Housing- View Road

As we all know the levels of homeownership for our people are not where they should be and we need to be innovative about how we can address that so that our people have access to affordable housing.

The opportunity at View Rd is a new type of housing ownership so that whānau can live in warm high-quality housing on our ancestral lands.

This is home ownership but not as you know it - this is an opportunity to get into home ownership through a leasehold model.

You will own the “improvements” to the land - the buildings, other above-ground improvements (fences, decks, etc.), and in-ground infrastructure (services pipes, etc) – and a Land Trust will own the whenua on behalf of Ngāti Toa uri in perpetuity.

What it does not do is provide an opportunity to buy the “improvements” in expectation of making the kinds of capital gains that can sometimes be made from housing in the open market.

The iwi owns twenty-four out of twenty-five homes at 26 View Rd, there are thirteen 3-bedroom and eleven 2-bedroom townhouses.

We are offering individual leasehold ownership of the twenty-four homes for sale.

You must be:

• A registered Ngāti Toa iwi member

• At least ONE registered Ngāti Toa iwi member-owner must live on the property

• You must be able to get a mortgage, home insurance and participate in a group insurance scheme for shared areas

We are also looking to grow the number of registered Ngāti Toa iwi members who own and live in their own homes, therefore we are prioritizing first-time and ‘second chance’ home buyers. A second-chance home buyer is someone who has previously owned a home but now no longer owns a property.

The whenua will be held in a Community Land Trust. The townhouse “improvements” and below ground “improvements” (pipes from townhouse to infrastructure network etc) are owned and the responsibility of the individual owners. Individual owners also have an ownership share of the common areas i.e. driveways, gardens and lighting etc and are responsible collectively that these areas are maintained.

Rather than paying for the land up front as part of the property price, owners pay a ground rent for use of the land.

All improvements to the land - the buildings, other above-ground improvements (fences, decks, etc.), and in-ground infrastructure - are available for sale to the whānau participating in the scheme.

The land will be leased, with owners paying a yearly ground rental.

We are working through the process to create new freehold titles from the existing unit titles for each townhouse. This is not straightforward, but there are ongoing cost benefits to the owner that we want to see if this is possible.

At the point of the initial sale, each individual property will have a market valuation, which will assess the overall Current Market Value (Land and Improvements) and then provide a split between the land value and the value of the improvements.

It is difficult to provide an accurate estimate of how much the improvements will be, but as a guid,e we think it would be in the range of between $480,000-$600,000 for the Improvements only (i.e. excluding the value of the land).

The lease is a perpetual lease, so can be renewed for another term

A second chance buyer is someone who has previously owned, or part owned a property but now no longer owns a property.

There will be a range of whānau who will be interested in buying the properties and we want to understand that interest before determining if we need to run a second stage process if there is more interest than houses.

Members of TRoTR staff and those that serve on our governance entities that whakapapa to Ngāti Toa as registered iwi members can buy the townhouses, with a declaration of interest being made. The strength of their application will be considered in relation to the eligibility criteria and prioritization alongside all other applications.

We will be transparent about the process, including making available the names of those running the process and decision makers if a second stage process is required. However, we will only make public the details of ownership with the agreement of each individual owner.

There are a number of ways you can keep informed of progress with the View Road properties.

The first step is to register your interest on our Iwi Housing Register by emailing kainga@ngatitoa.iwi.nz. Being included in our housing register means you will be directly notified of up coming events and panui specific to our housing projects and initiatives.

We plan to hold dedicated hui to update iwi members in April, June and December 2023.

As our mahi progresses, we will provide updates and articles within in our iwi panui. You can subscribe to our iwi panui by emailing communications@ngatitoa.iwi.nz

We will also update the information on this page as we progress.

We are still looking at the detail of this. We are trying to balance making on-going household costs for individual whānau owners as reasonable as possible while at the same time recognising collectively iwi members are subsidising this home ownership opportunity and we have to have a sustainable model, including administering the Community Land Trust.

No, we are committed to offering a leasehold model of ownership for the View Road properties, where individual owners own the “improvements” i.e. the home but the whenua remains in the ownership of Ngāti Toa.

This approach offers a more affordable stepping stone into home ownership to registered Ngāti Toa iwi members. By ensuring Ngāti Toa remains the owner of the whenua, it gives our iwi the certainty that we are able to uphold its mana and history.

Freehold ownership options will be offered within future developments undertaken by the Rūnanga, such as Kenepuru Landings.

You are able to rent out rooms in the property but the registered Ngāti Toa iwi member owner needs to remain an owner occupier.

No, this isn’t a model we can afford at the moment.

The land will be held in Trust and will not be able to be sold.

Typically, banks will want at least a 10-20% deposit and understand your incomings and outgoings before making a decision on a mortgage. If you have or will have at least a 10% deposit, can service a mortgage and are interested in View Rd stay engaged in the process, and we will work with you around how we can support you.

You can sell your property at any time. If you do choose to sell your property, it must be sold to another registered Ngāti Toa iwi member who meets the criteria for the scheme, and with the agreement of the Community Land Trust. If you aren’t able to find a buyer from within the iwi, Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira will purchase the property from you.

The method we are looking at will use the initial sale price and will take into consideration a number of other factors. These factors include using the building construction and labor cost indices in the intervening period between buying and selling the home; and the condition of your property at the time you wish to sell.

We are undertaking financial modeling to be able to describe this in a much more straightforward way and will take whānau through different scenarios so they understand how this would work.

The purpose of the Community Land Trust is to secure our whenua for future generations and assist Ngāti Toa iwi members in home ownership.

The townhouse ‘improvements’ operate within a closed market for Ngāti Toa members and in order to continue to help other whānau into home ownership the value of the townhouses will be calculated on their real value rather than an open market value.

Using an index will help keep the housing that is offered in the Community Land Trust at a relatively affordable level. This means that while you will continue to build up equity in your home by paying off the mortgage (which is at a lower level because the costs for the land have been removed), the re-sale value of the property will be capped to enable other eligible whānau into home ownership if you decide to sell.

Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira is the mandated authority to manage and maintain all Ngāti Toa’s Treaty Settlement interests.

Treaty Settlement legislation outlines that only registered iwi members can directly benefit from the proceeds of Treaty Settlement funds.

This is to ensure that any proceeds are protected and provided for the benefit of Ngāti Toa uri only.

As the View Road properties were purchased using our Treaty Settlement funds, it is a legal requirement that only registered iwi members can purchase the properties.

If you are not yet a registered iwi member, it is important that you register with Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira to ensure that you are able to benefit from any offerings that directly relate to our Treaty Settlement, now and in the future.

We are using the iwi’s Housing Register to communicate with those iwi members interested in buying a property at View Rd. If you are interested in one of the townhouses at View Rd, please contact us at:

kainga@ngatitoa.iwi.nz

We will also provide updates through the Rūnanga’s panui and social media; and through hui in July and December.

There will be a range of whānau who will be interested in buying these properties and we want to understand that interest before determining if we need to run a second stage process, like a ballot if there is more interest than houses.

Members of TRoTR staff and those that serve on our governance entities that whakapapa to Ngāti Toa as registered iwi members are able to buy the townhouses, with a declaration of interest being made. The strength of their application will be considered in relation to the eligibility criteria and prioritization alongside all other applications.

We will be transparent about the process, including making available the names of those running the process and decision makers if a second stage process is required. However, we will only make public the details of ownership with the agreement of each individual owner.