What is Homestar?

Homestar is a voluntary tool developed by the New Zealand Green Building Council, that sets criteria for building better. The criteria in the Homestar rating tool recognizes building for climate change, ecology, community, lower operational costs, lower embodied carbon and better health and comfort.

 “Homestar is New Zealand's leading holistic sustainability certification for new home design and construction.”

This tool enables Architects, Designers and Builders to not only follow a system of achieving this, but also rewards the building owner with a rating that demonstrates the increased level of quality and care that their building has above a Code Compliant Minimum in standard home.

Build your whānau a better home.

Building a Homestar rated home helps to ensure a healthier, warmer, drier, and more comfortable home that uses less power and water than a similar home built to the minimum standard of the New Zealand Building Code. 

Our New Zealand Building Code is simply the miniminin requirements that all buildings in New Zealand need to comply with. It has been widely treated as a Design Guide which has led to very inadequate housing for many New Zealanders, who don’t realise the quality they have invested in is not as good as they believe.

Even our new homes, built to a minimum legal standard don’t not meet basic international standards for health, warmth, ventilation and operating efficiency.

A warm dry home is a basic human right. It is also the source of prevention of many illnesses especially in children. We have one of the highest rates of child asthma in the OECD. While we love to be world champions, this is one area none of us are proud to be in.

Homestar also is unlocking better financial support from Banks like ASB, Westpac, BNZ and ASB.

Homestar independently assesses your new homes Architectural Design for quality, it doesn’t promise it, claim it or assume it.

We all deserve a healthy, comfortable, valuable and affordable place to call home. We want better homes to support the future of our whānau to live, work and play.