Kāinga Ora buys seven Tauranga City Council elder housing villages for $17.2 million

Shelley Pillans Village in Tauranga Central. Photo / Supplied

The Government has paid $17.2 million to take over seven elder housing villages in Tauranga.

Kāinga Ora's deal with Tauranga City Council also includes an agreement that the state housing provider will invest another $32.4 million in upgrading and redeveloping the villages over the next 25 years, the organisations said in a joint statement today.

Existing tenants will continue to be housed and the villages will also be redeveloped to add more dwellings and lift Tauranga's public housing stock.

Council commission chairwoman Anne Tolley said the sale would lead to better housing outcomes for current and future tenants of the villages and for those in the wider community most in need of housing.

The Pooles Rd village in Greerton is among those being sold. Photo / Supplied

"As a public housing provider Kāinga Ora is much better placed than we are to redevelop the villages and upgrade the units, which are all in need of some TLC," she says.

"The sale agreements take into consideration the age and condition of these older properties and the ongoing costs to maintain and provide warm, safe and dry public housing."

Tolley said agreements for a six-month transition process and the 25-year partnership agreement between the two parties will ensure current tenants are protected with affordable rents and security of tenure.

"The wellbeing of existing tenants is a top priority for both parties, and the agreements have been carefully written to ensure that they will always have a place to call home and be supported through any redevelopment from an early stage," Tolley said.

The statement said the purchase was part of Kāinga Ora's "ongoing commitment" to increasing public housing across the country, including in Tauranga, with the seven villages having strong redevelopment potential.

Regional director Bay of Plenty Darren Toy said the partnership between local and central government was good news for people in the city in need of public housing, as well as for existing tenants.

"This exciting opportunity will see us not only upgrading tenants' current homes where needed, but further down the track redeveloping villages to create a larger number of warm, dry and modern homes.

"While we don't have current redevelopment plans, we'll be looking to explore these opportunities in the next two to three years, to support the strong demand for public housing in our fast-growing city.

"I would also like to extend a warm welcome to these tenants who will be joining our Kāinga Ora whānau in the coming months, and with our team look forward to meeting them very soon."

The statement said the seven villages have 197 one-bedroom units located in Tauranga Central, Greerton and Mount Maunganui.

According to the council's website, a single unit costs from $144 to $167 per week in rent, with a bond payment of two weeks rent. It also lists a double unit price of $174 to $193.

Tauranga City Council agreed to sell its elder housing portfolio in 2018 and started negotiations with Kāinga Ora in March 2021. It later agreed to put sell two villages - Pitau Rd and Hinau St in Mount Maunganui - for market value to private developers.