a state house
- getting a state house or flat repaired
- checking a tenant’s account
- making a complaint and providing feedback
- answering questions about debt, credit, income-related rent, and the options for tenants who want to move out of their state house
- getting in touch with organisations that can help a tenant with things that aren’t just about their tenancy
- options and advice for applicants who don’t meet the criteria for a state house.
Our housing advisors have access to extensive information databases.
Around New Zealand, the rest of our frontline staff operate from a combination of local Housing New Zealand offices and shared space offices located in facilities provided by other organisations, such as Community Links or Heartland Centres.
These offices are open by appointment only to potential tenants for full needs assessments and existing tenants being reassessed, and for urgent housing needs.
Specialist teams deal with issues such as debt, income-related rents and Tenancy Tribunal matters.
Directing routine calls to the Customer Services Centre and support from the specialist teams, combined with increasing use of mobile technology, frees up Housing New Zealand’s tenancy managers to spend more time in the community, dealing with more complex issues for tenants.
Who we work with
We work alongside a wide variety of community and private sector organisations that also provide social housing. We work with the Social Housing Unit in the Department of Building and Housing, which provides funding to stimulate the growth of other social housing providers.
We work with the Ministry of Social Development, which provides accommodation support to people in need living in the private sector, and social services to our tenants. We work with the Ministry of Health and District Health Boards which provide health services to our tenants.
We also work closely with the Police and local councils to promote safer communities in areas where we have lots of houses, and to develop communities as we redevelop our housing.
As the biggest residential property owner in New Zealand, our relationships extend across the public and private sectors, and our operations provide employment and commercial opportunities to many people and businesses.
