26 Sept 2025: pensioner housing

Media: Local Democracy Reporter

Topic: Pensioner housing changes

Enquiry

Just looking to follow-up on the recently announced partnership with Emerge to provide pensioner housing services in Rotorua.

I just have some questions below:

• Council insist tenants will be no worse off financially via top-ups to utility bills. Has any costing around this been done?
• Would there be a maximum limit Council would impose on any financial support?
• Who will be responsible for determining market rate and what metrics are being used to determine this?
• Have Council been notified of any concerns from those in pensioner housing around the new arrangement?
• Why has the change to market rate been implemented? Was this a Council or Emerge decision?
• If a tenant declines to sign a new tenancy agreement with Emerge what would happen?
• The arrangement between Council and Emerge is described as a “partnership” but will Council be paying Emerge for the services they provide and, if possible, what figures are we looking at?
• Can you confirm if the agreement start date has changed from October 1 and November 1 and if so, why?
• Are Council satisfied with the level of notice and conversation they have had with impacted tenants?

Any further comment about the upcoming partnership with Emerge is greatly appreciated.

Response

From General Manager, Infrastructure and Assets, Stavros Michael:

Rotorua Lakes Council and Ka Puta Ka Ora Emerge Aotearoa have been working closely together to keep tenants informed throughout this process. Tenants have received letters about the pensioner housing review, updates on decisions, and invitations to share their feedback. There has also been on-site engagement as part of the 2024–2034 Long-term Plan consultation.

To ensure a seamless transition, Council and Emerge Aotearoa recently held community information sessions to explain the new partnership and give tenants the opportunity to ask questions and discuss their individual situations. Emerge Aotearoa is also meeting with tenants one-on-one to talk through their needs and respond to any issues. These sessions have been well-received and provide further opportunities for questions and feedback.

Council will remain the landlord, while Emerge Aotearoa takes on the day-to-day management, such as tenant sign-ups, rent collection, inspections and maintenance as the council’s agent. As is standard with a change of agent, tenants will need to sign a tenancy agreement with Emerge Aotearoa. A copy has already been provided, so tenants have time to review it. The tenancy agreement being signed with Emerge Aotearoa are aligned with Council’s current agreement, meaning rent remains unchanged at this stage.

An independent valuer is currently assessing market rental rates, but this work is not yet complete. Council made the decision to partner with a community housing provider to secure the long-term future of pensioner housing. Continuing to rely on $1 million of ratepayer funding subsidy (projected to increase) each year to cover actual costs is not sustainable or fair to the general ratepayer. By making the portfolio financially viable, we can maintain quality homes and look to increase the supply of pensioner housing in the future.

Under the new partnership, Emerge Aotearoa will be paid 8.5% of the rental rate for each tenanted unit to manage the portfolio on council’s behalf. As part of the transition, final physical assessments of the units are being carried out to identify any work needed before the handover. Once this is complete, we will be able to confirm the changeover date.

Regarding top-ups, this amount is not known as every individual’s circumstance will be different.

This partnership is designed to protect and strengthen pensioner housing in Rotorua for the future.