The Department of Building and Housing (

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

: ''Te Tari Kaupapa Whare'') was a government agency within the

New Zealand government , background_color = #012169 , image = New Zealand Government wordmark.svg , image_size=250px , date_established = , country = New Zealand , leader_title = Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern , appointed = Governor-General , main_organ = , ...

. Established in 2004 out of the former Ministry of Housing, it was disestablished in 2012. The department's former functions are now incorporated within the

Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE; mi, Hīkina Whakatutuki) is the public service department of New Zealand charged with "delivering policy, services, advice and regulation" which contribute to New Zealand's economic p ...

and the

Ministry of Housing and Urban Development The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (HUD; Māori: ''Te Tūāpapa Kura Kāinga'') is a cabinet-level public service department responsible for overseeing the New Zealand Government's housing and urban development programme. It formally ...

History

The Ministry of Housing was established in 1991 by the Fourth National Government as a policy advice agency alongside

Housing New Zealand Corporation Housing, or more generally, living spaces, refers to the construction and assigned usage of houses or buildings individually or collectively, for the purpose of shelter. Housing ensures that members of society have a place to live, whether i ...

, which managed the

state housing State housing is a system of public housing in New Zealand, offering low-cost rental housing to residents on low to moderate incomes. Some 69,000 state houses are managed by Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities, most of which are owned by the ...

portfolio. The Ministry of Social Policy, later the Ministry of Social Development (MSD), gained a housing policy role in the late 1990s. The

Fifth Labour Government The Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand from 10 December 1999 to 19 November 2008. Labour Party leader Helen Clark negotiated a coalition with Jim Anderton, leader of the Alliance Party. While undertaking ...

reviewed the housing sector in 2003 as part of its response to the

leaky homes crisis The leaky homes crisis is an ongoing construction and legal crisis in New Zealand concerning timber-framed homes built from 1988 to 2004 that were not fully weather-tight. The problems often include the decay of timber framing which, in extreme ...

. The following year, the Government announced plans to restructure government building and housing services. The new Department of Building and Housing was established, replacing the Ministry of Housing and picking up functions from the Ministry of Economic Development and the MSD (retirement village legislation) and the

Department of Internal Affairs The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), or in te reo Māori, is the public service department of New Zealand charged with issuing passports; administering applications for citizenship and lottery grants; enforcing censorship and gambling law ...

(swimming pool fencing regulation). The Building Industry Authority, which had been the sector's regulator, was also merged into this new department. The agency commenced operations in November 2004, following the passage of the

Building Act 2004 A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and fun ...

that August. Its responsible ministers were the Minister of Housing and the Minister of Building Issues (later Minister for Building and Construction). In March 2012, the Fifth National Government announced that the Department would be integrated into a new Ministry comprising the Ministry of Economic Development, the

Department of Labour The Ministry of Labour ('' UK''), or Labor ('' US''), also known as the Department of Labour, or Labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, training, a ...

, Ministry of Science and Innovation and the Department of Building and Housing. The new

(MBIE) began operating on 1 July 2012. Some building and housing functions were later transferred from MBIE to the

in 2018.

References

{{NZ Public Service Departments Housing in New Zealand 2012 disestablishments in New Zealand Former government agencies of New Zealand

History

See also

References