Government-iwi Partnership to Deliver 80 Affordable Rental Homes in Rotorua by 2027

Rotorua whānau will enjoy greater access to modern housing thanks to a government-iwi partnership that will deliver 80 affordable rental homes, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says.

The Government is partnering with iwi organisation, Ngāti Whakaue Tribal Lands Inc, to deliver 80 affordable rentals at Manawa Gardens in Rotorua by mid-2027. The Government is investing $28.47 million while Ngāti Whakaue is contributing over $16 million for a total of $45 million.

We’re focussed on delivering the right houses, in the right places with the right support, for those in genuine need. These homes will be available to kaumātua, working whānau priced out of the private rental market, and others in need seeking long-term housing security, Mr Potaka says.

Whānau deserve certainty that they will be able to stay in their community, raise tamariki and mokopuna (children), and build for the future. These houses will be used as affordable rentals for 25 years, with rents capped at no more than 80 per cent of market rates.

The 80 new Manawa Gardens homes add to the earlier successful completion of 80 affordable rentals by Ngāti Whakaue Tribal Lands Inc, which were finished in 2024. Civil works for the new homes are due to begin in early-2026 with the project completed by the middle of 2027.

Mr Potaka said the investment was an important step forward for whānau Māori in Rotorua, where housing pressures meant many had to live in motels or other places unfit for purpose.

By partnering with Māori organisations and community groups, we are changing that picture. With only two Contracted Emergency Housing motels remaining in use, we will meet our election commitment to exit these remaining motels by mid-December.

Manawa Gardens is part of the Government’s broader commitment to enabling delivery of 400 affordable rental homes alongside, with and for Māori across the motu (country) by 2027.

Mate kāinga tahi, ora kāinga waru tekau Ka nui ake te whai wāhi atu o ngā whānau o Rotorua ki ētahi whare hou i tētahi kaupapa mahi tahi ki waenganui i te Kāwanatanga me te iwi e hua mai ai ko ngā whare 80 utu, hei tā Minita Potaka.

E mahi tahi ana te Kāwanatanga ki a Ngāti Whakaue Tribal Lands Inc ki te hanga i ngā whare rīhi utu-māmā e 80 ki Manawa Gardens, Rotorua i mua i te rewanga o Matariki 2027. E whakangao ana te Kāwanatanga i te $28.47 miriona hei tautoko i te $16 miriona a Ngāti Whakaue e $45 miriona ai te kohinga.

E aro ana mātou ki te hanga i ngā whare e tika ana, ki ngā wāhi e tika ana me te tautoko tika, mō ngā tangata e matea ana.

Ka wātea ēnei whare ki ngā kaumātua, ki ngā whānau anō hoki kua aukatingia ā-pūtea nei e te mākete rīhi, me ērā atu e kimi whare mauroa ana te kī a Potaka.

Me mōhio ngā whānau e taea ana e rātou te noho tonu ki ō rātou hapori, ki te whakatipu i ā rātou tamariki me ngā mokopuna, ki te whakariterite anō hoki mō te āpōpō.

Ka whakamahia e Ngāti Whakaue Tribal Lands Inc ēnei whare hei rīhi utu māmā mō te 25 tau me te kore i piki ā-utu nei i tua atu o te 80% o te utu mākete.

He mea āpiti ngā whare 80 i Manawa Gardens ki ērā atu whare rīhi e 80 i hangaia i te tau 2024.  Ka tīmata ngā mahi whakariterite mō ngā whare hou i te taha tōmua o 2026, ka oti katoa ngā mahi i mua i te rewanga o Matariki 2027.

Hei tā Minita Potaka, he hōkai nui tēnei kaupapa haumi mā ngā whānau Māori ki Rotorua, tētahi wāhi e kaha rongo ana i ngā taumahatanga ā-whare nei, i mate ai te nui ki te noho mōtēra, ki te noho rānei ki ētahi atu momo whare mōrearea anō hoki.

Mā te mahi tahi ki ngā whakahaere Māori me ngā rōpū hapori, kei te panoni mātou i tērā āhua. E rua noa iho ngā Kaikirimana Mōtēra Ohotata e toe ana, nō reira ka tutuki tā tātou kaupapa pōti ka tutuku te whāinga kia puta katoa i ērā mōtēra i te wehenga o Tīhema.

He peka anō a Manawa Gardens o tētahi whakatau nui a te Kāwanatanga ki te hanga i ngā whare rīhi utu māmā e 400 puta noa ki te taha me ngā iwi Maōri i te motu i te taunga o 2027.