Good news! NZ$1,000,000,000 in housing acceleration funding allocated today: these applicants can apply next week…

Housing Minister Megan Woods announced this morning that NZ$1,000,000,000 from the NZ$3,800,000,000 Housing Acceleration Fund announced in March this year had been allocated to establish a contestable housing infrastructure fund. From next week, local councils, the Department of Internal Affairs and property developers, for residential projects only, can submit expressions of interest in government infrastructure grants to support housing construction. 

The Housing Minister said the funding would support projects providing drinking water, wastewater, sewage, roads and flood management to enable new housing. However, today’s announcement did not specify how the remaining NZ$2,800,000,000 in the Housing Acceleration Fund would be used. What we do know is that NZ$350,000,000 will be allocated to Māori-led infrastructure projects.

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Who can secure a share of this 1,000,000,000 New Zealand dollars? 

There are also rules governing what this funding can support. Its main purpose is to establish a contestable housing infrastructure fund. Pay attention to the word “contestable”. The main project requirements are: Infrastructure must support the construction of a relatively large number of homes——To qualify, projects in large cities must include at least 200 homes, those in smaller cities 100 homes, and those in towns 30 homes. 

Larger cities include Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington and Christchurch. Smaller cities include Whangārei, Rotorua, New Plymouth, Napier-Hastings, Palmerston North, Nelson Tasman, Queenstown and Dunedin. 

“The fund will focus on affordable housing projects that can meet people’s housing needs in the short to medium term.” Housing Minister Woods said.

Funding will prioritise:

• Brownfield intensification and greenfield expansion;
• Developments where construction funding is insufficient to meet housing demand, and projects whose infrastructure may otherwise go unfunded;
• Projects spread across multiple areas, including major urban areas and regional centres;
• Projects supported by co-funding, including funding and contributions from third parties such as local boards;
• Stable, reliable pipeline construction activity;
• Projects aligned with government planning objectives, such as good urban planning, carbon neutrality goals and partnerships with the Department of Internal Affairs and Māori.

The funding can also cover early feasibility studies, design and, in some cases, land costs. Local councils, the Department of Internal Affairs and developers must submit expressions of interest between month 6, day 30 and the middle of month 8. The Finance Minister and Housing Minister will make the final funding decisions. 

However, the Housing Minister did not provide a timetable for announcing successful applicants for the NZ$1,000,000,000 allocation announced today, or for when the government intends to release the money. The process is currently at the application stage. 

As for the remaining NZ$2,800,000,000 in the Housing Acceleration Fund, the Housing Minister’s office confirmed today that the programme would still be used to “accelerate development of vacant or underutilised Crown land, expand housing activity into more areas, and provide a broader range of affordable housing choices for rental and home ownership”.

Details of the NZ$350,000,000 for Māori-led infrastructure projects will be released in August.