Living in Kelburn: rents, schools, census and property titles
The 1,440 live property titles in Kelburn, Wellington City are mostly freehold (77%), as recorded by LINZ on 30 September 2026. Cross-lease titles number 61 (4.2%), well below the national share of 8.7%.
- Cross-lease titles
- 61
- Share of live titles
- 4.2%
- Live titles in total
- 1,440
- Wellington City share
- 5.6%
- New Zealand share
- 8.7%
- Rank by share in Wellington City
- 26 of 32
- Rank by share in New Zealand
- joint 528 of 644
Kelburn at a glance
Where Kelburn differs most from suburbs across New Zealand: median slope under buildings (higher than 99% of NZ suburbs); homes with a heat pump (lower than 97% of NZ suburbs); median age (lower than 96% of NZ suburbs).
Higher or lower is not better or worse. Sources and limits
Start here
What the data tells you
Recorded facts
- Kelburn is listed under Wellington City.
- 1,440 live titles are recorded here, including 61 cross-lease titles (4.2%).
- 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 4.2% of the recorded title mix. That describes the suburb, not any particular home.
- Unit titles account for 12.8% 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 Kelburn
| Title type | Live titles | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 1,115 | 77.4% |
| Cross lease | 61 | 4.2% |
| Unit title | 185 | 12.8% |
| Leasehold | 22 | 1.5% |
| Other record types | 57 | 4.0% |
| Total | 1,440 | 100% |
Counts are titles, not homes; the register can lag conversions, so check the certificate of title. Sources and limits
How Kelburn compares
Nationally, 8.7% of live titles are cross-lease; Kelburn is well below the national share (8.7%).
Across Wellington City as a whole, the share is 5.6%; Kelburn is lower than the overall Wellington City share (5.6%).
Its cross-lease share is in the lowest quarter of 32 in Wellington City (among suburbs with an indexed page on this site).
How cross-leases in Kelburn are set up
More schemes have four or more flats on one section (33%, against 11% nationally), up to 24.
Separate exclusive-use areas are more common (14% of schemes, against 5% nationally).
Carports appear in fewer leases (5% of schemes, against 13% nationally).
| Scheme structure | Kelburn | Wellington City | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cross-lease schemes (shared sections) | 21 | 2,130 | 87,651 |
| Two-flat schemes | 66.7% | 82.4% | 76.2% |
| Three-flat schemes | 0.0% | 6.7% | 12.2% |
| Four or more flats | 33.3% | 10.4% | 11.4% |
| Typical section size (from the titles, not a survey) | 737 m² | 759 m² | 908 m² |
| Typical land per flat | 266 m² | 350 m² | 408 m² |
| Schemes with a garage written into a lease | 23.8% | 18.0% | 28.4% |
| Schemes with a carport in a lease | 4.8% | 8.1% | 13.3% |
| Schemes with a separate exclusive-use area | 14.3% | 4.3% | 4.5% |
| Schemes referring to more than one flats plan (usually redrawn; not by itself a problem) | 23.8% | 22.5% | 35.6% |
| Median year of earliest current title | 1981 | 1987 | 1988 |
| Two-flat schemes on 700 m² or more | 8 | 991 | 54,978 |
Unit titles and leasehold in Kelburn
Unit titles are 13% of Kelburn's titles, well below Wellington City (25%) and well above New Zealand (8%). They belong to 42 developments, each run by a body corporate; half have 3 units or fewer.
22 titles (1.5%) are leasehold.
Stated lease terms, as at 30 September 2026:
| Stated lease term | Titles |
|---|---|
| Stated term has ended | 0 |
| Under 10 years left | 0 |
| 10 to 50 years left | 1 |
| More than 50 years left | 3 |
| Term mentions renewal (including perpetually renewable) | 14 |
| Term not stated or not readable | 4 |
New titles in Kelburn since 2020
59 of Kelburn's current titles (4%) were first issued since 2020, well below Wellington City's suburbs with new-title figures taken together (8%) and well below New Zealand (12%).
| Title type | Since 2020 | Since 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 35 | 23 |
| Unit title | 6 | 6 |
| Cross-lease | 4 | 4 |
| Leasehold | 9 | 6 |
| 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 Kelburn
The typical building in Kelburn stands on ground sloping 15.0° (read on an 8 m grid, so short steep banks may be understated), 3rd steepest of 32 in Wellington City.
About 50% of its 1,555 measured buildings stand on ground of 15° or more.
The land rises from about 20 m to 195 m, and 59% of all of it, including reserves and gullies, is 15° or steeper.
Slope is not a measure of ground stability. Sources and limits
Distance to the coast from Kelburn
0% of Kelburn's titles are within 200 m of the sea or harbour edge, 0% within 500 m and 27% within 1 km. The typical title is 1.2 km away.
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 Kelburn: 2023 Census
Kelburn's titles fall in 4 census areas (Stats NZ statistical areas). The 3 shown below hold 96% of its titles; their figures are shown side by side and are not added together.
More workers walk or cycle to work in Kelburn than across Wellington City: 36.9% against 19.8%.
Fewer residents are children under 15 in Kelburn than across Wellington City: 9.3% against 14.4%.
Fewer people live alone in Kelburn than across Wellington City: 17.2% against 24.1%.
| Measure | Kelburn 50% of titles | Wellington University 27% of titles | Wellington Botanic Gardens 19% of titles | Wellington City whole council |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Usual residents | 2,064 | 1,293 | 933 | 202,689 |
| Change since 2018 | −4.3% | −13.5% | −16.6% | −0.0% |
| Change since 2013 | +5.4% | −14.0% | −16.6% | +6.1% |
| Median age | 29.5 | 23.9 | 23.1 | 34.9 |
| Households | 732 | 390 | 264 | 77,004 |
| Own or part-own their home (including family trusts) | 57.4% | 43.1% | 47.7% | 58.6% |
| Not owned and not in a family trust (mostly renting) | 42.2% | 56.2% | 52.3% | 41.4% |
| Median household income | $145,100 | $132,300 | $138,500 | $134,500 |
| Median weekly rent, renting households | $690 | $680 | $712 | $560 |
| Dwellings unoccupied on census night | 7.1% | 11.5% | 10.8% | 7.8% |
| Ages | ||||
| Under 15 | 9.3% | 4.9% | 3.2% | 14.4% |
| 15 to 29 | 41.6% | 60.8% | 62.1% | 27.2% |
| 30 to 64 | 35.6% | 25.3% | 25.7% | 46.8% |
| 65 and over | 13.5% | 9.0% | 8.7% | 11.7% |
| Where people came from | ||||
| Born overseas | 30.2% | 29.7% | 33.0% | 34.6% |
| Of those born overseas, arrived in the last 5 years | 28.2% | 28.6% | 30.4% | 23.2% |
| Lived elsewhere in New Zealand 5 years ago (of all residents, including children born since) | 49.2% | 65.1% | 68.1% | 44.2% |
| Lived overseas 5 years ago (of all residents) | 6.3% | 5.5% | 7.0% | 5.4% |
| Moved here in the last year (of all residents) | 31.8% | 48.0% | 52.9% | 24.0% |
| Work and study (people 15 and over) | ||||
| Bachelor degree or higher | 61.3% | 45.8% | 40.1% | 48.6% |
| Employed full-time | 50.5% | 40.0% | 37.7% | 59.0% |
| Unemployed (share of everyone 15 and over, not the unemployment rate) | 3.7% | 6.1% | 8.0% | 3.0% |
| Managers and professionals (of those employed) | 61.3% | 54.4% | 57.1% | 59.5% |
| Median personal income | $48,700 | $26,300 | $22,800 | $55,500 |
| Getting to work (of those employed) | ||||
| Work from home | 17.9% | 16.5% | 14.3% | 18.7% |
| Car, truck or van | 22.6% | 19.2% | 19.8% | 39.0% |
| Bus, train or ferry | 17.4% | 11.5% | 8.8% | 20.0% |
| Walk or cycle | 36.9% | 46.7% | 54.4% | 19.8% |
| Households and families | ||||
| One-person households | 17.2% | 21.4% | 25.6% | 24.1% |
| Average people per household | 2.8 | 2.9 | 2.6 | 2.6 |
| Households with no motor vehicle | 12.7% | 22.1% | 23.8% | 15.2% |
| Crowded households (need one or more extra bedrooms) | 4.6% | 7.1% | 4.7% | 5.0% |
| Couples with children (of families) | 36.6% | 31.3% | 25.0% | 43.0% |
| Couples without children | 58.2% | 64.1% | 70.5% | 44.8% |
| One-parent families | 4.6% | 4.7% | 6.8% | 12.2% |
| Homes | ||||
| Separate (stand-alone) houses | 65.4% | 45.8% | 48.9% | 59.7% |
| Average bedrooms | 3.2 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 2.8 |
| Heated with a heat pump | 46.2% | 54.5% | 53.6% | 53.6% |
| Damp, always or sometimes | 32.2% | 36.7% | 30.5% | 22.9% |
| Mould over A4 size, always or sometimes | 20.9% | 21.0% | 16.0% | 16.1% |
Rents around Kelburn
New tenancies in Kelburn in the April–June 2026 quarter had a median rent of $645 a week (up 17.3% on a year earlier). That is close to the typical suburb in Wellington City ($625), and slightly above the national median ($600).
| April–June 2026 | Kelburn 50% of titles | Wellington Botanic Gardens 19% of titles | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median weekly rent, new tenancies | $645 | $270 | $600 |
| Middle half of rents | $480–$780 | $250–$345 | $490–$700 |
| Change in median on a year earlier | +17.3% | — | +0.2% |
| Bonds lodged in the quarter | 33 | 21 | 40,827 |
Schools and hospitals near Kelburn
LINZ maps 2 school sites inside Kelburn, among them Clifton Terrace Model School (Full Primary) and Kelburn Normal School (Full Primary).
- Clifton Terrace Model School (Full Primary)
- Kelburn Normal School (Full Primary)
- Nearest school: Kelburn Normal School (0.3 km)
- Nearest secondary school: St Mary's College (Wellington) (1.5 km)
- Nearest public general hospital: Wellington Hospital (2.8 km)
School enrolment zones in Kelburn: a guide
Five secondary schools have a home zone covering most of Kelburn's titles, among them Hutt International Boys School, St Oran's College and Wellington College.
- Kelburn Normal School (primary, Years 1–8): about 75% of titles
- Clifton Terrace Model School (primary, Years 1–8): about 20% of titles
- Hutt International Boys School (secondary): all or nearly all titles
- St Oran's College (secondary): all or nearly all titles
- Wellington College (secondary): all or nearly all titles
- Wellington Girls' College (secondary): all or nearly all titles
- Wellington High School & Com Ed Centre (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 Kelburn
100% of Kelburn's titles are within 400 m of a stop with a scheduled weekday service, close to Wellington City as a whole (96%).
99% are that close to a frequent stop (60 or more departures that day), above the council (69%); in the highest quarter of 32 in Wellington City.
17% are within 800 m of a train station or ferry wharf.
The typical title is 127 m in a straight line from its nearest stop.
Timetable of Wednesday 30 September 2026, Metlink (Greater Wellington Regional Council). Sources and limits
Places of worship near Kelburn
OpenStreetMap maps 5 places of worship inside Kelburn (4 Christian, 1 Muslim).
Nearest mapped place of each tradition within 10 km:
- Christian: Victoria University Anglican Chaplaincy, under 1 km away
- Hindu: ISKCON Wellington Newlands Temple, 7.7 km away
- Buddhist: Mountains and Rivers Order Zen, 1.1 km away
- Muslim: Muslims Students Association Prayer Rooms, under 1 km away
- Jewish: Wellington Progressive Jewish Congregation, under 1 km away
Listed as facilities for access; not an indicator of who lives here. Sources and limits
Other suburbs in Wellington City with many cross-leases
- Johnsonville: 616 cross-lease titles (13.1%)
- Karori: 469 cross-lease titles (7.9%)
- Tawa: 380 cross-lease titles (6.8%)
- Miramar: 335 cross-lease titles (8.8%)
- Newlands: 328 cross-lease titles (10.5%)
- Churton Park: 271 cross-lease titles (9.2%)
- Khandallah: 230 cross-lease titles (6.6%)
- Woodridge: 186 cross-lease titles (25.4%)
All suburbs in Wellington City
Suburbs like Kelburn
The closest match on the measures on this site is Northland in Wellington City, nearest on schools, near a stop, damp homes. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northland | Wellington City | 2.9% | $595 | 32.5 | schools, near a stop, damp homes |
| Brooklyn, Wellington City | Wellington City | 5.6% | $663 | 35.7 | schools, household income, damp homes |
| Hataitai | Wellington City | 5.6% | $585 | 33.8 | schools, near a stop, population change |
| Wadestown | Wellington City | 5.0% | $620 | 38 | near a stop, distance to the coast, elevation |
| Vogeltown, Wellington City | Wellington City | 8.4% | $540 | 35.9 | near a stop, stand-alone houses, damp homes |
Questions
What is the rent in Kelburn?
New tenancies in the Kelburn rent area had a median rent of $645 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 $480 to $780.
What schools are in Kelburn?
LINZ maps 2 school sites inside Kelburn: Clifton Terrace Model School and Kelburn Normal School. The nearest secondary school to its centre is St Mary's College (Wellington) (1.5 km in a straight line). Secondary-school home zones covering most of its titles include Hutt International Boys School, St Oran's College and Wellington College; check the school's own zone map for any address.