Housing

Build more affordable houses

Build 100,000 affordable homes across the country

The inter-party cooperation KiwiBuild programme will build 100,000 high quality, affordable homes over 10 years, with 50% of them in Auckland. Standalone houses in Auckland will cost $500,000 to $600,000, with apartments and townhouses under $500,000. Outside Auckland, houses will range from $300,000 to $500,000.

Create an Affordable Housing Authority to fast-track development in our cities

Labour will establish an Affordable Housing Authority to work with the private sector to cut through red tape and get new homes built fast. It will partner with private developers, councils and iwi to undertake major greenfields and revitalisation projects, building affordable homes with KiwiBuild and the private market. These homes will be part of great communities built around parks, shopping centres and transport links.

Growing the building workforce

Increased house-building will require a larger workforce. Labour’s Dole for Apprenticeships policy will subsidise employers to take on around 4,000 young people for on the job training in fields including building and construction. Labour’s policy of three years free post-school education will see tens of thousands more people study in all fields, including building and construction. KiwiBuild is projected to create 5,000 new jobs at its peak.

Remove barriers that are stopping Auckland growing up and out

Labour will remove the Auckland urban growth boundary and free up density controls. This will give Auckland more options to grow, as well as stopping land-bankers profiteering and holding up development. New developments, both in Auckland and the rest of New Zealand, will be funded through innovative infrastructure bonds.

Support for those who are in need

Focus Housing New Zealand on helping people, not making a profit

Labour will make Housing New Zealand into a public service rather than an SOE, and will substantially increase the number of state houses. Unlike the current government, Labour will not milk state housing for a dividend, and will end its programme of state house sales.

Take serious action to end homelessness

Labour will take serious action to end homelessness along with our friends in the Greens and also with the cooperation of the Crossbenchers.

Require all rental homes to be warm, dry, and healthy.

We are planning to introduce a Bill into Parliament that will set standards that will require all rental properties to meet proper standards in: insulation, heating, ventilation, draught stopping, and drainage. This will ensure people who live in them don’t get sick.

Invest in warm, dry homes

Labour will invest the money from ending the tax loophole for speculators in grants to help 600,000 families insulate their homes or install a clean, fixed form of heating.

Better homes for Māori.

Labour’s vision is that all New Zealanders have a fair shot at owning a place of their own, and all of our families have a warm, dry, safe home to live in. Working with iwi and other Māori organisations will be crucial to making that vision a reality.

Labour will work with iwi and Māori organisations so all New Zealanders are treated equally and have a fair shot at owning their own warm, dry, safe home to raise happy, healthy families.

The Māori home ownership rate, in the last 30 years, has fallen from nearly half to barely a quarter. There are 14,000 homeless Māori. Inflexible rules make it tough for Māori land owners to access private mortgages and government housing policies if there’s more than one owner.

Labour will work with iwi Māori organisations on affordable housing development projects to help ease the housing crisis. Labour will introduce policies that will help more Māori into homes.

Labour will:

Partner with hapu, iwi and Māori organisations to develop affordable and social housing through the procurement process and by creating joint development organisations
Expand home ownership support programmes proven to assist Māori into home ownership including:
- Invest an additional $20 million over four years in NGOs and Māori providers who deliver supported home ownership services such as budgeting advice
- Reform the Kāinga Whenua and Welcome Home Loans schemes so Māori are able to access home loans on an equal basis to other New Zealanders whether the land has one owner or is part of a whānau trust with multiple owners
- Work with financial institutions, iwi and Māori organisations to enable iwi and Māori organisations to access mortgages collectively on behalf of their members
- Investigate the option of shared equity and rent to buy for KiwiBuild houses with iwi
Establish a Māori Housing Unit within the Affordable Housing Authority to ensure housing policies are tailored to meet the specific needs and aspirations of Māori
Increase state housing stock by at least 1,000 homes per year
Implement a Healthy Homes Guarantee to ensure all rental homes are warm and dry
Work to end homelessness by increasing emergency housing, developing a national strategy and action plan, adopting a Housing First approach and implementing a licensing regime and minimum standards for boarding houses.

These policies will see more affordable houses built and create more possibilities for iwi Māori to buy homes.

By building affordable homes and state houses, and taking account of the special status of Māori land, Labour will reduce homelessness and help more Māori buy their own homes providing long term stability.

Labour’s housing policies will house over 20,000 more Māori families. Based on their income we have modelled that over 17,000 Māori renters will purchase KiwiBuild homes; we expect to shift more into home ownership through our supported home ownership programmes; iwi, hapu and Māori organisations will be enabled to develop more housing for their members by partnering with Government through the Affordable Housing Authority; and our state housing policies will help more than 2,500 Māori on the social housing waiting list.

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