Ten groups ask Kāinga Ora to pause Strathmore sale before election
Ten Wellington housing and social service organisations want Kāinga Ora to withdraw the deadline sale of 36 empty state houses in Strathmore.
The properties are at 4, 6 and 8 Nuku Street. Kāinga Ora put them on the market by deadline sale, where buyers make offers by a set date, with a deadline of 21 October, about two weeks before election day, according to RNZ.
The call came in an open letter to chief executive Tracey Taylor. It asks Kāinga Ora to withdraw the Nuku Street sale and work with the incoming government on future public housing options. Ten organisations signed. They include Wellington City Mission, Downtown Community Ministry, Pōneke Public Housing Futures, Renters United and the Catholic Archdiocese.
The letter was sent out as "Community Organisations Call On Kāinga Ora To Halt Sale Of Nuku Street Public Land Days Before Election". Speaking for the organisations, Lizzie Pringle said: "We urge Kāinga Ora to press pause on this deadline sale and at least wait to see who the next Minister of Housing will be."
The campaigners want a pause at least until after the election to see who holds the housing portfolio, the minister in charge of housing. They point to possible changes to public housing plans and to Kāinga Ora's mandate, its formal instructions from the Government.
Kāinga Ora says it will not review the sale. Regional director for Greater Wellington Sarah Willson said the agency had no plans to review the sale. Kāinga Ora said redevelopment of the Nuku Street site for new social housing was not financially viable, which means it would cost more than it would return in housing value. It said the proceeds would be reinvested in new social housing.
Some Nuku Street units had sat empty for up to six years and locals called them 'ghost houses'. The blocks had a combined ratings valuation, the council estimate used to set rates, of $7.35 million, according to The Post. More than 600 Wellington households were waiting for public housing at the time.
Kāinga Ora points to new homes nearby. It said 37 new homes on Ngatiapa Street are expected to be built in 2028, after resource consent, the council permission needed to build, is lodged next year.
The Strathmore sale sits inside a national sales programme. Kāinga Ora is selling some properties that do not meet its long-term needs, according to Kāinga Ora. The Green Party has campaigned to put the sale of those Kāinga Ora homes and sections on hold, according to the Greens. The party said Kāinga Ora was attempting to sell 168 homes and 25 sections across the country close to the election. Kāinga Ora publishes three sets of information each quarter covering managed stock, vacant properties and homes removed from service.
The broader context here will be familiar to Press Gallery regulars. Asset sales in the weeks before polling day are administratively routine but politically charged. Agencies keep operating under their existing instructions. Ministers remain in office. Yet any sale that limits the options of the next Minister of Housing invites a challenge, particularly under MMP, the proportional voting system, where the housing portfolio and Kāinga Ora's letter of expectations, the minister's formal directions, can shift with coalition talks.
In my view, that is why the wording of the open letter matters for Beehive watchers. The organisations did not simply ask for the houses to be kept. They asked for process: withdraw, wait for the election result, then work with the incoming government. It is an attempt to move the decision from operational asset management into post-election policy, where a new minister could direct retention, redevelopment or a different sale method.
Looking at what this means for Kāinga Ora, the tension is direct. Its case is financial viability on that site, with money reinvested elsewhere and new supply at Ngatiapa Street. Its critics weigh long vacancies alongside the waitlist, and the loss of public land in a suburb where a replacement is not like for like. For a reader following the detail, neither claim settles the other. They reflect different tests of value, one balance sheet and one based on portfolio and mandate, that only a minister can decide after the election.
