Parliament has voted to create a new housing entity called Kāinga Ora replacing Housing NZ

Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford said the new Kāinga Ora unit would be a "world class public housing landlord". Photo / Mark Mitchell

Parliament has given the tick of approval for a new housing entity to be established, which will replace the almost two-decade-old Housing New Zealand.

The Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities bill has passed its third reading and will soon be officially established.

The legislation brings together all the Government's major housing entities into one single unit – Kāinga Ora.

It replaces Housing New Zealand (HNZ), its development subsidiary HLC, and the KiwiBuild Unit.

Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford said the new unit would be a "world-class public housing landlord".

Having a number of housing programmes spread across multiple different agencies has led to duplication, the splitting of key roles, fragmented decision-making and limited coordination between agencies, Twyford said.

"Kāinga Ora is a new approach. It's a one-stop-shop with a job description to build modern homes and vibrant communities."

The new entity means that HNZ – which was established in 2001 – will be no more.

Although the KiwiBuild programme will still exist, the KiwiBuild Unit – which is responsible for delivering KiwiBuild houses – will now come under Kāinga Ora.

National opposed the bill in the House.

Tamaki MP Simon O'Connor said the bill is an admission of the Government's failure.
"It's a glaring, bold statement of the Government's failure, particularly around KiwiBuild."

Earlier this month, the Government unveiled its KiwiBuild reset – announcing the 100,000 houses target over 10 years would be scrapped.

"This is poor legislation," O'Connor said.

"It's poorly thought-out, and I'll elaborate a bit on that later as to why."

Kāinga Ora will be established through two separate pieces of legislation.

The Bill introduced today will bring together the three agencies. A second Bill later this year will give Homes and Communities its enabling development powers.