The KiwiBuild scheme was first announced as Labour Party policy in 2012 by then leader David Shearer.[2] The policy survived as party policy under all his successors and was a prominent feature of Labour's 2014 election campaign.
After the 2017 general election, the Sixth Labour Government of New Zealand took office. Finance Minister Grant Robertson outlined a mini-budget on 14 December 2017 which allocated $2 billion of capital spending to KiwiBuild. Homes built under the programme are sold to first-home buyers and the cash is recycled into further housing developments.[3]
In mid-January 2019, Housing Minister Phil Twyford acknowledged that the government would be able to build only 300 of the 1,000 KiwiBuild homes it had promised by 1 July 2019.[4][5] That same month, it was reported that KiwiBuild's head Stephen Barclay had resigned following a dispute with Twyford over moving KiwiBuild from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) to the new Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).[6][7] Later reports claimed that Barclay had been the subject of complaints by staff over his leadership behaviour and treatment of others. In late January, Barclay filed a constructive dismissal case against HUD, claiming that the Ministry had breached his privacy.[8][9] In August 2019, the Head of KiwiBuild Commercial, Helen O'Sullivan, also resigned, causing further disruption.[10]
On 4 September 2019 a "reset" of the scheme was announced by new Housing Minister Megan Woods. Changes included the target of building 100,000 houses over 10 years being abandoned, the allocation of $400 million to support alternative home ownership schemes (such as rent-to-own), those buying studios and one-bedrooms units only having to commit to one year of ownership opposed to three, the 10% deposit requirement for a First Home Grant being lowered to 5%, allowing groups of more than three to combine their $10,000 First Home Grants together for a single joint deposit, and the amount developers receive after triggering the underwrite being lowered.[11][12][13]
By September 2019, the scheme had produced only 258 homes, far below the set targets.[14]
By October 2020 the scheme had produced around 600 homes,[15] and by May 2021, this number had increased to 1,058.[16] By December 2023, this number increased to 2,229.[17]
To be eligible to buy a KiwiBuild home, buyers must be New Zealand citizens, permanent or usual residents, earn less than the relevant annual income caps ($120,000 for singles, $180,000 for couples) and intend to live in and own the home for at least three years.[18]
The scheme has attracted criticism around the income caps, with claims that they are too high for low-income buyers to be able to compete with those receiving higher incomes.[19][20] Following the sale of the first KiwiBuild homes, then-Housing Minister Phil Twyford stated that the scheme was not targeted towards working poor and unemployed families, attracting criticism from aspiring home-owners and activists who argued that KiwiBuild will lead to increased speculation and gentrification.[21]
