Source: New Zealand Government
Kāinga Ora has smashed its savings target, significantly reduced the cost of building social homes, and improved its performance as a landlord, Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka say.
“The latest results in Kainga Ora’s annual report for 2025/26 show the Government’s turnaround of the agency is delivering better value for taxpayers and better outcomes for tenants,” Mr Bishop says.
“When we came into Government, Kāinga Ora was financially unsustainable. Debt had ballooned from $2.3 billion in 2017/18 to $16.5 billion in 2023/24, build costs were out of control, and the organisation had lost focus on its core responsibilities.
“We commissioned an independent review, refreshed the Board, and implemented a Turnaround Plan in February 2025 to get Kāinga Ora back on track.
“Less than two years on, the results speak for themselves, with the latest report showing:
Efficiency: In 2025/26, Kāinga Ora delivered $191 million in operating cost reductions, smashing its $27 million savings target. Its net deficit before tax was $140 million, a $582 million improvement compared to the pre-tax deficit in 2023/24. These savings have been achieved through more efficient maintenance programmes without compromising quality, stopping unviable building projects and reshaping its workforce.
Less debt: Before the turnaround Plan, Kāinga Ora’s debt was forecast to peak at $29 billion. The peak debt is now forecasted to be $9.5 billion lower, falling to $19.5 billion.
Lower build costs: Standardised housing designs and improved procurement practices are delivering significant savings. Average build costs finished 2025/26 at $2,713 per square metre, down from $3,290 in the first quarter, and beating the $2,980 target.
Renewing older homes: Kāinga Ora is shifting its focus towards renewing existing housing stock, including selling unsuitable, expensive-to-maintain properties and reinvesting the proceeds into better social housing. Around 6,000 older homes are expected to be renovated or replaced by 2029.
Housing target met: Kāinga Ora delivered 2,136 new and upgraded homes, meeting its 2025/26 target of 2,075–2,575 homes. This includes replacing older homes nearing the end of their useful life with modern, healthy homes, while making better use of existing land to deliver more homes on the same sites.
Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says Kāinga Ora is also making significant progress in its core responsibility of being a good landlord.
“Social housing tenants deserve healthy, dry homes, responsive services and safe communities. That’s what we’ve asked Kāinga Ora to deliver, and we’re seeing real progress,” Mr Potaka says.
Better landlord performance: Kāinga Ora achieved an occupancy rate of 99.2 per cent, exceeding its 98 per cent target and up from 97.8 per cent in 2023/24. The number of vacant homes has fallen from around 2,165 in June 2024 to around 837 in June 2026, representing a 61 percent decrease, while the average time taken to re-let homes has dropped to 20.4 days, a 32 per cent improvement on the previous year.
Improved tenancy management: Around 80 per cent of tenants are satisfied with their homes and 85 per cent with Kāinga Ora services, an improvement on 73 percent and 80 percent respectively in 2023/24. Tenants in rent arrears has fallen by almost 2,000 over the past year.
Cracking down on antisocial behaviour: Kāinga Ora ended 73 tenancies for disruptive behaviour in 2025/26, following 74 in 2024/25, compared with two in 2022/23. Complaints are also being resolved much faster, with average resolution times falling to 11 days, down from 12 days the previous year and 72 days at the end of 2023.
“These results show Kāinga Ora is becoming a more responsive, responsible landlord. More homes are occupied, properties are being turned around faster, fewer tenants are falling behind on their rent, and disruptive behaviour is being taken seriously,” Mr Potaka says.
“Kāinga Ora is getting back to doing what New Zealanders expect of it: providing quality homes in the right places for people who need them,” Mr Bishop says.
Notes to editor:
The build-cost measure refers to above-ground construction costs for stand-alone social homes, excluding GST.
Attached PDF: Kāinga Ora Annual Report 2025/26.
Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/10/20/kainga-ora-turnaround-plan-continues-to-deliver/