The Minister may from time to time determine either generally or in any particular case what land or classes of land may be acquired for State housing purposes and the general scheme of development thereof, the number and classes of dwellings and ancillary commercial buildings to be constructed, and any other matters of State housing policy.

Nothing in this Part derogates from any of the provisions of the Resource Management Act 1991.

The Minister of Lands may from time to time, by notice in the Gazette, set apart as State housing land any Crown land within the meaning of the Land Act 1948.

All land which immediately before the commencement of this Act was held or set apart for the purposes of Part 1 of the Housing Act 1919 shall be deemed to be State housing land at the commencement of this Act.

The Governor-General may take under the Public Works Act 1981 any land required for State housing purposes:

There may from time to time be purchased or taken on lease, out of money appropriated by Parliament for the purpose or (subject to any direction of the Minister) out of money received by Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities under subsection (1) of section 32, such land, dwellings, buildings, and chattels as may be required for State housing purposes.

Any lease which is taken as aforesaid may be for such term of years, at such rent, and on such terms and conditions as to payment of rent, renewals, compensation for improvements, purchase of outstanding interests of the lessor, and other matters, as may be determined by the Minister or by Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities subject to his direction.

All land, dwellings, buildings, and chattels acquired as aforesaid for State housing purposes shall be acquired in the name and on behalf of the Crown.

The cost of doing all or any of the following may be paid or contributed to out of money appropriated by Parliament for the purpose, namely:

The Minister, from time to time out of money appropriated by Parliament for the purpose, may cause dwellings and ancillary commercial buildings to be erected for State housing purposes on any State housing land, and may cause any dwelling or building on any such land to be demolished or rebuilt.

The Minister or Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities may from time to time alter, enlarge, repair, or otherwise improve any dwelling or building on any State housing land.

The Governor-General may, by Order in Council published in the Gazette, declare that any road, street, access way, or service lane, laid out or constructed under this Part within a district shall be vested in the territorial authority of the district and be under the control and management of that authority, and thereupon the road, street, access way, or service lane and the soil thereof and all materials of which it is composed shall be deemed to be vested in the authority in fee simple.

Subject to the Resource Management Act 1991, but notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Public Works Act 1981 or the Local Government Act 1974, it shall be lawful for any local authority to consent under section 29 of the Public Works Amendment Act 1948 to the proclaiming of any land as a road or street of a width less than 12 metres if the land is State housing land or if the road or street is required to provide access to any State housing land or land subject to an agreement for sale or licence to occupy under section 16 or section 17 of this Act.

Amendment(s) incorporated in the Act(s).

Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities may from time to time, upon such terms as it thinks fit, acquire, hold, and dispose of shares and other rights in any company or organization formed with the object of acquiring State housing land for the purpose of erecting thereon living accommodation comprising 2 or more separate flats or apartments or with the object of purchasing State housing land on which such living accommodation has been erected.

Subject as hereafter provided in this Act, any State housing land and any buildings or chattels held for State housing purposes may be disposed of by way of sale, lease, or tenancy by Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities.

To avoid doubt, sections 40 to 42 of the Public Works Act 1981 do not apply (and have never applied) to the disposal of State housing land if the land is disposed of as 1 or more of the following:

Subsection (2) does not affect any right of first refusal that a person or group of persons has in relation to the land under any Treaty of Waitangi claims settlement or collective redress Act or deed.

Subsections (2) and (3) and this subsection are repealed on 15 September 2026.

Subject to any direction of the Minister, any State housing land may be sold for cash or under an agreement for sale in such manner, at such price, and on such terms and conditions as Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities thinks fit.

Without limiting the power of Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities to fix the selling price or the terms and conditions of sale in connection with any such sale, it is hereby declared that Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities may—

Where any State housing land has been sold (whether before or after the commencement of this Act) and at the date of the sale the land had a dwelling thereon, then, if after all principal, interest, and other money payable in consequence of the sale have been paid in full Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities is unable to confer on the purchaser a title to the land under the Land Transfer Act 2017 on account of roads not having been dedicated, surveys not having been completed, or any other reason, Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities may issue to the purchaser a licence to occupy the land in such form as Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities thinks fit.

Despite anything to the contrary in the Land Transfer Act 2017, an agreement for sale or a licence to occupy under section 16 or 17 may be registered under the Land Transfer Act 2017 by creating a record of title for it, and the same registration fee is payable on any such agreement or licence as on a lease instrument.

Any such agreement or licence may describe the land comprised in it by reference to the plan of the land held by Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities as well as by any other mode of description; and, where a copy of that plan is deposited with the Registrar-General of Land or a plan of the land is endorsed on the agreement or licence, the Registrar-General of Land must register the agreement or licence even though a plan of the land has not been deposited under section 224 of the Land Transfer Act 2017.

If a plan of the land has not been deposited that adequately defines the land under section 224 of the Land Transfer Act 2017, the Registrar-General of Land may record in the record of title for the agreement or licence that the title is qualified as described in section 17(1)(a) of the Land Transfer Act 2017.

Where any such agreement or licence has been registered as aforesaid (whether before or after the commencement of this Act), every transfer, mortgage, lease, transmission, and other disposition of the land comprised therein may be registered in the same manner, subject to any modifications prescribed by any regulations made under section 40 in reliance on this section, and subject to the provisions of section 37, as a similar transfer, mortgage, lease, transmission, or disposition of a registered lease.

The same fee shall be payable on the registration of any transfer, mortgage, lease, transmission, or other disposition of the land comprised in any such agreement or licence, as on the registration of a similar transfer, mortgage, lease, transmission, or other disposition of an estate in fee simple in land.

The covenants, conditions, and restrictions contained or implied in any such agreement or licence registered under this section, and the amount of or allocation of the purchase price or the rate or rates of interest payable thereon, may from time to time be varied by a memorandum of variation thereof signed by Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities and the purchaser or licensee for the time being and registered in a form approved by the Registrar-General of Land. The same registration fee shall be payable on any such memorandum of variation as on a lease variation instrument. If the land affected by the memorandum of variation is at the time of registration thereof subject to any mortgage, then, except where that mortgage is in favour of Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities, the memorandum shall not be binding on the mortgagee unless he has consented thereto in writing upon the memorandum.

Where Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities lawfully rescinds or the purchaser surrenders or partially surrenders any such agreement or licence which has been registered under this section, Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities may send a notice of rescission or surrender to the Registrar-General of Land, who, without further notice or inquiry and without fee, shall enter a memorial thereof upon the register.

Where the purchaser’s estate or interest under any such registered agreement or under any such registered licence is subject to any registered encumbrance, lien, or other interest, the Registrar-General of Land, before issuing a record of title under the Land Transfer Act 2017 in respect of the land, shall make all entries necessary to record on the record of title every existing registered encumbrance, lien, and interest, in the order of their registered priority; and the purchaser’s estate or interest in the land shall be subject to every such encumbrance, lien, and interest as if it had been created in respect of that estate.

Subject to the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 and to any general directions of the Minister, every lease or tenancy granted by Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities of State housing land shall be on such terms, at such rent, and otherwise as Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities may stipulate.

Notwithstanding anything in this Act, the Residential Tenancies Act 1986, any other enactment, or rule of law, for the purposes of determining the rent payable under a lease or tenancy granted by Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities in respect of State housing land, whether before or after the commencement of the Housing Amendment Act 1992 and whether or not the land or the lease or tenancy has been vested in Housing New Zealand Limited pursuant to the Public and Community Housing Management Act 1992,—

Nothing in subsection (1) shall be taken as imposing any liability on the Crown or Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities to pay compensation to any person.

Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities may require any applicant for the purchase, lease, or tenancy of any State housing land on which any dwelling or other building is erected, or the wife, husband, civil union partner, or de facto partner of that applicant,—

If any such applicant is convicted under section 302 of the Justices of the Peace Act 1927, or under section 133 of the Crimes Act 1908, of an offence in respect of any statutory declaration made for the purposes of this section, Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities may thereupon terminate any lease or tenancy or rescind any agreement for sale which it has granted to or entered into with the applicant either alone or together with any other person in respect of any State housing land, and may recover possession of the land to which the lease, tenancy, or agreement relates, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

Where any notice rescinding an agreement for sale under this Part has been given upon default under the agreement—

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in sections 51 and 52 of the Land Transfer Act 2017 or in any other Act, where Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities lawfully rescinds an agreement for sale granted under this Part, the purchaser and all persons claiming through the purchaser shall forthwith vacate the land and yield up possession thereof to Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities:

In any action for possession of State housing land, a certificate by a person purporting to be the manager of any branch of Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities as to the value of the land, and as to whether any lease or tenancy has been granted in writing in respect of the land, and as to whether the land is State housing land, or as to any of those matters, shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be sufficient evidence in respect of the matter or matters so certified.

Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities may from time to time grant any easement, right of way, right of occupation, or any other right or privilege or concession in, upon, over, or under any State housing land.

Subject to the provisions of this Part, Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities may issue the following classes of easement certificates:

Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities may at any time issue a pipeline certificate in any case where,—

In addition to its powers under subsection (1), Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities may at any time issue a pipeline certificate in any case where a section of the pipeline referred to in the certificate has been or is to be constructed over or through land that at the time of the registration of the certificate was not State housing land, if—

Every such pipeline certificate shall—

While any pipeline certificate remains registered in accordance with section 29 against the titles to the land to which the certificate relates, unless the certificate otherwise provides, the following provisions shall apply:

Where it is not practicable to show the true course of any pipeline in any pipeline certificate, its position shall be indicated as nearly as possible in the certificate; and, until the contrary is proved, the course so indicated shall be deemed to be the true course. No action shall lie against the Crown under subpart 3 of Part 2 of the Land Transfer Act 2017 by reason of any pipeline certificate registered under this Part not indicating the true course of any pipeline referred to therein.

Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities may at any time issue a right of way certificate in any case where,—

Every such right of way certificate shall—

While any right of way certificate remains registered in accordance with section 29 against the titles to the land to which the certificate relates, unless the certificate otherwise provides, the following provisions shall apply:

Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities may at any time issue a party wall certificate in respect of a party wall in any building if—

Every such party wall certificate shall—

While any party wall certificate remains registered in accordance with section 29 against the titles to the land to which the certificate relates, unless the certificate otherwise provides, the following provisions shall apply:

Any easement certificate issued by Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities as aforesaid shall upon presentation for registration be registered by the Registrar-General of Land or Registrar of Deeds against the title to all land indicated in the certificate as affected thereby. An easement certificate shall not be registered as aforesaid unless there is a registered title to all land indicated in the certificate as affected thereby.

Any easement certificate may be registered as aforesaid notwithstanding that the Sovereign is the sole registered owner of all land indicated in the certificate as affected thereby.

Any easement certificate may be varied, or may be cancelled in respect of all or any of the land indicated in the certificate as affected thereby,—

Any certificate, consent, or order to which subsection (3) relates shall, upon presentation for registration, be registered by the Registrar-General of Land as if it were an easement certificate.

A registration fee prescribed under the Land Transfer Act 2017 is payable on any certificate, consent, or order which may be registered under this section.

Notwithstanding any rule of law or enactment to the contrary, any easement certificate registered under this section shall be deemed to be binding on any prior or subsequent mortgagee of any of the land or of any interest in any of the land affected by the certificate, and no consent under the Local Government Act 2002 or otherwise shall be necessary to the issue or registration thereof.

The Registrar-General of Land shall not be concerned to inquire as to the truth of any statement contained in any certificate presented for registration under this section, and no action shall lie against the Crown or the Registrar-General of Land or any other person (other than Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities) on behalf of the Crown in respect of any such registration.

No person shall have any claim against the Crown under subpart 3 of Part 2 of the Land Transfer Act 2017 by reason of any omission, mistake, or misfeasance of any person other than the Registrar-General of Land or his officers or clerks in relation to the registration of a certificate under this section.

The issue by Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities of any certificate which may be registered under section 29 shall,—

The Housing Account established under section 17 of the State Advances Corporation Act 1936 is hereby abolished.

The enactments specified in Schedule 1 are hereby consequentially amended in the manner indicated in that schedule.

All amounts payable to the Crown in respect of land, dwellings, buildings, and chattels administered by Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities under this Act, and all amounts which if this Act had not been passed would have been payable into the Housing Account, shall be paid to Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities.

Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities shall pay out of the money received pursuant to subsection (1)—

Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities shall make such provision as it thinks fit for the depreciation of assets, insurances, reserves, and for such other matters as are in its opinion necessary.

Any money required to carry out works authorized under Part 1 may be paid out of money appropriated by Parliament for the purpose.

Any money required by Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities for the purposes of this Act or for the purposes of any other Act directing that money may be paid or loans made for the purposes of housing may be paid by the Minister of Finance to Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities out of public money appropriated by Parliament for the purpose.

Where Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities is of the opinion that the amount of money held by it on behalf of the Crown is in excess of the amount reasonably required to meet expenditure under section 32, it shall pay the amount of the excess to a Crown Bank Account.

As soon as practicable after the end of each financial year ending with 30 June, a statement of financial position, a statement of financial performance, and such other statements as may be necessary to show fully the financial results and position (duly audited by the Auditor-General), together with a report on the operations for the financial year in respect of all land, dwellings, buildings, and chattels subject to this Act and under the administration of Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities, shall be submitted to the Minister.

A copy of the statement of financial position, statement of financial performance, statements, and report shall be laid before Parliament within 28 days after the date on which they are furnished to the Minister if Parliament is then in session, and, if not, shall be laid before Parliament within 28 days after the date of the commencement of the next ensuing session.

Any deed or document required to be executed on behalf of the Crown for the purposes of this Act may be executed on behalf of the Crown by Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities, or by the Minister, or by any person authorized by the Minister in that behalf either generally or in respect of any specified deed or document or of any specified class or classes of deeds or documents.

Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities may execute on behalf of the Crown a transfer to any purchaser of the estate or interest of the Crown in any land which has been sold to that purchaser either before or after the commencement of this Act (whether that estate or interest is an estate in fee simple or a lesser estate or interest in the land) if immediately before the sale the land was State housing land.

For the purposes of section 47 of the Public Works Act 1981, any request made by Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities to the Registrar-General of Land shall have the same effect as a like request made by the Minister of Lands.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any Act or rule of law, it shall not be necessary for any transfer instrument to the Crown of any land acquired for State housing purposes to be executed by or on behalf of the transferee.

For the purposes of the Fencing Act 1908, the occupier of any State housing land shall be deemed to include Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities and the Minister; and no person shall be concerned to inquire into the validity of any notice purporting to be signed by or on behalf of Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities or the Minister.

The Registrar-General of Land must not register any instrument that purports to transfer, lease, or in any other way dispose in whole or in part of the purchaser’s interest in any agreement registered under section 18 or under the provisions of any corresponding former enactment, unless—

This section applies when the Registrar-General of Land is presented with a record of title issued pursuant to the Housing Act 1919, the Workers’ Dwellings Act 1910, or any former Workers’ Dwellings Act.

The Registrar-General of Land must, without requiring the payment of any fee, at the request of Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities, cancel any endorsement, memorial, restriction, or limitation imposed by or under any of the Acts listed in subsection (1) or by or under section 22 of the State Advances Corporation Act 1936.

The Registrar-General of Land must not cancel an easement issued under Part 2 of the Finance Act (No 2) 1952 unless Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities requests him or her to do so.

In respect of the exercise of its functions under this Act Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities shall be deemed to be and always to have been the agent of the Crown, and shall be entitled accordingly to all the privileges which the Crown enjoys. Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities shall answer and act in its own name in respect of all such matters.

The Governor-General may from time to time, by Order in Council, make all such regulations as in his opinion may be necessary or expedient for giving full effect to the provisions of this Act and for the due administration thereof.

Without limiting the general power hereinbefore conferred, regulations may be made under this section for all or any of the following purposes:

Regulations under this section are secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

Amendment(s) incorporated in the Act(s).

Every reference in any other enactment or document to land set apart or held for the purposes of Part 1 of the Housing Act 1919 shall be read as a reference to State housing land under the Housing Act 1955; and every other reference in any enactment or document to the purposes of Part 1 of the Housing Act 1919 shall be read as a reference to State housing purposes under the Housing Act 1955.

The enactments specified in Schedule 2 are hereby repealed.

Without limiting the provisions of the Acts Interpretation Act 1924, it is hereby declared that the repeal of any provision by this Act shall not affect any document made or any thing whatsoever done under the provision so repealed or under any corresponding former provision, and every such document or thing, so far as it is subsisting or in force at the time of the repeal and could have been made or done under this Act, shall continue and have effect as if it had been made or done under the corresponding provision of this Act and as if that provision had been in force when the document was made or the thing was done.