Extending Te Kāinga: 500 more affordable homes for Wellington by 2033
Everyone deserves access to a warm, dry, affordable home. That's the reason I moved an amendment at Council's Environment and Infrastructure Committee to extend the Te Kāinga programme by 500 units — and why I was glad to see it pass 14 votes to 4, seconded by Councillor Rebecca Matthews.
What is Te Kāinga?
Te Kainga is a partnership between the Council and private building owners that turns underused office and commercial buildings in the city centre into quality, affordable, long-term rentals.Building owners fund the construction and maintenance, Council manages the tenancies. That means cheaper rentals and more security of tenure for people looking for inner-city apartments all at no cost to the ratepayer.
Why we need 1500 by 2033
Te Kāinga isn’t just a promise sitting in a strategy document. Since it started we’ve already converted three buildings with two more coming online soon. That’s 290 apartments already filled, with 18% coming from outside the Wellington Region contributing to the growth that Wellington desperately needs.
Research by Sense Partners estimates that each apartment reduced the amount we need to spend on infrastructure by $13,800, and injects between $480 and $1500 into the local economy. At the same time the full programme is expected to help residents reduce their emissions by over 2,000 tonnes.
“Housing people in our city centre creates vibrancy, reduces the city’s emissions, and comes at no cost to ratepayers.”
Why this matters
My commitment to a vibrant city we can all afford means more people living in the heart of Wellington, not fewer. Every apartment Te Kāinga delivers is one more person who gets to live close to where they work, without ratepayers footing the bill for it. With more people working from home, running their own business, or wanting to downsize this is exactly the move the city needs to be making to remain competitive and attractive.
Who supported the extension?
Moved Councillor Rogers, seconded Councillor Matthews:
Agree to extend the suggested delivery of 100 units per year by an additional 5 years beyond the revised 2028 deadline, taking the deadline to 2033 and the target to 1500 units.
For: Councillor Abdurahman, Councillor Apanowicz, Councillor Brown, Deputy Mayor Foon, Councillor Free, Pou Iwi Hohaia, Pou Iwi Kelly, Councillor Matthews, Councillor McNulty, Councillor O’Neill, Councillor Pannett, Councillor Rogers, Councillor Wi Neera
Against: Councillor Calvert, Councillor Chung, Councillor Randle, Councillor Young
