Frequently Asked Questions

At QLCHT we are pet friendly, so yes you can. 

Although tenants will still need to seek our permission prior to getting a pet, as we require our households to be responsible pet owners. This means taking good care of your pets, making sure they are not a danger to anyone, or a nuisance and putting right any damage caused by your pet, should it occur.

If you have a spare bedroom in your home, then you can have a flatmate or boarder living with you to assist with costs. Tenants will need to complete a form advising us of your intention to do so. Assisted ownership households do not need to advise us.

Our homes are located across the Queenstown Lakes District; Queenstown, Arrowtown, Mt Cardrona, Wānaka, Hāwea. You can look at our developments page to learn about homes we've already constructed, and more homes currently under construction. 

All our homes are well-constructed. We aim to build well above building code and exceed the Healthy Homes Standards. They are fully completed inside and out, including curtains and blinds, dishwasher, rangehood, efficient heating, oven and stove top, washing lines, landscaping, fencing, concrete driveways and either a garage or carport. They also have fibre broadband installed. Our homes are slightly more compact in order to maintain affordability, but they will have all you need to be comfortable, warm and dry.     

Once you are on our waitlist, the length of time you will need to wait for a home is dependent on several factors.  Check out our Home Allocation Process to understand what is involved in allocating a home to households. 

All we need from you, is to keep us updated. If your contact details change, or you have a significant change in your income or deposit/savings, please let us know. We can only work off the information you provide us, so to put yourself in the best possible position of being offered a home that is right for you, please keep us updated of any changes to your situation.

QLCHT has a range of housing programmes, all carefully designed to meet the needs of those in our community who qualify for housing assistance. Provided you continue to meet your agreed obligations as an occupant, once in a QLCHT home you have a secure, long-term tenancy.

Everyone on our waiting list receives a quarterly update via email. If you're on our waiting list and not receiving the update, please check your junk/spam, or check that we have your correct email address.

If you're not on our waiting list you can email admin@qlcht.org.nz and ask to start receiving our quarterly updates. 

Or you can view our most recent quarterly update here. 

We are very fortunate to have the support of our local council, developers and central Government. QLCHT receives land contributions from developers through an inclusionary housing process, as developers seek to upzone their land for residential housing. QLDC facilitates this process on behalf of the community. 

We have also purchased homes on the open market. In 2021, we purchased 50 one-bedroom and two-bedroom units in the Toru apartments, and provided them to our community as rentals and for purchase through our assisted ownership programme, Secure Home.

We also receive funding for various programmes and projects from the New Zealand Government via the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.  

You can learn more here about our supporters and funders. 

Firstly, you need to register your interest.

Once you've registered, one of our team will call you within a few weeks to assess your eligibility. If you're eligible for housing assistance, you will be added to our waiting list straight away and start receiving quarterly updates via email.

At the time we allocate homes, we'll email all those on our waiting list who appear to be suitable for the home, in terms of its size and location, inviting expressions of interest. For all those that come back to us we then work out who will be invited to formally apply for a home, as per our policy on allocation of properties.  

All you need to do is make sure we have your most current details and keep an eye out for our emails inviting expressions of interest for particular homes or developments. You can keep up to date with our developments on our website, or via our latest newsletter.  

The costs to move into a QLCHT home are typically the same as with any rented or purchased home. 

When moving into a rental property, there is your first weeks rent (to be paid in advance), along with a bond of four weeks rent (which you can transfer from your previous rental property). There're also the usual costs involved in moving, such as setting up power and internet. 

When purchasing one of our assisted ownership homes, there's the initial settlement amount to be paid, which is made up of the agreed purchase price, pro-rated Ground Rent for the first month, pro-rated local rates and regional rates, and pro-rated body corporate levies (where applicable). We also suggest keeping around $5,000 aside for additional costs such as your house insurance premium, solicitor's legal fees and moving costs such as setting up power and internet.