44604 (2025). Hon Kieran McAnulty to the Minister of Housing

44604 (2025). Hon Kieran McAnulty to the Minister of Housing: Why does Kāinga Ora ask people to sign documents giving up their home voluntarily before the person knows which new home they will be offered and how, if at all, does this improve customer satisfaction?

Hon Chris Bishop: Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities advises me that where a tenant is required to move out of the property they are currently renting for business reasons, they are placed on the Kāinga Ora Business Initiated Transfer (BIT) Register. A BIT can be triggered for a range of reasons, including to enable a redevelopment project, to divest a home or relocate a household when a lease expires on a privately owned home in the lease portfolio, or address underutilisation. Regional Placement teams typically engage tenants well in advance of issuing a tenant a 90-day notice to formalise a requirement to move. That notice also sets a timeframe in which the tenant will need to move by. Generally, a BIT form is signed before a 90-day notice is issued as the BIT form activates an application that allows Kainga Ora to transfer a household and also verify household information with the Ministry of Social Development. Regional Placement teams work closely with the tenants affected by a BIT move to understand their needs such as location and bedroom size, and try to meet those needs to ensure their satisfaction. Reasonable efforts and offers to rehouse a tenant are made. We have requirements to ensure high stock occupancy and there may consequently be some limitations on properties that can be offered due to the stock available in the portfolio at the point in time.