Housing Delivery System reaches 2000th home milestone

The HDS is a streamlined approach to planning and building houses that enables Kāinga Ora to deliver quality homes for whānau faster and cost-effectively.

Piloted in Christchurch in 2022, the first HDS home was completed in Hoon Hay, Christchurch in February 2023. HDS expanded to Auckland and is now being used nationwide as Kāinga Ora continues its housing renewals programme. It is one of the ways the agency delivers new state homes.

Housing Delivery Director Jannie Greeff says years of continuous improvement have enabled the HDS team to scale up and deliver quality new homes quickly and efficiently.

The first HDS home in Hoon Hay, Christchurch

While 30 homes were delivered in the 2023 financial year, 892 were delivered in the 2026 financial year and more than 1,000 homes are expected to be completed in the 2027 financial year.

As the HDS has expanded, projects have grown in size and complexity. Across projects ranging from three homes to developments of 15 homes or more, the design phase takes around 26 days and consenting a median of 66 days. Construction takes around 121 days.

“Over the last few years, we’ve refined and strengthened the way we work. We now have a proven delivery system, which has evolved and become fast and efficient,” he says.

Mr Greeff says one of the key benefits of the HDS has been the consistency it provides, giving build partners greater visibility of work across the programme.

At any one time, 250 projects are in preconstruction and construction across the country, involving eight consultant disciplines, more than 30 build partners across the programme and up to 13 different trades on each site.

“With hundreds of projects progressing at any one time, it creates ongoing opportunities for contractors and tradespeople while helping ensure homes are delivered efficiently across the country for the people who need them most.”

By the numbers

• More than 2,000 homes delivered through HDS.
• Around 250 projects in preconstruction or construction at any one time.
• Eight co-located in-house consultant disciplines on each project.
• Up to 13 trades working on each construction site.
• Around 26 days for design and median of 66 days for consenting.
• Around 121 days for construction.
• More than 1,000 homes expected to be delivered in the 2027 financial year