Unlocking Tribal Land For Housing

Housing Minister Phil Heatley has announced that from today Maori who want to build on their ancestral land will have an opportunity through an innovative partnership between Housing New Zealand Corporation and Kiwibank.

Housing New Zealand chief executive Dr Lesley McTurk and Kiwibank chairman the Rt Hon Jim Bolger signed an agreement at the Beehive this morning to offer a new home ownership product called Kāinga Whenua.

Mr Heatley said with the Crown stepping in as guarantor for qualifying home loans the problem of Maori not being able to provide multiple-owned (papakainga) land as collateral to the bank had been overcome.

“It is difficult for Maori to own a home on multiple-owned Maori land,” Mr Heatley said.

“The special nature of Maori land means it cannot be sold, which means banks are unable to meet their standard requirements for mortgage security.

“National campaigned on exploring ways to give banks more confidence to back papakainga housing.

“I want to thank the Maori Party for their support in the development and launch of this important initiative."

Today’s partnership provides a home ownership opportunity for Maori to build, purchase or relocate a house on multiple-owned Maori land.

Kiwibank is the sole lender for the product and will approve and provide home loans, which will be insured by Housing New Zealand.

With a Kāinga Whenua loan, Kiwibank can lend 100 per cent of house building costs or the purchase price of the house, up to $200,000, as long as the borrower has a right to occupy the land, a valuation from a registered valuer and a satisfactory building contract. No deposit is required for a loan below $200,000.

Kāinga Whenua is available to first home buyers, or people who have previously owned a home and are in a similar financial position as a first home buyer.

The borrower must earn less than $85,000 or three or more borrowers can earn less than $120,000. This multi-borrower option, which allows three or more borrowers in a single household to apply for the loan, makes a loan more feasible for multi-generational households.

Mr Heatley said demand for the product was likely to be modest, but noted that for many years Maori had been frustrated by their inability to get bank funding for papakainga development, and that Housing New Zealand was dealing with a number of Maori groups interested in helping their people to build on ancestral land.

Kāinga Whenua:
combines the concepts of home/homestead (kāinga) and attachment to the land (whenua)

ENDS

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