Living in Saint Leonards, Hastings District: rents, schools, census and property titles
The 1,486 live property titles in Saint Leonards, Hastings District are mostly freehold (77%), as recorded by LINZ on 30 September 2026. Cross-lease titles number 122 (8.2%), close to the national share of 8.7%.
Saint Leonards, Hastings District cross-lease titles
- Cross-lease titles
- 122
- Share of live titles
- 8.2%
- Live titles in total
- 1,486
- Hastings District share
- 5.0%
- New Zealand share
- 8.7%
- Rank by share in Hastings District
- 5 of 11
- Rank by share in New Zealand
- joint 375 of 644
Saint Leonards at a glance
Higher or lower is not better or worse. Sources and limits
Start here
What the data tells you
Recorded facts
- Saint Leonards is listed under Hastings District.
- 1,486 live titles are recorded here, including 122 cross-lease titles (8.2%).
- The page includes 2023 Census context for the statistical area that represents this suburb.
- The page includes MBIE new-tenancy rent figures for April–June 2026.
Contextual observations
- Cross-lease titles make up 8.2% of the recorded title mix. That describes the suburb, not any particular home.
- Unit titles account for 0.6% of recorded titles, so title structure can vary within the suburb.
- Coast distance is a suburb-level map measure, not a flood or hazard assessment.
Questions worth investigating
- For any cross-lease property you consider, do the current title, flats plan and lease match what is built today?
- What do the LIM, council property file and a suitable inspection add for the specific address?
No data held for this suburb
- Mapped public-transport context is not available for this suburb.
Title mix in Saint Leonards
| Title type | Live titles | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 1,141 | 76.8% |
| Cross lease | 122 | 8.2% |
| Unit title | 9 | 0.6% |
| Leasehold | 212 | 14.3% |
| Other record types | 2 | 0.1% |
| Total | 1,486 | 100% |
Counts are titles, not homes; the register can lag conversions, so check the certificate of title. Sources and limits
How Saint Leonards compares
Nationally, 8.7% of live titles are cross-lease; Saint Leonards is close to the national share (8.7%).
Across Hastings District as a whole, the share is 5.0%; Saint Leonards is about 1.6 times the overall Hastings District share (5.0%).
How cross-leases in Saint Leonards are set up
Carports appear in fewer leases (2% of schemes, against 13% nationally).
Fewer schemes have four or more flats on one section (4%, against 11% nationally), up to 6.
Three-flat schemes are more common here (25%, against 12% nationally).
| Scheme structure | Saint Leonards | Hastings District | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cross-lease schemes (shared sections) | 56 | 848 | 87,651 |
| Two-flat schemes | 71.4% | 71.6% | 76.2% |
| Three-flat schemes | 25.0% | 16.3% | 12.2% |
| Four or more flats | 3.6% | 12.1% | 11.4% |
| Typical section size (from the titles, not a survey) | 890 m² | 1,005 m² | 908 m² |
| Typical land per flat | 340 m² | 430 m² | 408 m² |
| Schemes with a garage written into a lease | 28.6% | 28.2% | 28.4% |
| Schemes with a carport in a lease | 1.8% | 4.4% | 13.3% |
| Schemes with a separate exclusive-use area | 3.6% | 6.1% | 4.5% |
| Schemes referring to more than one flats plan (usually redrawn; not by itself a problem) | 25.0% | 38.0% | 35.6% |
| Median year of earliest current title | 1991 | 1992 | 1988 |
| Two-flat schemes on 700 m² or more | 26 | 535 | 54,978 |
Unit titles and leasehold in Saint Leonards
212 titles (14.3%) are leasehold, well above the national share (1.2%).
3 of them have a stated term that has ended or has under 10 years to run, which is worth reading closely in the lease.
Stated lease terms, as at 30 September 2026:
| Stated lease term | Titles |
|---|---|
| Stated term has ended | 3 |
| Under 10 years left | 0 |
| 10 to 50 years left | 1 |
| More than 50 years left | 204 |
| Term mentions renewal (including perpetually renewable) | 3 |
| Term not stated or not readable | 1 |
New titles in Saint Leonards since 2020
124 of Saint Leonards's current titles (8%) were first issued since 2020, slightly below Hastings District's suburbs with new-title figures taken together (9%) and well below New Zealand (12%).
Most came recently: 90 since 2023.
| Title type | Since 2020 | Since 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 113 | 80 |
| Unit title | 6 | 6 |
| Cross-lease | 3 | 2 |
| Leasehold | 1 | 1 |
| Other | 1 | 1 |
New titles include cross-leases converted to freehold and titles re-issued; they are not a count of new homes. Sources and limits
The lie of the land in Saint Leonards
The typical building in Saint Leonards stands on ground sloping 0.7° (read on an 8 m grid, so short steep banks may be understated).
Nearly all of its 1,728 measured buildings (100%) stand on ground under 5°.
Slope is not a measure of ground stability. Sources and limits
Distance to the coast from Saint Leonards
Saint Leonards is inland: the typical title is 10 km from the sea or harbour edge, and fewer than 1 in 2,000 titles are within 1 km of it.
Measured in a straight line from the centre of each title's land to the coastline on LINZ's 1:50k topographic map, which follows harbours and estuaries as well as the open coast; lakes and rivers are not included. Distance says nothing about beach access, views or exposure to coastal hazards; council hazard maps and the LIM describe those.
Who lives around Saint Leonards: 2023 Census
About 79% of Saint Leonards's titles are in the census area St Leonards (a Stats NZ statistical area), so these figures describe that area, not Saint Leonards exactly.
More workers walk or cycle to work in St Leonards than across Hastings District: 10.5% against 4.6%.
More households have no car in St Leonards than across Hastings District: 9.6% against 5.0%.
Fewer workers work from home in St Leonards than across Hastings District: 10.9% against 15.9%.
| Measure | St Leonards | Cornwall Park | Hastings District whole council |
|---|---|---|---|
| Usual residents | 2,610 | 3,123 | 85,965 |
| Change since 2018 | −1.4% | +2.5% | +5.4% |
| Change since 2013 | +15.5% | +11.8% | +17.4% |
| Median age | 36.1 | 39.7 | 38.9 |
| Households | 1,035 | 1,218 | 29,391 |
| Own or part-own their home (including family trusts) | 56.6% | 61.6% | 69.0% |
| Not owned and not in a family trust (mostly renting) | 43.7% | 38.4% | 31.0% |
| Median household income | $80,100 | $75,600 | $93,400 |
| Median weekly rent, renting households | $380 | $380 | $400 |
| Dwellings unoccupied on census night | 4.6% | 2.8% | 9.3% |
| Ages | |||
| Under 15 | 18.5% | 19.6% | 20.4% |
| 15 to 29 | 20.0% | 17.6% | 17.9% |
| 30 to 64 | 47.2% | 43.1% | 43.9% |
| 65 and over | 14.1% | 19.7% | 17.8% |
| Where people came from | |||
| Born overseas | 24.5% | 20.0% | 19.3% |
| Of those born overseas, arrived in the last 5 years | 36.1% | 27.6% | 27.5% |
| Lived elsewhere in New Zealand 5 years ago (of all residents, including children born since) | 46.9% | 43.3% | 41.8% |
| Lived overseas 5 years ago (of all residents) | 5.1% | 3.9% | 4.1% |
| Moved here in the last year (of all residents) | 23.1% | 20.8% | 17.1% |
| Work and study (people 15 and over) | |||
| Bachelor degree or higher | 22.2% | 20.3% | 21.3% |
| Employed full-time | 53.9% | 48.6% | 51.0% |
| Unemployed (share of everyone 15 and over, not the unemployment rate) | 3.9% | 2.3% | 2.7% |
| Managers and professionals (of those employed) | 39.3% | 38.8% | 42.1% |
| Median personal income | $41,600 | $37,600 | $40,500 |
| Getting to work (of those employed) | |||
| Work from home | 10.9% | 9.9% | 15.9% |
| Car, truck or van | 77.4% | 81.4% | 78.3% |
| Bus, train or ferry | 0.4% | 0.2% | 0.3% |
| Walk or cycle | 10.5% | 7.6% | 4.6% |
| Households and families | |||
| One-person households | 31.4% | 30.4% | 23.0% |
| Average people per household | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.8 |
| Households with no motor vehicle | 9.6% | 10.1% | 5.0% |
| Crowded households (need one or more extra bedrooms) | 9.8% | 11.1% | 8.4% |
| Couples with children (of families) | 38.9% | 35.9% | 40.4% |
| Couples without children | 39.9% | 36.3% | 41.3% |
| One-parent families | 21.2% | 27.8% | 18.3% |
| Homes | |||
| Separate (stand-alone) houses | 64.3% | 67.2% | 81.7% |
| Average bedrooms | 2.7 | 2.8 | 3.1 |
| Heated with a heat pump | 75.1% | 74.2% | 70.0% |
| Damp, always or sometimes | 19.6% | 17.9% | 17.7% |
| Mould over A4 size, always or sometimes | 13.4% | 11.3% | 12.6% |
Rents around Saint Leonards
New tenancies in St Leonards in the April–June 2026 quarter had a median rent of $600 a week (up 3.4% on a year earlier). That is close to the typical suburb in Hastings District ($600), and close to the national median ($600).
| April–June 2026 | St Leonards | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|
| Median weekly rent, new tenancies | $600 | $600 |
| Middle half of rents | $460–$638 | $490–$700 |
| Change in median on a year earlier | +3.4% | +0.2% |
| Bonds lodged in the quarter | 21 | 40,827 |
Schools and hospitals near Saint Leonards
No school site lies inside Saint Leonards's boundary; the nearest is Frimley School, 0.8 km away in a straight line.
- Nearest school: Frimley School (0.8 km)
- Nearest secondary school: Hastings Girls' High School – Ngā Rau Huia o Ākina (0.9 km)
- Nearest public general hospital: Hawke's Bay Hospital (1.0 km)
School enrolment zones in Saint Leonards: a guide
Six secondary schools have a home zone covering most of Saint Leonards's titles, among them Hastings Girls' High School, Iona College and Lindisfarne College.
- Heretaunga Intermediate (primary, Years 1–6): all or nearly all titles
- Frimley School (primary, Years 1–6): about 85% of titles
- Mahora School (primary, Years 1–6): about 20% of titles
- Hastings Christian School (composite): all or nearly all titles
- Taikura Rudolf Steiner School (composite): all or nearly all titles
- Hastings Girls' High School (secondary): all or nearly all titles
- Iona College (secondary): all or nearly all titles
- Lindisfarne College (secondary): all or nearly all titles
- St John's College (Hastings) (secondary): all or nearly all titles
- St Joseph's Maori Girls' College (secondary): all or nearly all titles
- Woodford House (secondary): all or nearly all titles
A guide only: check the school's own zone map for any address. Zones as at 14 July 2026. Sources and limits
Places of worship near Saint Leonards
OpenStreetMap maps 2 places of worship inside Saint Leonards (1 Christian, 1 other or not recorded).
Nearest mapped place of each tradition within 10 km:
- Christian: C3 Hawke's Bay, under 1 km away
- Muslim: Hastings Mosque, 2.1 km away
- Sikh: Shri Guru Ravidass Temple Hastings, 3.5 km away
Listed as facilities for access; not an indicator of who lives here. Sources and limits
Other suburbs in Hastings District with many cross-leases
- Havelock North: 368 cross-lease titles (5.3%)
- Hastings: 266 cross-lease titles (10.3%)
- Ākina: 196 cross-lease titles (10.9%)
- Parkvale: 186 cross-lease titles (11.3%)
- Mayfair: 166 cross-lease titles (8.9%)
- Flaxmere: 158 cross-lease titles (4.5%)
- Mahora: 150 cross-lease titles (7.7%)
- Raureka: 138 cross-lease titles (8.1%)
All suburbs in Hastings District
Suburbs like Saint Leonards
The closest match on the measures on this site is Raureka in Hastings District, nearest on unit-title share, slope, elevation. Closeness is arithmetic, not a rating. Sources and limits
| Suburb | Council | Cross-lease share of titles | Median weekly rent, new tenancies | Median age | Closest on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raureka | Hastings District | 8.1% | $635 | 34.1 | unit-title share, slope, elevation |
| Takaro | Palmerston North City | 5.3% | $535 | 32.8 | commuting on foot or by bike, slope, land per flat |
| Shirley | Christchurch City | 8.3% | $560 | 35.2 | slope, cross-lease share, older residents |
| Mahora | Hastings District | 7.7% | $590 | 35.9 | recent movers within NZ, slope, unit-title share |
| Mayfield, Marlborough District | Marlborough District | 11.8% | No data | 39.3 | slope, commuting by public transport, population change |
Questions
What is the rent in Saint Leonards, Hastings District?
New tenancies in St Leonards (the rent area for part of Saint Leonards) had a median rent of $600 a week in the April–June 2026 quarter (MBIE bond data, all dwelling types). These are rents agreed for new tenancies, not asking rents. The middle half of those rents ran from $460 to $638.
What schools are in Saint Leonards, Hastings District?
No school site lies inside Saint Leonards's boundary. The nearest school is Frimley School (0.8 km in a straight line). Secondary-school home zones covering most of its titles include Hastings Girls' High School, Iona College and Lindisfarne College; check the school's own zone map for any address.