Long-term rental development’s Homestar-rated construction means lower bills for tenants

Working together, build-to-rent pioneers New Ground Living and Hāpai Housing have set the bar high with Moroki, Hāpai Housing’s new development in Glen Innes.

It’s official – tenants in Moroki, Glen Innes’ brand-new long-term rental development, will save money on energy bills even in the middle of winter. The New Zealand Green Building Council Te Kaunihera Hanganga Tautaiao has awarded Moroki Homestar 7 certification for its 48 apartments and Homestar 8 for its two duplex homes.

Homestar is a standard overseen by the New Zealand Green Building Council (NZGBC), which benchmarks the sustainable design and construction of new homes.

Hāpai Housing is an iwi-owned collective specialising in providing mixed tenure housing, including open market and affordable rental housing for Māori. Hāpai provides a unique point of difference in the housing market, enabling iwi to collectivise their investment for positive impact for whānau. The model includes a close working relationship with Ka Uruora Aotearoa (who provide funding and wrap around support for tenants) and New Ground Living, who are the development and project manager for Moroki and have pioneered institutional rental and affordable housing since 2014.

The community on the corner of Line Road and Epping Street includes homes ranging from one to three bedrooms. Leases of up to 10 years are offered to residents in order to provide security of tenure. Hāpai Housing and Ka Uruora have ensured that 22 of the homes have been provided as affordable rentals for qualifying whānau at a discount of between 10 and 20 percent of market rate.

New Ground Living development manager Johnny Quinn says Moroki’s brand-new homes need 40 percent less power and water compared to other homes of a similar size built to NZ Building Code standard.

“So that in turn lowers tenants’ bills. It essentially makes it much more affordable to live in compared to a unit that doesn’t achieve that. You’ve got your building code standard and then you’ve got Homestar 6, which is a good improvement on the Building Code. Where you start seeing some real improvements on top of that is with Homestar 7 and 8.”

Quinn says he’s proud of what has been achieved at Moroki. “There’s a lot of talk out there about delivering warmer, drier, healthier homes. The proof’s in the pudding. We’ve got tangible data showing these units use less power and water. The way Moroki has been designed, built, and delivered will lead to considerable savings for tenants’ monthly bills over the lifecycle of their tenure.”

Andrew Eagles, NZGBC chief executive agrees. “Better water and energy efficiency is a huge win for both the planet and for lower living costs. Residents often comment that their power bills drop markedly when they enter a Homestar rated home. And happier, healthy tenants equals more successful tenancies.”

Tenants began moving into Moroki in October 2023. Energy savings will be more apparent in winter, although Community Manager for New Ground at Moroki, Wakaangi Rongonui, says the residents are already seeing benefits given that half of the power needed to heat the hot water for 48 apartments is being supplied by the solar array on the roof.

Richard Redpath, Regional Manager – Construction for Mike Greer Commercial, the company that built the homes, says they worked with a strong team of consultants to ensure sustainable technologies and materials were included at the design stage. “While not specially designed as passive buildings, the design incorporated many of the elements,” says Redpath, such as voltaic solar panels, centralised hot water, heat recovery ventilation, and in the duplex, energy-conserving Structural Insulated Panels from NZSIP.

The decision to design and build to Homestar 7 and 8 level was not difficult for Hāpai. “It really aligns with our investors’ values,” says Brett Ellison, Commercial Manager. “Being iwi owned we take an intergenerational view of both the land and the assets. This value also provides better liveability for our tenants.”

Ellison says Hāpai is focused on building and retaining quality assets and that the standard of Moroki presents a unique position in the housing market enabling opportunities for whānau to live somewhere well built, warm and energy-efficient. “Ultimately, we’re trying to lead by example.”

So, what’s it like to live at Moroki and how does it compare to other privately-owned rental accommodation?

Erana, 31, secured her lease through Ka Uruora. She says moving to Moroki means she no longer thinks about her health constantly. “I’m asthmatic so if a place isn’t well insulated and is damp my health declines very quickly. My health is absolutely fine in this place. I’m not waking up in the middle of the night because I can’t breathe properly.” 

Erana describes previous damp rental homes where she has had to run a dehumidifier daily and “empty buckets and buckets of water” so she could sleep through the night without an asthma attack. “I used to have to go to the doctor a lot because of the house. I’m very grateful that I don’t have to think about my health all the time now – that I can just live my life normally.” 

Ivana, 52, says her  search for a high quality place to call home took her to 30 properties before applying for Moroki. Her persistence has already paid off – Auckland’s recent steamy summer has been a breeze.

“On a warm day, when I walk into the building, the apartment is cool. You can feel a five degree drop in temperature, at least, between the inside of the building and the apartment. The moment I walk in, the climate changes and that’s all without any air-conditioning. I like its orientation and how it’s open on both sides so you can air it really nicely.

Moroki resident John says he and his wife Fiona (both 26) were thrilled to find such a high-quality new build within their budget. “We came from a flat in Dunedin which was mouldy, it was draughty, it was disgusting. It was really bad for our health so we were just desperate to get out of that.”

“Moroki is so well insulated. We don’t spend any money in summer on cooling. We haven’t seen what it’s like in winter yet, but I imagine it’ll be the same. Whatever heat we produce, it’ll just trap it. It has already made such a difference to our quality of life.”