In the past, we provided school houses to help schools recruit teachers in areas where it was difficult to find housing. Some houses are still used for this.

Types of school houses#

There are 3 different types of school house. Each type is managed differently.

To find out what type of school house your school has, contact your property advisor.

Core houses#

Most core houses are owned, funded, and managed by school boards. In these cases, the school board acts as the landlord and is responsible for the tenancy arrangements.

Some core houses are owned and managed directly by us. An example might be a new school house.

If you are unsure about the ownership or management of a particular core house, contact your property advisor for clarification.

Caretaker houses#

Caretaker houses were originally provided by us to help schools that found it difficult to get tradespeople or where security was needed.

Now, they are no longer provided for schools.

The caretaker houses that remain are owned by us and managed by school boards.

Non-core houses#

Boards have no legal or financial interest in non-core houses. They are owned by us and managed by the national housing contractor. We take responsibility for all costs.

We are proactively disposing of non-core houses owned by us.

Read more about how we dispose of non-core houses and other surplus property.

Surplus school property

New school houses#

Occasionally, we will fund a new school house. New school houses become core houses but are managed by us.

Schools meet all these conditions for us to consider funding:

• The school is more than 30 kilometres from a centre with more than 5,000 people.
• Travelling to school is far or difficult.
• Rental houses available in the area is limited.
• There are more full-time equivalent (FTE) teaching positions at school than the number of properties available for rent in the area.
• The school’s long-term roll is stable.

We may replace an existing school house if it has come to the end of its economic life.

For more information, talk to your property advisor.

Contact#

Colliers NZ is the national housing provider for the Ministry of Education.

If you have any queries regarding a teacher housing property or a tenancy-related issue, contact Colliers directly.

Phone: 0800 495 888 

Email [email protected]