What is community housing?

Community housing is rental housing provided by registered community housing providers (CHPs), rather than private landlords. It is long-term rental housing, provided under the rules set out in the Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

Community housing must be separated from the provision of support services by CHPs. The type of housing must be appropriate for long-term independent rental living, i.e. generally it cannot be a shared communal facility such as a boarding house.

Public housing – community and state housing

Public housing is the collective term for community housing and state housing. They both provide accommodation for people in need from the Social Housing Register(external link). State housing is the rental accommodation provided by Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities (which until 1 October 2019 was known as Housing New Zealand). Many local councils also provide rental housing(external link) for those in need in their community.