Space, security and community – families welcomed into home ownership programme

After six years of moving between rentals, self-proclaimed homebody Dominique is looking forward to a future where she can settle in one place and feel at home.

Dominique, an operations manager, and her boys Finlea and Liam (12 and 8) were one of four families to move into brand new homes in Hamilton in April, through Habitat Central Region’s rent-to-own Progressive Home Ownership (PHO) programme.

“I like my routine and I like to spend a lot of time in my home,” says Dominique. “There was something very disheartening about being in rental after rental, always feeling like you were going to move on. It kind of got to the point where I felt I was just living in someone else’s home.”

It was a rent increase that triggered her into applying to Habitat. While there had been no changes to the property over the year she’d been living there, market rates had increased and she was told her rent was going up to reflect this.

“I was just fuming. We’d gotten a small tax relief from the government and then straight away it gets soaked up somewhere else.”

With Habitat’s support, Dominique is now paying affordable rent based on her income, with the rent going towards a deposit when she’s ready to purchase her home. PHO supports families with security of tenure and a clear pathway to homeownership within 10 years, with the eventual purchase price agreed upon before the families move in. The house price remains the same, even if property values increase.

For Dominique, the journey is not just about coming out the other side as a homeowner, it’s also about security, affordability, and the support of the wider Habitat community that comes with it.

“I know security is really important for everybody, but there is a sense of – because I am on my own – I don’t want to move around. I want to be around people that I know, I want to be in a neighbourhood that I know. Having that safety and community around me is very important.”

Next door, Talesha (Ngāti Maniapoto) and her kids, Harlow, Kyrie, and Andie (14, 12, and 2), are still having moments of disbelief that this is now their home.

“We were like, I can’t believe this is our house, this is where we’re staying now,” she says.

For years, Talesha, a clinic manager, had been going round and round with mortgage brokers who all told her the same thing – if she wanted to purchase a home, she needed more money and a bigger deposit. To achieve her goal, Talesha thought about going in on a house with a friend or her brother, but ultimately decided she wanted to do this for herself.

“It was a little bit demotivating and I kind of just gave up for a bit there. I was renting and even that was a bit of a struggle – I only got that house because my cousin lived next door and they decided to give me a chance.”

After she had her youngest baby, Talesha moved her family back in with her parents in the hopes of saving up to try again. Then a colleague told her about her own experience of going through Habitat’s PHO programme and encouraged Talesha to apply.

“I was a bit scared because I don’t like asking for help. It took me a little while to apply.”

In February she received the news she’d been accepted for a new three-bedroom home.

“I was ready to cry. It feels like it’s been a long time for me and a few hurdles. But I did it, and here we are.”

A few weeks after moving in, Dominique says her family is enjoying the area and that the house feels warm and quiet.

“We lived in a tiny place for 18 months, so in comparison this feels really spacious. It’s amazing how much that extra bit of space makes you feel.”

Talesha’s family, too, are enjoying the extra space after a couple of years of sharing a room at her parent’s place.

Dominique says she’s now got a clear pathway for the next five to 10 years. 

“When I was in a rental, everything was up in the air. With Progressive Home Ownership, I’ve got this goal now to save and make the most of the opportunity."

“At the same time, it’s a massive relief to not be so focussed on saving every dollar because there’s not a rush to purchase now – there’s a time frame I’m working to. It’s just the best thing.”

Dominique is looking forward to getting to know her neighbours over the next few years and setting up her garden – something she considers a symbol of long-term security.

“Money wise, you can’t afford to do it all at once, so there’s something special about being able to do that.”

Talesha says it’s exciting to be working with Habitat to become a homeowner.

“Knowing that in the next few years, I’m on the path to doing it – whereas if I wasn’t in this programme, who knows how long it would take me.”

Her kids are her motivation to achieve her homeownership goal.

“Just to know that they have somewhere they can always come back to when they’re older. I feel like homeownership opens opportunities, too. It wasn’t on the cards for my family growing up, so being able to do this for my kids is huge.”