Most of Tauranga’s state houses were transferred from Housing New Zealand (now part of Kāinga Ora) to the community housing provider Accessible Properties under a National Party policy in 2017.
Tauranga City Council head of city planning and growth Andrew Mead said an NZ Institute of Economic Research assessment showed Tauranga was short of an estimated 4950 to 5950 dwellings as of 2024.
However, the council had enabled more development capacity through rezoning land for higher-density housing, such as Tauriko West.
The high cost of infrastructure was the council’s “most significant challenge” in allowing urban development, Mead said.
“In some cases, we haven’t had sufficient fiscal capacity to include this infrastructure in our current 10-year plan.
“This is the case for large future growth areas such as Te Tumu.”
Mead said the infrastructure costs that developers must meet, directly or indirectly, could be so high that projects were not financially viable.
“Some growth areas are also dependent on infrastructure investment by other agencies that have not yet been confirmed.”
An aerial shot of Te Tumu, Pāpāmoa, that is set to be developed into housing. Photo / SmartGrowth
Meanwhile, the Government expected to deliver 300 new social homes in the Bay of Plenty.
Of these, 85% would be one or two-bedroom homes.
They would be delivered by community housing providers Accessible Properties and Emerge Aotearoa.
Ministry of Housing and Urban Development data recorded 1856 public homes in Tauranga as of February 2026.
The ministry said the four suburbs with the highest concentration of tenants were Gate Pā, Parkvale, Tauranga South and Welcome Bay.
There were 154 transitional housing places in Tauranga as of February 2026.
Kāinga Ora regional director for Waikato and Bay of Plenty Mark Rawson said the agency had 684 homes in Tauranga.
This included state homes that it owned but were managed by another provider.
He said Kāinga Ora owned a total of 2646 Bay of Plenty homes. Of these, 1084 were two-bedroom, while 873 had three bedrooms, and 332 had one bedroom.
Rawson said the agency would provide 115 new homes across the Bay of Plenty by the end of June.
Nineteen would be in Tauranga.
The agency expected to deliver 48 new homes, including six in Tauranga, by the end of the 2027 financial year.
Kāinga Ora’s regional director for Waikato and Bay of Plenty, Mark Rawson. Photo / Kāinga Ora
Accessible Properties had 1123 homes in its Tauranga social housing portfolio and 130 in Te Puke.
Nigel Smith, its general manager of acquisitions, development and leasing, said 5% were one-bedrooms and 95% had two or more bedrooms.
The availability of suitable sections and the needs of those on the housing register determined where new homes were built.
There were 29 units being built in Tauranga.
Construction would begin on 19 more in the next three months, plus 19 in Te Puke.
These new builds would mean Accessible Properties had delivered 174 new homes in Tauranga and Te Puke since 2019.
Of these, 94 were accessible for tenants with mobility or accessibility needs.
“Our focus is on smaller, targeted projects rather than large-scale initiatives in Tauranga.”
He said the proposed large-scale Pukehinahina redevelopment project in Gate Pā stalled because of financial risk.
An image depicting Accessible Properties’ discontinued Pukehinahina Project in Gate Pā. Image / Supplied
The Bay of Plenty Housing Equity Fund, launched in 2024 to provide affordable and sustainable housing, was delivering 218 homes across 11 housing projects.
Of these homes, 105 were in Tauranga.
Managing director Roy Thompson said 83% were one or two-bedroom homes.
“Half of these are currently under construction, with the balance being in planning and consenting.”
He said the fund had committed about 60% of available capital.
The fund’s focus was on delivering homes for the households that needed them most.
The fund had committed to buying 21 units in the Smiths Farm housing development, previously owned by Tauranga City Council, but sold to Venture Developments in 2024.
Bay of Plenty Housing Equity Fund manager Roy Thompson.
He said the fund focused on the households that fell between the cracks – “those who earn too much to qualify for social housing but not enough to comfortably afford market rents”.
Housing Minister Chris Bishop said the Tauranga housing register increased by more than 630 people under the previous Government.
“The approach of the previous Government was to give Kāinga Ora more money and hope for the best.”
Its focus was now on looking after tenants and building and maintaining houses affordably.
Housing Minister Chris Bishop. Photo / Mark Mitchell
He said 158 new homes had been built by Kāinga Ora in Tauranga under the current Government.
The Government had also funded an additional 128 social housing places to be built by June 30, 2027.
These would be delivered by Autism Charitable Trust, Tauranga Community Housing Trust, Accessible Properties and Emerge Aotearoa.
Labour’s housing, infrastructure and public investment spokesman, Kieran McAnulty, said Kāinga Ora homes were going backwards under the current Government.
He said fewer builds had cost thousands of jobs in the construction sector, homelessness was increasing, and people were being denied emergency housing.
“The Government promised they’d fix it, but they’ve made things worse.”
Bijou Johnson is a multimedia journalist based in the Bay of Plenty. A passionate writer and reader, she grew up in Tauranga and developed a love for journalism while exploring various disciplines at university. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Classical Studies from Massey University.