Community Residential Support Services
Community Residential Support Services are funded by Whaikaha - Ministry of Disabled People and allow people to live in a home-like environment with support available up to 24 hours a day.
Services are provided in a range of community settings such as small or large homes, groups of small homes or flats.
Choice in Community Living
Choice in Community Living is an alternative to residential services for disabled people. It offers more choice and control over where they live, who they live with and how they are supported. It is available in Auckland, Waikato, the Hutt, Otago and Southland regions.
To use Choice in Community Living, you will need to live in one of the regions listed above and talk to you local Needs Assessment and Service Coordination (NASC) organisation. They will work with you and your family/whānau to see if Choice in Community Living is right for you.
State housing
Kāinga Ora is a government agency that provides state housing in New Zealand. Visit our page on Kāinga Ora to learn more.
Support available from Kāinga Ora
Community housing
Community housing is rental housing provided by registered community housing providers (CHPs), rather than private landlords. Typically, CHPs are not-for-profit groups that meet housing needs by offering emergency housing, affordable rentals, or home ownership assistance.
The Community Housing Association has a list of local community housing providers on their website.
Find your local community housing provider (external link)
Council housing
Local councils provide their own rental housing, often aiming to provide housing for people who aren’t covered by other social housing providers, such as Kāinga Ora.
Contact your local council to find out what council housing might be available in your area.
Find your local council on localcouncils.govt.nz (external link)
Renting
Renting is a great option if you’d like your own place, but are not ready or able to buy your own home.
Finding a rental
If you decide to rent, the first step is to find a rental that meets your needs. There are a few places you can go to find rentals in your area, these include:
- Local rental agencies (either online or in person)
- Trade Me property (external link)
- RealEstate.co.nz (external link)
- myRent.co.nz (external link)
You may also want to see if you can rent a property from Accessible Properties. Accessible Properties is operated by IHC New Zealand and has a small number of rentals available.
Information about affordable rentals on the Accessible Properties website (external link)
Before you search for a rental, check what the market rent is in your area to make sure the houses you’re interested in are available at a fair price.
Find out what market rent is in your area on Tenancy Services’ website (external link)
Once you’ve found a rental
Once you’ve found a rental that suits you it’s important to make sure you know your rights and responsibilities before you sign a tenancy agreement.
Tenancy Services’ website has everything you need to know before you start renting.
Go to the ‘New to renting’ section on Tenancy Services’ website (external link)
Flatting
Flatting, sharing a rental property with a group of people, is a great option. It’s cheaper than renting a place yourself, gives you the freedom of living in your own place, and can lead to lifelong friendships.
Finding a flat
It’s often best to flat with people you already know, but there are always flats looking for new flatmates. Some places to search for flats include:
Important info about flatting
Tenancy Services’ have a great page with everything you need to know before going flatting.
Information about flatting on Tenancy Services’ website (external link)
Buying
If you’d like to buy a house there are quite a few things to consider. Settled.govt.nz is a great resource with everything you need to know when buying.
Information about buying a home on settled.govt.nz (external link)
Last updated on Tuesday, 16 August 2022