About Us

Affordable Housing

The Wellington Housing Trust provides affordable housing for people on low or moderate incomes whose housing needs are not being met by other housing providers in Wellington City. We have 26 properties in Wellington City – ranging from apartment units to houses – that house a diverse range of people. We rent our properties at 70% or less of market value.

We believe that stable, affordable, healthy and appropriate housing is a fundamental right, and that secure, appropriate housing has long-lasting benefits for the people living within those households and the wider community.

Who We Are

The Trust is a not-for-profit organisation and registered charity; our Charities Commission registration number is CC21154.

It was formed in 1981 and has grown significantly during its 30 year history.

The Trust is governed by a Board of Trustees who are elected at the annual general meeting of members and employs three members of staff. We are supported by Members, Volunteers and Supporters and work with Accessible Housing NZ Ltd in the areas of asset and tenancy management.

What is Community Housing?

Community Housing is the provision of affordable housing to lower and moderate income groups by non-government, not-for-profit organisations. More information can be found on our Community Housing page.

How We Operate

In all its activities the Trust operates in ways that are:

  • Sustainable - ensuring a safe, efficient, healthy housing stock
  • Empowering - working with our clients in ways that are inclusive, participatory and uphold human rights
  • Innovative - tailoring solutions to meet specific needs
  • Approachable - acting as a landlord with a human face
  • Cooperative - working positively with other agencies to find solutions to housing needs

The Trust believes that the services we provide should be accessible to people from all parts of the community and that no person should suffer any disadvantage because of their race, colour, ethnic or national origin, religious belief, age, gender, sexual orientation, appearance, disability or marital status.

We operate within policies which ensure equality of opportunity in the way we allocate homes to tenants, provide our housing services, employ the staff who provide these services, and appoint trustees.

Overall, our tenants are very supportive of the Trust. A 2010 tenant survey showed that there is a high level of satisfaction with our services. Maintaining our level of service to our tenants and improving this wherever possible is a top priority for the Trust.

Networking and Advocacy

Following the publication of its Networking and Collaboration Analysis (PDF, 356kb) the Trust was instrumental in setting up the Wellington Housing Forum, a group that brings organisations together to address unmet housing needs in Wellington. The forum achieves this through information sharing, networking, education, advocacy, lobbying and collaboration.

We advocate for social housing at the national level. One example is our publication Are we really serious about the Community Housing Sector? (PDF, 300kb), a proposal to increase funding to the Community Housing Sector.

Further Information

Further information on our activities can be found on the news page and in our annual reports, newsletters and strategic plan (PDF, 1700kb).