Whānau Housing—Whare Hīnau: Kelburn Flats

Housing for Māori students who want to live in a home environment that supports te reo Māori (language) and tikanga (culture).

Whānau Housing is great for those who want to connect more with their taha Māori (Māori side) and for those who want to live in accommodation where tikanga (Māori cultural practices) and te reo Māori (Māori language) are part of everyday life.

There are options for any of the whānau houses to be alcohol free, and residents will work with the residential adviser to develop other house ‘rules’ annually.

About the houses

• Whānau Housing is operated jointly by Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington and Whare Hīnau.
• Popular with second-year and above students.
• Houses are fully furnished and heated, and consist of single bedrooms and a few twin-share rooms. See the list of items provided in the student handbook pdf3.3MB
• You can request to live in an alcohol-free space.
• Residents are responsible for cleaning their own rooms and share responsibility for communal areas.
• Wi-Fi is available.
• A communal laundry is on site with washing machines and dryers.
• On-street parking can be arranged through the Wellington City Council.
• A tuakana-teina system operates where you all will be expected to support your peers academically, culturally, and holistically.

Fees

The 2025 fees exclude electricity, heating and internet. These services are provided and the cost is an additional $15 per week. The rate will be confirmed when you receive your offer.

There may be an extra charge for heavy electricity and internet use.

One trimester only contracts will incur an additional fee of 10 percent.

Find out when you need to pay accommodation fees and other charges.

Hall photos

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Events

You’ll be encouraged to participate in marae activities. You can also get involved and meet lots of people at the many inter-hall events. Throughout the year there are sports events, a quiz night, talent quest, film festival screening, and hall formals as well as in-hall activities.

Support

Our dedicated team of hall staff are always there to support you, and contribute to creating a friendly and safe hall whānau culture.

Residential advisers (RAs) are senior students employed and trained by the University to support hall residents. You’ll be assigned to one of them and they are often your first point of contact if you need help. RAs are very approachable and enjoy having a chat anytime. They organise hall events and can arrange study groups.

Student support coordinators are registered health professionals who are assigned to each hall, giving you easy access to counselling support. They also work closely with hall staff to ensure health and wellbeing goals are understood and being met.

Support services

Āwhina is the on-campus whānau for Māori students, with a kaupapa (focus) of providing academic support and help in all aspects of university life. Āwhina staff organise study sessions and a range of workshops, and offer one-to-one advising and mentoring sessions. They’ll also visit Whānau Housing to see how you’re getting on.

Addressing conflict

Living with others can be hard at times. Our halls use a restorative justice process to address conflict and rule breaking. This process requires everyone affected to work together to reach an agreement about what must be done to restore relationships.

The Independent Living Student Handbook pdf3.3MB outlines our behaviour and conduct rules.

For residents of the hall who are not enrolled as students at the University, read our misconduct process schedule pdf212KB

Visit our Whānau House

Contact the hall directly to make an appointment to visit. If you wish to see more than one hall on the same day, make sure you allow at least 30–40 minutes to cover the tour and the time to travel to the next hall.

• Email: independent.living@vuw.ac.nz
• Phone: +64 4 463 4713

University Accommodation team location

2 Waiteata Road
Kelburn Campus
Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington