"Sale of State Houses Halted to Hold Stock"
"Home Buy Scheme Frozen"
We've all read the headlines that signal changes in public rental housing policy. According to Mark Gosche, Minister of Housing, no more state houses will be sold in order to meet the demand of tenants who will be able to afford to live in them once state rents go down. Thousands of families live in poverty in this country. A recent study by Bob Stephens, a public policy analyst at Victoria University, has found that housing costs are a significant factor in the rise of poverty. One in three children live under the poverty line after housing costs are considered. The report says that poverty was more likely to be found in Housing New Zealand households. The home buy scheme is also on hold while the Ministry investigates changes to housing policy.
This research echoes the findings published in many other reports over the past two years which show that high housing costs are a major factor in the hardships faced by low income households. For more information on these findings see the October 1999 NZCCSS report "Taking Stock.- A Report on the Problems & Possibilities For Housing Policy in New Zealand".
Clearly, addressing the high costs of housing must be a top priority in tackling the heartbreaking consequences of poverty - hunger, ill health, depression, desperation. It is time for all of us to look carefully at our own communities' needs for affordable, appropriate housing and let the Minister know what we find. We must all take responsibility and respond creatively to the challenges. If the Government is truly committed to addressing poverty, then they must listen to the ideas for change coming from the communities that have struggled daily with the costs of more than a decade of official neglect and indifference.
August 1999
The Newsletter of Tenants Protection Association (Christchurch) Inc.
By Yani Johanson
Issues/Projects Worker for Tim Barnett, MP
In 1997, Tim Barnett, Member of Parliament for the Christchurch Central Electorate, conducted a state house survey of 955 state houses in his electorate. Two years later in 1999, a follow-up survey was done to see what had changed. The main difference? People were paying almost 5% more of their total income on rent than before and an additional 25% of people were living in a state house because of the cost of moving out (see table 1). Key results of the 1999 survey were:
| Table 1. - Comparison of Selected Statistics from 1997 and 1999 State House Surveys | ||
|---|---|---|
| Information | 1997 Survey | 1999 Survey |
| Response rate of survey | 16% (157 responses from 955 surveys) | 16% (178 responses from 1101* surveys) |
| Average % of income spent on rent | 45% | 49% |
| Reason given for living in a state house now that rents cost the same as private houses | cost of moving out 25% | cost of moving out 50% |
| Location of House 30% | Location of House 51% | |
| % of houses that had curtains on all windows when respondent moved in | 3% | 2% |
| * Increased number due to change in electorate boundaries | ||
For more information on this survey contact Yani Johanson, Office of Tim Barnett, MP, Ph: 379 6757
By Annette Sutherland
Comcare Charitable Trust
A number of care agencies have traditionally provided housing for some or all of their clients while also providing various care packages. This arguably sets up a conflict of interest in roles. Some examples of the kind of difficulties arising when care and housing are provided by the same organization are:
These are some of the issues that need to be discussed around provisions of housing and care if agencies are to continue to move away from institutionalization and towards empowerment. Solutions to some of the problems could involve partnerships between housing specialist and care specialist agencies, proactive involvement of independent advocacy groups, and specific housing support services such as Comcare Supported Rental in Christchurch. Comcare is currently assessing its housing practices and policy to address these issues of autonomy and normalization for the clients in its rental properties and wishes to encourage debate in the disability sector around best practice in housing provision. If you are interested in these issues, please contact Annette Sutherland at Comcare Charitable Trust, P.O.Box 22 004, High St, Christchurch.
Youth homelessness results from many causes, the most common being economic difficulties, violence, neglect and substance abuse by parents. Many kids leave home at age 13 -14 and say they probably would never live with their families again. Studies have shown that a significant number of homeless youth have attempted suicide. It is difficult for young people to live independently and homelessness risks their exclusion from society. Around the world, countries are facing the problem of homeless kids with the development of safe houses or transitional housing that offers safety and support combining short term affordable housing, counselling support, independent living skills and job skills training all under one roof.
In Minnesota, USA, the Lutheran Social Service operates a transitional housing programme with the goal of helping each young person become self-sufficient. Last year 100 % of the youth served by this programme were able to stabilize their housing situation after 6 months; 97 are mastering independent living skills.
In Sussex, England, the Sanctuary Housing Association manages a similar project which houses 50 young people in a building resembling a student hall of residence with job skills training available to help foster independence. The development also incorporates a commercial property element (a retail/restaurant unit), the rent from which is used to help fund the youth housing project.
This project was inspired by Foyerpourjeunes travailleurs (hostels for young workers) in France which provides hostel type accommodation for young people aged 16-25 who commit themselves to training and looking for work. Residents sign a contract which sets out the terms of occupation and the obligation to make use of the services. A similar Foyer network is operating in Germany and the YMCA in England is very active in developing Foyer type Pilot projects to respond to the growing concern of youth homelessness and unemployment. The results of the pilot found that
The Foyer network began after the Frst and Second World Wars in response to the migrations of unemployed people across France looking for work in the larger cities and towns. It is believed that the existence of this network has largely prevented the problem of youth homelessness in France from developing as widely as it has in other parts of Europe. Consultation amongst Housing Associations, YMCA's and other youth/housing community organisations, the Foyer Federation, the Employment Department and the Department of Education are leading to a rapidly growing number of Foyer schemes starting up in towns and cities across England. The aim is to prepare young people for and assist them in achieving social and economic independence in a safe and accepting environment in order to break the "no home, no job... no job, no home " cycle.
TPA has found that at least 20 % of the young participants in its ongoing education workshops at Burnham Military Camp have identified experiencing homelessness. Most of these young people (all between the ages 16 - 25) left their homes because of violence or substance abuse by family members. Their response to homelessness was to bunk in with mates, move around boarding houses or sleep in parks and under bridges. There is no official recognition of youth homelessness in this country. TPA is developing a research project to determine the extent of youth homelessness and the need for youth transitional housing or safe housing in the Christchurch region.
Sources: Foyer and the YMCA, from the website: http://housing.ymca.org.uk Safe House/Youth Transitional Housing, Lutheran Social Service 1999
The Christchurch Housing Forum continues to gain momentum with a large turnout to the February meeting from many groups interested in housing issues too numerous to name here. It is encouraging to see more representatives from the Real Estate Institute and the Ministry of Housing joining in the discussions.
Stephen Cross from Community Housing gave a presentation which outlined the mission of Community Housing and described the processes involved in finding suitable accommodation for community providers working with people with disabilities, and mental health providers. The main community organisations in Christchurch that work in partnership with Community Housing are Comcare, Richmond Fellowship, the Home and Family society and Stepping Stone Trust. The criteria which determine the success of a proposal to Community Housing are : legal status, credibility (must be funded by the Crown), affordability (properties often must be purchased), use, utility and how the service will be introduced to the community. Once this information is known, the search for a suitable property begins which includes addressing Resource Management Act issues, compliance with the Building Act, design, cost and modifications. The largest project in Christchurch for Community Housing has been to move and resettle residents of the Templeton Centre in houses throughout Christchurch and outlying areas such as Rolleston and Rangiora. This process began in December 1996 and is due to be completed by March 2000 at which time 373 residents will be housed in 60 residential and 4 residential style properties. In response to a question asking if rents in community houses will go down to match the rent reduction in Housing New Zealand houses, Stephen Cross responded that he wasn't sure if rents would go down, that the agencies are likely to be combined in the future.
The next speaker was Lindsay Daniel of Community Housing's Disability Modification Service. He explained the role of the Service to facilitate access to suitable housing for individuals with long-term disabilities who require housing modifications to live independently. This could involve finding an already modified house or potentially modifiable house or helping the individual access funding and services to modify their own home. Services include providing information and advice on housing modifications, maintaining a database of modified rental housing throughout NZ, giving advice on tenancy issues, mediation of tenancy problems and payment of rent under certain circumstances. Landlords of modified properties benefit from a free marketing service. If a vacant modified property cannot be matched to an existing customer, DMS will actively market the property to the disability community. DMS has housed 466 people in the last 3 years and registered 268 modified properties.
The next presentation came from Robert Tromop of the Energy Effciency and Conservation Authority. This talk focussed on the Opotiki Energy Efficiency Retrofit Pilot project which involved the retrofitting of 50 low income houses (ceiling & under floor insulation, draught stopping, moisture prevention, hot water cylinder wrap and pipe lagging), the training and employment of local young people in this retrofitting process, a public health education hui at Terere Marae and a health research study. Funding for this initiative came from a variety of sources but the largest grant came from the Bay of Plenty Electricity Consumer Trust. Local health, training and development organisations were also partners. Results of the project so far show many health, economic, social and environmental benefits. It cost $1400 to retrofit one house with an estimated energy savings per household of $ 200 per year with savings continuing for the next 10 - 20 years. Less moisture and mould prevents rotting and ruined wallboards and reduces the maintenance on a house. Initial health study results show a reduction of respiratory problems, colds, acute asthma attacks and fewer visits to the doctor all of which point to a saving in health expenditure. Environmental benefits include a reduction in the emission of greenhouse gases. The social benefits include sustainable local employment opportunities, more money to spend on food, clothing and the local community. Christchurch has a legacy of sub-standard homes. Seventy per cent of the current housing stock was built pre-1977 before minimum insulation standards were brought in. Many of these homes have poor ceiling insulation and few have any floor insulation. Low income households have little money for buying energy and quality heating appliances. The 1996 census shows that 400 low income homes were unheated. There are some initiatives in place to deal with the problems of cold, sub standard housing in Christchurch. The Christchurch City Council has retrofitted and replaced the open fires in 1500 elderly persons housing units. Community Energy Action has been installing insulation, draught stopping and other energy efficiency measures in over 3000 homes. The Energy Saver Fund has been set up to fund local energy efficiency projects .
For further information, contact Liz Wy(ie at Tenants Protection Association Ph:379 2297
Housing New Zealand has appealed a Tenancy Tribunal order that it pay $9,527.00 to Mr. Ayson Welsh in compensation for his voluntary property maintenance work on his state house in Upper Hutt. The Tribunal found in November 1998 that HNZ was "unjustly enriched" at Mr. Welsh's expense. After renting his property at Kea Grove in 1967 (a newly built house on an undeveloped section), the tenant developed the section, established the gardens, laid paths and a driveway, erected fencing and sheds, laid carpet and installed a log fire. The tenant stated that he was forced out of the property when his rent increased from $64 to $142 a week as a result of Housing New Zealand's new "market rent" policy. He vacated his property in March 1998. The Tribunal found that HNZ had breached the term of the tenancy agreement that the rent would be indexed as linked to the tenant's income when it increased the rental to market rents. The Tribunal stated, "HNZ's breach has caused him to lose the use and enjoyment of the improvements which he carried out on the property. More importantly for present purposes, HNZ will now, through it's own wrongful act, receive the benefit of Mr. Welsh's work. To allow HNZ to retain that benefit without compensation to Mr. Welsh would be to unjustly enrich HNZ at Mr. Welsh's expense."
The appeal was heard at Lower Hutt District Court on 17 December 1999. HNZ lawyers argued that the tenant should not be rewarded for improvements he made voluntarily for his own benefit and enjoyment and disputed that market rents forced the tenant to leave. Counsel for the tenant maintained that he would not have left the property if his rent had not increased so dramatically. In his decision of 20 January 2000, Judge Craig Thompson noted the following "fundamental flaws" in the Tenancy Tribunal's findings and in the reasoning adopted.
For these reasons Judge Thompson quashed the Tenancy Tribunal Order and dismissed Mr. Welsh's application for compensation.
John, invited his mother to dinner when he'd settled into his new flat. His mother noticed that his "flatmate" was a very attractive young woman. She tried very discreetly to find out whether she was just a flatmate or something more intimate. She had no luck in finding anything out, so went home none the wiser.
A few days later, John could not find their silver gravy ladle. He asked his flatmate if she'd seen it anywhere. She didn't know either. They realised that it had been missing since his mother's visit. So, John wrote to his mother and said, "We've noticed that our gravy ladle is missing and saw it last when you were visiting. We're not saying that you took it and we're not saying you didnt take it..."
The reply from John's mother showed that she was no fool. "I'm not saying that your attractive flatmate is only a flatmate, and I'm not saying that she isn't. But if she'd slept in her own bed since I visited, she'd have found the gravy ladle."