Our role in housing

Like many areas in Aotearoa New Zealand, Kāpiti has increasing demand for housing, and there is significant pressure on its limited public housing services.

Housing is foundational to wellbeing and community resilience and demand for housing is increasing due to population growth and systemic stress.

Housing is a complex issue and not solely the responsibility of one organisation or sector. Partnerships with iwi, Government, community housing providers, and developers are essential to reducing demand, and achieving better housing outcomes for Kāpiti. 

Why are we involved in housing 

There are significant and growing housing access and affordability issues in our district. These issues are creating stress right across the housing continuum and for some, the lack of secure housing is having a domino effect, negatively impacting many or all aspects of a person’s life.

As our population continues to grow, we expect this to put pressure on existing housing and housing stress to grow too. It is estimated that there will be 32,000 more people living in Kāpiti by 2051 and we will need 15,000+ additional dwellings to house them.

While the housing market has slowed in the last two years, the challenge of providing affordable and suitable housing for our community persists.

Feedback received through our Vision Kāpiti shows that access to diverse, affordable housing options is important to our community and there are multiple roles the Council needs to play to help to deliver better housing outcomes for Kāpiti. 

Housing needs assessment 

Our housing needs assessment takes an in-depth look at what’s happening, and what’s likely to happen as our district continues to grow. This work has enabled us to prioritise actions and gives us a robust information base to support discussions with Government. 

Homelessness

Homelessness exists in Kāpiti. Council works closely with agencies that work with people experiencing homelessness or are at risk.

The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) is the lead agency for people who need emergency housing support. Information about how to access and apply for emergency housing can be found on the Work and Income website, or people can pop into the MSD's Work and Income Kāpiti office in Coastlands Shopping Mall, Rimu Road, Paraparaumu.