June 2021 - 40 years as pioneers of NGO social housing

In 1981, Mt Victoria Housing Trust (shortly after becoming Wellington Housing Trust) was formed by several people local to the area concerned about the shortage of available housing for people in need. The Trust were pioneers of non-government social housing provision in New Zealand.

In the early years, there were no government policies whatsoever for a ‘third sector’ of housing, and trustees took personal risks to secure loans for houses and the generous support of people in the Wellington community who literally “loaned houses” for trust tenants to occupy.

Forty years on, we are proud to continue what our founders started.
In the ’90s, WHT sought to provide more homes for people in need, whereby older homes in Mt Victoria were sold with proceeds used to buy more homes in cheaper suburbs and assist WHT to subsidise rents, so they were affordable to our tenants.

WHT also secured community grants to assist WHT with adaptations and upgrades to homes and the Trust running costs. Donations and grants have supported the trust's work from the beginning and remain a vital source of funding towards new homes today.

Fast forward to 2021, and we are still guided by the same principles of providing affordable quality housing where people flourish, live well and do well. We are still seeking partnerships and securing finance options to be able to build more and we are still looking towards a future where everyone in Aotearoa will have a place to call home.