Living in Kensington, Whangarei District: rents, schools, census and property titles
The 2,094 live property titles in Kensington, Whangarei District are mostly freehold (65%), as recorded by LINZ on 30 September 2026. Cross-lease titles number 640 (30.6%), well above the national share of 8.7%.
Kensington, Whangarei District cross-lease titles
- Cross-lease titles
- 640
- Share of live titles
- 30.6%
- Live titles in total
- 2,094
- Whangarei District share
- 7.3%
- New Zealand share
- 8.7%
- Rank by share in Whangarei District
- 1 of 16
- Rank by share in New Zealand
- 25 of 644
Kensington at a glance
Where Kensington differs most from suburbs across New Zealand: cross-lease share of titles (higher 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
- Kensington is listed under Whangarei District.
- 2,094 live titles are recorded here, including 640 cross-lease titles (30.6%).
- 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 30.6% of the recorded title mix. That describes the suburb, not any particular home.
- Unit titles account for 3.4% 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 Kensington
| Title type | Live titles | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 1,359 | 64.9% |
| Cross lease | 640 | 30.6% |
| Unit title | 71 | 3.4% |
| Leasehold | 5 | 0.2% |
| Other record types | 19 | 0.9% |
| Total | 2,094 | 100% |
Counts are titles, not homes; the register can lag conversions, so check the certificate of title. Sources and limits
How Kensington compares
Nationally, 8.7% of live titles are cross-lease; Kensington is about 3.5 times the national share (8.7%).
Across Whangarei District as a whole, the share is 7.3%; Kensington is about 4.2 times the overall Whangarei District share (7.3%).
Its cross-lease share is the highest of 16 in Whangarei District (among suburbs with an indexed page on this site).
How cross-leases in Kensington are set up
Three-flat schemes are more common here (32%, against 12% nationally).
Separate exclusive-use areas are less common (2% of schemes, against 5% nationally).
More schemes have four or more flats on one section (23%, against 11% nationally), up to 22.
| Scheme structure | Kensington | Whangarei District | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cross-lease schemes (shared sections) | 222 | 1,367 | 87,651 |
| Two-flat schemes | 45.5% | 65.3% | 76.2% |
| Three-flat schemes | 32.0% | 19.1% | 12.2% |
| Four or more flats | 22.5% | 15.7% | 11.4% |
| Typical section size (from the titles, not a survey) | 966 m² | 920 m² | 908 m² |
| Typical land per flat | 338 m² | 394 m² | 408 m² |
| Schemes with a garage written into a lease | 22.5% | 19.9% | 28.4% |
| Schemes with a carport in a lease | 19.4% | 12.1% | 13.3% |
| Schemes with a separate exclusive-use area | 1.8% | 1.8% | 4.5% |
| Schemes referring to more than one flats plan (usually redrawn; not by itself a problem) | 36.5% | 30.9% | 35.6% |
| Median year of earliest current title | 1985 | 1986 | 1988 |
| Two-flat schemes on 700 m² or more | 78 | 712 | 54,978 |
Unit titles and leasehold in Kensington
Unit titles are 3% of Kensington's titles, close to Whangarei District (3%) and well below New Zealand (8%). They belong to 17 developments, each run by a body corporate; half have 3 units or fewer.
New titles in Kensington since 2020
89 of Kensington's current titles (4%) were first issued since 2020, well below Whangarei District's suburbs with new-title figures taken together (10%) and well below New Zealand (12%).
| Title type | Since 2020 | Since 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 84 | 55 |
| Unit title | 0 | 0 |
| Cross-lease | 2 | 2 |
| Leasehold | 3 | 0 |
| Other | 0 | 0 |
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 Kensington
The typical building in Kensington stands on ground sloping 1.0° (read on an 8 m grid, so short steep banks may be understated), the flattest of 16 in Whangarei District.
The land rises from about 5 m to 179 m, and 35% 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 Kensington
Kensington is inland: the typical title is 3.1 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 Kensington: 2023 Census
Kensington's titles fall in 5 census areas (Stats NZ statistical areas). The 2 shown below hold 96% of its titles; their figures are shown side by side and are not added together.
More households have no car in Mairtown than across Whangarei District: 12.7% against 5.2%.
More workers walk or cycle to work in Mairtown than across Whangarei District: 8.4% against 3.7%.
More people live alone in Mairtown than across Whangarei District: 39.9% against 24.7%.
| Measure | Mairtown 52% of titles | Kensington (Whangarei District) 45% of titles | Whangarei District whole council |
|---|---|---|---|
| Usual residents | 2,388 | 3,339 | 96,678 |
| Change since 2018 | −3.5% | +3.1% | +6.3% |
| Change since 2013 | +5.4% | +10.9% | +25.6% |
| Median age | 46.9 | 45.4 | 41.6 |
| Households | 1,053 | 1,398 | 35,088 |
| Own or part-own their home (including family trusts) | 57.3% | 54.1% | 70.4% |
| Not owned and not in a family trust (mostly renting) | 42.5% | 45.9% | 29.6% |
| Median household income | $57,400 | $62,600 | $81,900 |
| Median weekly rent, renting households | $420 | $400 | $420 |
| Dwellings unoccupied on census night | 8.5% | 8.5% | 13.5% |
| Ages | |||
| Under 15 | 15.7% | 15.8% | 19.8% |
| 15 to 29 | 16.1% | 16.4% | 16.0% |
| 30 to 64 | 40.2% | 43.9% | 43.3% |
| 65 and over | 28.0% | 23.7% | 20.9% |
| Where people came from | |||
| Born overseas | 19.6% | 22.9% | 18.6% |
| Of those born overseas, arrived in the last 5 years | 22.7% | 24.8% | 18.9% |
| Lived elsewhere in New Zealand 5 years ago (of all residents, including children born since) | 48.7% | 47.8% | 45.7% |
| Lived overseas 5 years ago (of all residents) | 3.9% | 4.6% | 3.4% |
| Moved here in the last year (of all residents) | 20.5% | 22.8% | 17.7% |
| Work and study (people 15 and over) | |||
| Bachelor degree or higher | 20.8% | 21.5% | 20.2% |
| Employed full-time | 43.7% | 45.1% | 46.3% |
| Unemployed (share of everyone 15 and over, not the unemployment rate) | 2.4% | 3.3% | 2.9% |
| Managers and professionals (of those employed) | 42.3% | 40.4% | 42.9% |
| Median personal income | $33,500 | $34,800 | $36,500 |
| Getting to work (of those employed) | |||
| Work from home | 11.1% | 12.9% | 17.4% |
| Car, truck or van | 78.9% | 75.8% | 77.3% |
| Bus, train or ferry | 0.8% | 0.9% | 0.5% |
| Walk or cycle | 8.4% | 9.2% | 3.7% |
| Households and families | |||
| One-person households | 39.9% | 36.7% | 24.7% |
| Average people per household | 2.1 | 2.2 | 2.6 |
| Households with no motor vehicle | 12.7% | 12.1% | 5.2% |
| Crowded households (need one or more extra bedrooms) | 4.4% | 5.1% | 6.3% |
| Couples with children (of families) | 28.0% | 29.5% | 36.2% |
| Couples without children | 45.6% | 44.8% | 44.9% |
| One-parent families | 25.9% | 25.7% | 18.9% |
| Homes | |||
| Separate (stand-alone) houses | 64.7% | 60.0% | 83.5% |
| Average bedrooms | 2.7 | 2.7 | 3.1 |
| Heated with a heat pump | 71.0% | 68.8% | 60.2% |
| Damp, always or sometimes | 23.3% | 23.2% | 23.1% |
| Mould over A4 size, always or sometimes | 19.5% | 21.2% | 19.4% |
Rents around Kensington
New tenancies in Mairtown in the April–June 2026 quarter had a median rent of $570 a week (down 5.0% on a year earlier). That is close to the typical suburb in Whangarei District ($570), and close to the national median ($600).
| April–June 2026 | Mairtown 52% of titles | Kensington (Whangarei District) 45% of titles | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median weekly rent, new tenancies | $570 | $515 | $600 |
| Middle half of rents | $520–$600 | $443–$623 | $490–$700 |
| Change in median on a year earlier | −5.0% | −1.9% | +0.2% |
| Bonds lodged in the quarter | 27 | 30 | 40,827 |
Schools and hospitals near Kensington
One school site lies inside Kensington: St Francis Xavier Catholic School (Whangarei) (Contributing).
- St Francis Xavier Catholic School (Whangarei) (Contributing)
- Nearest school: Whangārei Girls' High School (0.6 km)
- Nearest secondary school: Whangārei Girls' High School (0.6 km)
- Nearest public general hospital: Whangarei Hospital (3.0 km)
School enrolment zones in Kensington: a guide
Two secondary schools have a home zone covering most of Kensington's titles: Whangarei Boys' High School and Whangarei Girls' High School.
- Whau Valley School (primary, Years 1–6): about 55% of titles
- Whangarei School (primary, Years 1–6): about 45% of titles
- Te Kamo Intermediate School (intermediate, Years 7–8): about 30% of titles
- Whangarei Boys' High School (secondary): all or nearly all titles
- Whangarei Girls' High School (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 Kensington
OpenStreetMap maps 5 places of worship inside Kensington (4 Christian, 1 other or not recorded).
Nearest mapped place of each tradition within 10 km:
- Christian: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, under 1 km away
- Buddhist: unnamed, 5.9 km away
- Muslim: Whangarei Masjid (Northland Muslim Charitable Trust), 2.1 km away
Listed as facilities for access; not an indicator of who lives here. Sources and limits
Other suburbs in Whangarei District with many cross-leases
- Te Kamo: 481 cross-lease titles (9.3%)
- Tikipunga: 329 cross-lease titles (12.1%)
- Raumanga: 308 cross-lease titles (16.6%)
- Avenues: 271 cross-lease titles (27.9%)
- Regent: 227 cross-lease titles (24.8%)
- Woodhill: 158 cross-lease titles (20.4%)
- Morningside: 108 cross-lease titles (12.0%)
All suburbs in Whangarei District
Suburbs like Kensington
The closest match on the measures on this site is Regent in Whangarei District, nearest on distance to a hospital, damp homes, commuting by public transport. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regent | Whangarei District | 24.8% | $515 | 45.4 | distance to a hospital, damp homes, commuting by public transport |
| Judea | Tauranga City | 23.5% | $600 | 39.8 | heat pumps, degrees, home ownership |
| Greerton | Tauranga City | 27.1% | $650 | 36.9 | distance to a hospital, recent movers within NZ, degrees |
| Tauranga South | Tauranga City | 25.7% | $650 | 42.3 | heat pumps, distance to the coast, unit-title share |
| Avenues | Whangarei District | 27.9% | $510 | 37.5 | schools, land per flat, population change |
Questions
What is the rent in Kensington, Whangarei District?
New tenancies in Mairtown (the rent area for part of Kensington) had a median rent of $570 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 $520 to $600.
What schools are in Kensington, Whangarei District?
LINZ maps 1 school site inside Kensington: St Francis Xavier Catholic School (Whangarei). The nearest secondary school to its centre is Whangārei Girls' High School (0.6 km in a straight line). Secondary-school home zones covering most of its titles are Whangarei Boys' High School and Whangarei Girls' High School; check the school's own zone map for any address.