They are part of the 212 projects throughout the country that have been chopped in an announcement by Housing Minister Chris Bishop on Thursday.
Mr Bishop has said the agency needed to be turned around, as its mounting debt was "unsustainable".
The decisions were also informed by a review led by former prime minister Sir Bill English, which argued that Kainga Ora was no longer fit for purpose.
In Dunedin, 10 projects will be canned, leading to an expected writedown of $6 million; nationwide, the cost of the writedowns was estimated to be more than $180m.
Among the bigger projects in Dunedin that have been axed are a 42-home development on Carroll St, an 11-home development in Albertson Ave, Port Chalmers and a 32-home development in Stafford St.
Dunedin MP for Labour Rachel Brooking said she was particularly upset about the Carroll St development due to its location and the work already done on the project over the past couple of years.
"I wrote to Housing Minister Chris Bishop in April this year asking why the Carroll St development was still on hold. The minister replied stating the government was ‘working to deliver social housing where it is needed most’.
"His response goes directly against the decision announced [yesterday] and should be treated as a real kick in the guts to the people of Dunedin.
"These were real houses for real people in real need. The units planned for Carroll St would have been the most sought-after size and close to the centre of the city."
Taieri MP Ingrid Leary, also for Labour, said several of the canned projects had been "paused" for several months while Kainga Ora waited on ministerial direction after the review.
"I had hoped some of these projects would be resumed, but I was also pretty cynical given the government’s attitude towards Kainga Ora.
"Overall, this is devastating news."
As of March, Dunedin had 357 people waiting on the housing register; this was down from the March 2024 peak of 459.
Ms Leary said those figures did not paint the whole picture, as many of those on the list had specific needs.
"What happens now is that many on the list will not get accommodation which will meet those needs.
"These constituents can be quite vulnerable, and to be in a situation where they won’t get what they were promised is incredibly sad."
Meanwhile, the agency has said 10 other Dunedin projects will go ahead, planned to be completed before the end of next year. The largest of these projects is the 11-home development at Gretna Pl and Doon St in Mosgiel.
Kainga Ora chief executive Matt Crockett said the projects not going ahead no longer stacked up financially or were "not in the right locations" to proceed at that stage.
There were 254 projects remaining on the list nationwide.
"Like other prudent developers, we always make provision for some write-downs, but the reset reviews have highlighted an abnormally high number of projects and land holdings that no longer make sense for Kāinga Ora if we want to get ourselves in a better financial position."
The cancelled 10
Kāinga Ora projects in Dunedin no longer going ahead are:
Riselaw Rd, Corstorphine, Dunedin, 2 homes
Doon St, Mosgiel, Dunedin, 3 homes
High St, Mosgiel, Dunedin, 11 homes
Spey St & Doon St, Mosgiel, Dunedin, 4 homes
High St & Arran St, Mosgiel, Dunedin, 6 homes
Green St, Mosgiel, Dunedin, 6 homes
Doon St, Mosgiel, Dunedin, 3 homes
Stafford St, Dunedin, 32 homes
Albertson Ave, Port Chalmers, Dunedin, 11 homes
Carroll St, Dunedin Central, 42 homes
