Hikoi of Hope: Housing
One of a set of Backgrounders published in 1998, at the time of the Hikoi
The Hikoi of Hope calls on the government and community to urgently identify options to improve housing for low-income New Zealanders. Affordable housing is a cornerstone of any programme to reduce poverty. Without secure, stable and safe housing, children’s health and learning is hindered and opportunities for social and economic participation are seriously compromised.
Recent housing policy in New Zealand
The 1991 budget signalled an historic change to the way the government provides housing assistance to low-income New Zealanders. The most significant changes were:
- The introduction of market rents for state owned houses (instead of rent being set as a percentage – usually 25% – of a tenant’s income); and
- The introduction of an asset and income tested cash benefit, the Accommodation Supplement, as the only form of direct assistance for low-income tenants and home-owners in either public or private housing
At the time, it was argued that these changes would make the housing market more efficient and fair and address the problem that tenants in state houses received more assistance than people with similar needs who rented privately.
Increased costs
The NZ Council of Christian Social Services survey of food bank clients found that between 1994 and 1996, the number of state house tenants spending half or more of their income on their housing costs increased from 37.5% to 58.8%, and private tenants spending half or more of their income on rent increased from 58.9% to 62.7%.
In 1994, according to The Real Estate Institute, higher state rents led to an increase in all rents. Rental costs have increased by an average of 60% in the last decade while in the same period the overall Consumers’ Price Index increased by only 25% according to the recently released National Health Committee Report.
Overcrowding
The number of households with two or more families increased by 96% between 1986 and 1996 with most of this increase occurring between 1991 and 1996. There has been an increase in hospital admissions from childhood diseases that are known to be associated with overcrowding, including meningococcal disease and respiratory infections.
Insufficient houses
Contrary to expectations, since the disappearance of the Housing Corporation’s subsidised rents, private landlords have not increase their provision of housing at low rentals. Because this type of rental accommodation gives very low returns, it is not considered an attractive investment.
There is a continuing and increasing prevalence of serious housing need – up from 17,500 households in 1988 to 48,800 households in 1993, according to one study. The Ministry of Housing assessed the number of households in 1994 in serious housing need at between 20,000 and 30,000.
Housing costs are a major contributor to poverty in New Zealand
A recent Christchurch study identified accommodation costs as “…probably the issue having the biggest direct and indirect impact on the ability of limited income people to meet their basic needs” (Jamieson 1998). This is in line with results from the New Zealand Poverty Measurement Project, which showed that in 1993 housing costs were the single largest contributor to the “poverty gap”.
Community and social service agencies are seeing the real impact of increased accommodation costs on poverty. Rent was the single most frequently mentioned reason for seeking help from 45.5% of food bank clients surveyed in 1996. Until 1990 there were very few food banks in New Zealand. By February 1998 there were over 365.
The WIN on Poverty Campaign was declined a copy of the 1996 Colmar Brunton report on the Department of Social Welfare/Ministry of Housing survey “because of the extensive errors it contained”. However the Ministry’s own amended results (obtained under the Official Information Act) using March 1997 data showed that 32% of Accommodation Supplement recipients had $100 or less to cover all their living expenses after paying accommodation costs. 49% had $150 or less. These survey results were not made publicly available.
What does this all mean?
This evidence suggests that the current housing policy is far from meeting the real needs of low-income New Zealanders. The link between housing and poverty means that New Zealand cannot be a socially just nation without seriously addressing the issues and problems outlined above. There is an urgent need for change.
We can start by:
- Acknowledging the link between housing costs and poverty
- Acknowledging the existence of significant and serious housing problems in New Zealand
- In genuine consultation with community sector organisations, developing policies to address these problems
Sources:
Housing the Hungry: the third report, NZCCSS, 1996
Real Estate Institute 1995
The Social, Cultural and Economic Determinants of Health in New Zealand: Action to Improve Health, A Report from the National Advisory Committee on Health and Disability, 1998
The Extent of Serious Housing Need, Waldegrave and Sawrey, 1994
Measuring Poverty in New Zealand, R Stephens, C Waldegrave and P Frater, Social Policy Journal, December 1995
Foodbank Use in New Zealand, NZCCSS, 1998
WIN on Poverty Report, Women’s Information Network, 1998
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