Source: Auckland Council
Eke Panuku Development Auckland is set to take over management of Auckland Council’s ‘Own Your Own Home’ (OYOH) scheme, while it looks to sell individual villages in the scheme over the coming years.
In the interim period before individual villages are sold, the council-owned, currently vacant units in the villages will be refurbished to bring them up to ‘healthy homes’ standard and rented to tenants that are compatible with existing homeowners.
This will ensure there are more people in the villages, which has been a cause of concern from a safety and ‘village atmosphere’ perspective. The sale of a fully vacant village site in Panmure will provide initial funding for improvements with the rental income also helping to pay for the refurbishment and ongoing buy-back of units, making the process cost-neutral for council.
This new approach follows the unsuccessful conclusion of a lengthy process to find a purchaser for council’s full interest in the scheme earlier in 2024. The scheme consists of 150 units in 14 villages, with council’s interest consisting of the ownership of 78 currently vacant units and the buy-back right on the remaining 72 privately owned units.
Villages will only be sold once there are only council-owned units left in them. In other words, it’s only after all the current private homeowners in a village have sold their units back to council that the whole village will be sold.
Eke Panuku General Manager Assets & Delivery Marian Webb says it is satisfying to have certainty on the way forward, especially for homeowners.
“Most of all, we’re pleased to be able to give homeowners a clear answer on the next steps. They have been very patient and understanding, given the challenges of this very complex process.”
In addition to delivering Auckland Council’s urban regeneration programmes, Eke Panuku also manages its non-service property portfolio and provides property-related advice and services. This makes it well positioned to take over management of the scheme and manage the sales process for the villages once they are fully owned by council.
“Our dedicated property management team has the experience and expertise to manage the scheme to a high standard and form strong relationships with existing homeowners. We already manage a significant number of residential tenancies on behalf of council. Crucially, it provides homeowners a single point of contact for resolving issues,” said Mrs. Webb.
“As private homeowners, this new approach does not have any impact on the ownership of their homes. As they are the legal owners, they can remain in them as long as they want, with no pressure on them to sell.”
Auckland Council’s Finance and Performance Committee agreed to sell council’s interest in the scheme in 2022, after a review found it was no longer fit for purpose. Interest in the scheme had consistently declined as the ongoing growth of retirement villages meant prospective buyers were finding them more appealing as they are generally more affordable and provided additional quality-of-life benefits.
In summary, Eke Panuku will:
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Sell the one fully vacant, council-owned OYOH village at 19 Tripoli Road, Panmure and using the proceeds from the sale to begin refurbishing vacant units across the scheme
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Rent the refurbished vacant units to tenants that are compatible with existing homeowners, e.g. similar demographic profile, generating revenue that can be used to help fund refurbishments and the ongoing buy-back of units
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Take over management of the OYOH portfolio
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Dedicate an Eke Panuku property manager responsible for the rental properties, as well as the relationship with the existing homeowners and overall management of the scheme
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Progressively selling entire villages (not individual units) once all the units in them are owned by council. This will be achieved when all existing homeowners in a village have sold their units back to council and only vacant or rental units remain
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Continuing this process until all the villages in the scheme have been sold and the scheme is wound down
High-level timeline of next steps
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December 2024 – demolition of 19 Tripoli Road, Panmure village
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Early 2025 – take 19 Tripoli Road, Panmure to market
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Early 2025 – start refurbishing vacant units across the scheme
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Mid-2025 – start renting vacant units as they become available
Background to the scheme
The OYOH scheme is a home ownership scheme for older people (aged over 65) established in the 1970s by legacy Auckland councils, prior to their amalgamation into Auckland Council.
The scheme is not social housing but provided a means for private home ownership for a segment of older Aucklanders at a time when there were few other options available for people interested in downsizing or moving into more suitable housing for their life stage, without sacrificing their independence. This was before retirement villages became more widely available.
The scheme allowed eligible persons to buy a residential unit from council, at a discounted rate of its market value, after which they became full owners of the units. If the homeowners (or their estate) choose to sell their unit, the scheme requires them to offer those units back to Auckland Council in the first instance, at the same discounted rate of the then current market value.
When homeowners sell their units back to council, the sale proceeds would be re-invested in the scheme and vacant units, before being on-sold again. The scheme was thus intended to be self-funding and cost-neutral to council.
The full scheme is made up of 150 units (mix of 1 and 2-bedroom units) located in 14 villages across the Auckland region, which are all held in a cross-lease structure. The villages span six local board areas and 5 council wards.
