About the Council's social housing

City Housing provides social housing in Wellington for people on low incomes.

Update

From 21 April 2023 we are no longer accepting new applications for City Housing properties. The City Housing service will transfer to a new Community Housing Provider in July 2023. Find out what other housing support may be available.

We provide affordable homes to low-income households, and to those who face barriers to other types of housing.

We house those most in need and help them become independent where possible.

Our rents are set at approximately 70% of market rent and reviewed annually.

From July 2023 the City Housing service will transfer to a new Community Housing Provider.

Tenancy management

Our team of tenancy advisors handle day-to-day tenancy matters and can be reached through the Council Contact Centre 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

If you are moving out or want to transfer to another property, ask for the Tenancy Services team when you contact us.

We care about the ongoing welfare of our residents and link tenants with support services where needed.

Housing upgrade programme

Our 20-year housing upgrade programme is improving the quality of our social housing and building communities with:

  • warm, dry and modern housing that has insulation and double glazing, and improved ventilation and heating
  • better social and recreation facilities where tenants can get to know each other or pursue hobbies.

Tenants of upgraded properties tell us they are healthier, feel safer and are proud to call their property home.

This $400m, 20-year programme is the most intensive social housing rejuvenation project of its kind in New Zealand’s history. In partnership with the Crown, we are effectively managing the construction projects while supporting our tenants and mitigating the impact of the changes.

The numbers

  • We have 3,200+ residents.
  • 24% of our residents are aged 0-19 years, 55% are aged 20-64 years and 21% are 65 or older.
  • Residents come from more than 70 countries and speak 40+ languages.
  • We own and manage more than 1900 houses and units across 26 suburbs in Wellington.