Frequently asked questions

Te Kāinga is an affordable rental programme with the aim of providing secure, affordable, and long-term rental accommodation in Wellington. It helps Wellingtonians who may otherwise find it difficult to access appropriate housing options in the city.

Contact the team who will answer your questions and guide you through the application process. They will provide you with a simple online application form. Email the team at [email protected]

Anyone can apply for a Te Kāinga apartment. As part of the application process, you will be asked to provide proof of income. This is so the team can assess whether you will be able to afford to pay the rent, and that you won’t be placed into hardship.

Sometimes there is high demand, especially for one-bedroom apartments. In these cases, applications will be prioritised based on the criteria below, and then selected by ballot.

• People on incomes under $95,000 for an individual and $150,000 for a couple or family who are not eligible for income related rent.
• People who do not own their own home.
• People who work in or intend to work in:
  • Public sector
  • Public transport
  • Hospitality
  • Tourism
  • Healthcare
  • Education and training
  • Māori organisations
  • The arts
  • Start-ups.

Applicants don’t have to meet all the priority criteria to apply for an apartment, but the more criteria you meet, the higher the priority your application will have.

There are 212 apartments in the programme.

Te Kāinga Aroha (197 Willis Street) has 52 apartments and opened in March 2021.

Te Kāinga Te Aka (203 Willis Street) has 54 apartments and opened in June 2022. Te Aka includes 6 apartments with accessible features, which opened in March 2023.

Te Kāinga Te Pu (180 Willis Street) has 106 apartments and opened in March 2023.

Rents vary from building to building depending on the facilities available at the building, the size of the units, and the building location.

Rent increases will be kept to a minimum and only when it is necessary to ensure the programme continues to have no impact on ratepayers. Increases will not be linked to market rent. This means the apartments remain more affordable than private market rentals over time. This gives our tenants added financial certainty as well as security of tenure.

You will need to provide your name, contact details, photo identification and details of two referees - preferably including a current or former landlord.

If there is high demand for apartments and you state that you meet the priority criteria, then you will need to provide evidence of this.

Wellington City Council is the landlord for the programme. There is a dedicated team within the Council that run the Te Kāinga programme. We provide a 24 hour service for urgent maintenance issues, and our team are available during business hours to respond to tenants.

We survey our Te Kāinga tenants each year to find out how satisfied they are, and if there are any areas for improvement. We use this feedback to continuously improve our service. Our 2023 survey showed that 97% of tenants are satisfied and would recommend Te Kāinga to family and friends.

We want our tenants to stay with us as long as they’d like, and to call their apartment home. All our tenancies are periodic, which means they have no end date. If tenants want to leave, they just need to give us 4 weeks’ notice.

Smoking is not permitted in the Te Kāinga buildings. This includes the apartments, common areas and other shared spaces such as entranceways, corridors and stairwells.

Pets are not permitted in Te Kāinga apartments.

There is no parking available in Te Kāinga apartments, however they are all located in central locations within Wellington CBD. There are nearby public transport options and lots of essential amenities close by. There are also private parking options that can be explored, for example monthly parking in a private car park.

All apartments come with a fridge/freezer, oven, rangehood, dishwasher, and a washing machine/dryer.

All Te Kāinga buildings have secure door entry systems, restricted access for residents only and CCTV for tenants' safety and security.

We have nine apartments with accessible features – one at Te Kāinga Aroha, six at Te Aka, and two at Te Pu. Accessible features include automatic entry doors (Te Aka only), wet room shower room with grab rails, low switches and plug sockets and a lowered kitchen bench.

We do not currently have transfer options available, however we do intend to consider this once more buildings are completed under the programme. In the future we would like to be able to accommodate households remaining with the programme as needs change or families grow.

Additional costs include power, gas heating of hot water (applicable in some Te Kāinga buildings) and fibre broadband, if desired. Your rent includes whiteware, rubbish collection, WiFi and bicycle storage.