The housing policies of the eight parties in Parliament are compared in the table below.
The Herald is covering all the major policy areas in a series running throughout the election campaign.
| Party | Policy | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | Cut state house rents to 25 per cent of income and would keep increasing state house numbers by 900 a year. Kiwibank established. KiwiSaver grants of up to $10,000 a couple. Low-wdeposit Welcome Home loans up to $280,000. Shared equity homes for first-home buyers. Homes on Crown land for low-income buyers. | |
| National | Keep state house rents at 25 per cent of income but no further increase in numbers in next few years; allow state tenants to buy their houses. Keep KiwiSaver grants, Welcome Home loans and shared equity scheme. Homes on Crown land with right to buy after 10 years. Streamline laws to cut costs of resource and building consents. | |
| NZ First | Keep state house rents at 25 per cent of income and increase numbers by more than 900 a year. Broaden eligibility for KiwiSaver first-home grants. Re-introduce state lending to first home buyers, including rent-to-buy schemes. Streamline resource consents. | |
| Greens | Keep state house rents at 25 per cent of income and increase numbers by 3000 a year, plus 1000 a year through community sector. Support existing KiwiSaver, Welcome Homes and shared equity schemes. Restore universal child benefit and allow capitalisation to buy first home. Re-introduce state lending to first home buyers. | |
| Maori Party | Cap state housing rents and increase the numbers. Make state houses safe, dry and well insulated. Lift accommodation supplement. Allow capitalisation of Working For Families entitlements to buy home. Give iwi resources to develop social housing and create joint ventures with marae to build whanau housing. | |
| United Future | Keep state house rents at 25 per cent of income but move tenants out when their incomes rise. Restore state house numbers to early 1990s levels before houses were sold. Allow capitalisation of Working for Families entitlements to buy home. Abolish rates and replace with local sales taxes. | |
| Act | Accept the need for some state houses but reduce the number. Streamline planning laws to cut costs and severely restrain use of development levies. Increase land supply for housing by abolishing Auckland's metropolitan urban limit and allowing purchase of rural land without full reports. | |
| Progressive | Expand state housing by at least 1000 a year. Allow families to capitalise future Working for Families entitlements. Reduce the banking activity that fuelled the housing bubble by keeping Kiwibank publicly owned and by changing the Reserve Bank Act so monetary policy would have regard to housing market stability. | |