Living in Darfield: rents, schools, census and property titles
The 2,399 live property titles in Darfield, Selwyn District are almost all freehold (97%), as recorded by LINZ on 30 September 2026. Cross-lease titles number 40 (1.7%), well below the national share of 8.7%.
- Cross-lease titles
- 40
- Share of live titles
- 1.7%
- Live titles in total
- 2,399
- Selwyn District share
- 0.6%
- New Zealand share
- 8.7%
- Rank by share in Selwyn District
- 3 of 4
- Rank by share in New Zealand
- joint 625 of 644
Darfield at a glance
Where Darfield differs most from suburbs across New Zealand: cross-lease share of titles (lower than 97% of NZ suburbs); titles first issued since 2020 (higher than 96% of NZ suburbs); typical distance to the coast (higher than 94% of NZ suburbs).
Higher or lower is not better or worse. Sources and limits
Start here
What the data tells you
Recorded facts
- Darfield is listed under Selwyn District.
- 2,399 live titles are recorded here, including 40 cross-lease titles (1.7%).
- 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 1.7% of the recorded title mix. That describes the suburb, not any particular home.
- Unit titles account for 0.3% of recorded titles, so title structure can vary within the suburb.
- Public-transport figures describe how recorded titles sit near mapped stops. They do not describe a service from a particular property.
- 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
- The core title, Census, rent, transport and coast measures used by this page are available.
Title mix in Darfield
| Title type | Live titles | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 2,339 | 97.5% |
| Cross lease | 40 | 1.7% |
| Unit title | 7 | 0.3% |
| Leasehold | 4 | 0.2% |
| Other record types | 9 | 0.4% |
| Total | 2,399 | 100% |
Counts are titles, not homes; the register can lag conversions, so check the certificate of title. Sources and limits
How Darfield compares
Nationally, 8.7% of live titles are cross-lease; Darfield is well below the national share (8.7%).
Across Selwyn District as a whole, the share is 0.6%; Darfield is about 2.8 times the overall Selwyn District share (0.6%).
Its cross-lease share is 3rd highest of 4 in Selwyn District (among suburbs with an indexed page on this site).
How cross-leases in Darfield are set up
Fewer schemes refer to more than one flats plan (17%, against 36% nationally), usually because a plan was redrawn.
Fewer schemes have four or more flats on one section (6%, against 11% nationally).
Fewer leases include a garage (17% of schemes, against 28% nationally).
| Scheme structure | Darfield | Selwyn District | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cross-lease schemes (shared sections) | 18 | 119 | 87,651 |
| Two-flat schemes | 83.3% | 89.1% | 76.2% |
| Three-flat schemes | 11.1% | 6.7% | 12.2% |
| Four or more flats | 5.6% | 4.2% | 11.4% |
| Typical section size (from the titles, not a survey) | 910 m² | 979 m² | 908 m² |
| Typical land per flat | 430 m² | 452 m² | 408 m² |
| Schemes with a garage written into a lease | 16.7% | 37.0% | 28.4% |
| Schemes with a carport in a lease | 0.0% | 2.5% | 13.3% |
| Schemes with a separate exclusive-use area | 0.0% | 1.7% | 4.5% |
| Schemes referring to more than one flats plan (usually redrawn; not by itself a problem) | 16.7% | 33.6% | 35.6% |
| Median year of earliest current title | 1994 | 1991 | 1988 |
| Two-flat schemes on 700 m² or more | 15 | 84 | 54,978 |
New titles in Darfield since 2020
603 of Darfield's current titles (25%) were first issued since 2020, slightly below Selwyn District's suburbs with new-title figures taken together (27%) and well above New Zealand (12%).
That rate is 3rd highest of 4 in Selwyn District.
| Title type | Since 2020 | Since 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 597 | 319 |
| Unit title | 0 | 0 |
| Cross-lease | 0 | 0 |
| Leasehold | 1 | 1 |
| Other | 5 | 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 Darfield
The typical building in Darfield stands on ground sloping 0.7° (read on an 8 m grid, so short steep banks may be understated).
Nearly all of its 3,736 measured buildings (100%) stand on ground under 5°.
Slope is not a measure of ground stability. Sources and limits
Distance to the coast from Darfield
Darfield is inland: the typical title is 45 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 Darfield: 2023 Census
About 79% of Darfield's titles are in the census area Darfield (a Stats NZ statistical area), so these figures describe that area, not Darfield exactly.
More workers walk or cycle to work in Darfield than across Selwyn District: 5.7% against 3.5%.
More residents are 65 or over in Darfield than across Selwyn District: 19.5% against 13.0%.
Fewer residents were born overseas in Darfield than across Selwyn District: 17.0% against 23.9%.
| Measure | Darfield | Selwyn District whole council |
|---|---|---|
| Usual residents | 3,249 | 78,144 |
| Change since 2018 | +16.7% | +29.0% |
| Change since 2013 | +32.6% | +75.2% |
| Median age | 42.1 | 37.6 |
| Households | 1,233 | 26,919 |
| Own or part-own their home (including family trusts) | 83.5% | 80.5% |
| Not owned and not in a family trust (mostly renting) | 16.5% | 19.5% |
| Median household income | $106,000 | $122,100 |
| Median weekly rent, renting households | $420 | $480 |
| Dwellings unoccupied on census night | 6.2% | 7.4% |
| Ages | ||
| Under 15 | 19.4% | 21.3% |
| 15 to 29 | 14.1% | 17.0% |
| 30 to 64 | 46.9% | 48.7% |
| 65 and over | 19.5% | 13.0% |
| Where people came from | ||
| Born overseas | 17.0% | 23.9% |
| Of those born overseas, arrived in the last 5 years | 9.8% | 17.6% |
| Lived elsewhere in New Zealand 5 years ago (of all residents, including children born since) | 49.2% | 50.1% |
| Lived overseas 5 years ago (of all residents) | 2.4% | 3.2% |
| Moved here in the last year (of all residents) | 18.1% | 19.7% |
| Work and study (people 15 and over) | ||
| Bachelor degree or higher | 20.0% | 26.2% |
| Employed full-time | 54.6% | 58.2% |
| Unemployed (share of everyone 15 and over, not the unemployment rate) | 1.1% | 1.7% |
| Managers and professionals (of those employed) | 40.8% | 45.8% |
| Median personal income | $49,500 | $51,900 |
| Getting to work (of those employed) | ||
| Work from home | 14.8% | 18.9% |
| Car, truck or van | 78.5% | 74.9% |
| Bus, train or ferry | 0.5% | 1.3% |
| Walk or cycle | 5.7% | 3.5% |
| Households and families | ||
| One-person households | 18.5% | 14.1% |
| Average people per household | 2.6 | 2.9 |
| Households with no motor vehicle | 2.3% | 1.3% |
| Crowded households (need one or more extra bedrooms) | 1.7% | 2.0% |
| Couples with children (of families) | 41.0% | 49.7% |
| Couples without children | 49.5% | 41.3% |
| One-parent families | 9.4% | 9.1% |
| Homes | ||
| Separate (stand-alone) houses | 93.9% | 94.6% |
| Average bedrooms | 3.4 | 3.5 |
| Heated with a heat pump | 76.3% | 79.5% |
| Damp, always or sometimes | 8.5% | 7.6% |
| Mould over A4 size, always or sometimes | 5.4% | 4.4% |
Rents around Darfield
New tenancies in Darfield in the April–June 2026 quarter had a median rent of $585 a week (up 15.2% on a year earlier). That is close to the national median ($600).
| April–June 2026 | Darfield | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|
| Median weekly rent, new tenancies | $585 | $600 |
| Middle half of rents | $530–$663 | $490–$700 |
| Change in median on a year earlier | +15.2% | +0.2% |
| Bonds lodged in the quarter | 15 | 40,827 |
Schools and hospitals near Darfield
LINZ maps 2 school sites inside Darfield, among them Darfield High School (Secondary (Year 7-15)) and Darfield School (Contributing).
- Darfield High School (Secondary (Year 7-15))
- Darfield School (Contributing)
- Nearest school: Darfield High School (1.4 km)
- Nearest secondary school: Darfield High School (1.4 km)
- Nearest public general hospital: Darfield Hospital (2.3 km)
School enrolment zones in Darfield: a guide
Three secondary schools have a home zone covering most of Darfield's titles: Darfield High School, St Thomas of Canterbury College and Villa Maria College.
- Darfield School (primary, Years 1–6): all or nearly all titles
- Rolleston Christian School (primary, Years 1–8): all or nearly all titles
- Christchurch Adventist School (composite): all or nearly all titles
- Middleton Grange School (Year 11-13) (composite): all or nearly all titles
- Middleton Grange School (Year 9-10) (composite): all or nearly all titles
- Middleton Grange School (Year 1-8) (composite): all or nearly all titles
- Darfield High School (secondary): all or nearly all titles
- St Thomas of Canterbury College (secondary): all or nearly all titles
- Villa Maria College (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
Public transport in Darfield
18% of Darfield's titles are within 400 m of a stop with a scheduled weekday service, below Selwyn District as a whole (26%).
Fewer than 1% are within 400 m of a stop with 60 or more departures that day.
The typical title is 875 m in a straight line from its nearest stop.
Timetable of Wednesday 30 September 2026, Metro (Environment Canterbury). Sources and limits
Places of worship near Darfield
OpenStreetMap maps 6 places of worship inside Darfield (5 Christian, 1 other or not recorded).
Nearest mapped place of each tradition within 10 km:
- Christian: Trinity Church, 1.5 km away
Listed as facilities for access; not an indicator of who lives here. Sources and limits
Other suburbs in Selwyn District with many cross-leases
- Lincoln: 119 cross-lease titles (1.9%)
- Leeston: 42 cross-lease titles (1.8%)
- Rolleston: 34 cross-lease titles (0.2%)
All suburbs in Selwyn District
Suburbs like Darfield
The closest match on the measures on this site is Kelvin Grove in Palmerston North City, nearest on schools, heat pumps, unit-title share. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kelvin Grove | Palmerston North City | 4.7% | $735 | 40.9 | schools, heat pumps, unit-title share |
| Ashhurst | Manawatu District | 3.2% | $600 | 36.1 | distance to the coast, commuting by public transport, degrees |
| Morrinsville | Matamata-Piako District | 5.2% | $555 | 41.8 | median age, population change, recent movers within NZ |
| Solway | Masterton District | 3.4% | $530 | 37.2 | slope, near a frequent stop, population change |
| Methven | Ashburton District | 3.8% | $520 | 39.6 | slope, damp homes, commuting by public transport |
Questions
What is the rent in Darfield?
New tenancies in the Darfield rent area had a median rent of $585 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 $530 to $663.
What schools are in Darfield?
LINZ maps 2 school sites inside Darfield: Darfield High School and Darfield School. The nearest secondary school to its centre is Darfield High School (1.4 km in a straight line). Secondary-school home zones covering most of its titles are Darfield High School, St Thomas of Canterbury College and Villa Maria College; check the school's own zone map for any address.