Social housing advocates say there needs to be more social and affordable housing, and are worried that reforms announced yesterday could lead to worse outcomes.
The proposed "multi-year" reform included plans to increase the income-related rent contribution to 30%, a redesign of the social housing needs assessment that deprioritises affordability, and other changes like defined tenancy durations.
The money from rent increases, an expected $387.5 million in operating savings, would be reinvested into higher maximum weekly Accommodation Supplement rates for those in the private market.
The changes will increase rent for around 84,000 households by an average of about $31 a week. Around 111,000 families not in social housing would be $14.91 better off a week. A further 45,000 would be $10.82 worse off on average a week.
The Government hoped the changes would incentivise independence, getting people into the private market, while also ensuring that support was targeted to those who needed it most.
Speaking to Breakfast, Christchurch Methodist Mission’s Jill Hawkey and Community Housing Aotearoa CEO Paul Gilberd both agreed the system needed to change, but argued more social and affordable housing was needed.
“Those in the private market really are struggling at the moment," Hawkey said. "And a lot of that's because actually, rental income, rental costs have far outstripped what people are actually able to pay.
“If you look at an average rent for a one-bedroom place in Papanui, you know, over $500 a week, if you're a superannuant reliant on superannuation, you just can't afford that.”
Plan will increase the proportion of income social housing tenants pay for emergency and transitional housing. (Source: 1News)
Hawkey said social housing made up around 3.8% of New Zealand’s housing stock, while the average for the OECD was around 7%. In the UK, social housing accounted for around 17% of the housing stock.
“It's not about moving one group of people out so another group of people can move in,” Hawkey said.
“We really need to be growing our housing stock, so that everybody can have a warm, dry, and affordable home.”
Gilberd agreed that people with the greatest need should be in social housing, but said there were no off-ramps for people to exit the system.
“There are many tools that we need to reintroduce back into the housing system to provide those easy off-ramps and pathways for people to get out of social housing and state dependence,” he said.
The current tools to get people into the private market were “very weak”, Gilberd said, and actually getting into the market was “just a step too far” for many.
“Fundamentally we don't have enough social or affordable housing in New Zealand, we need more, that's the best social investment you can make.”
'Huge concern' over tenancy durations
Hawkey said the Government’s plan to look at tenancy time limits with more regular reviews, moving people through social housing faster, was a “huge concern”.
She said stability was “so important” and worried the reforms could lead to worse outcomes.
She used a community of 15 houses that the mission had developed as an example of where the Government could find success.
“Families moved, and they've stayed there. Most of them stayed there for the whole five years. Those kids are really thriving, and when they moved in, only two of those families were in employment."
Hawkey said 11 families had since found employment, and were doing “so well”.
“For us to be able to say, ‘you're now independent, and actually you should be moving somewhere else into the private market’, it's not helpful at all.”
“What we're going to see is kids not attending school if suddenly they have to move house. You'll also see mental health really impacted.
“Housing stability is so important for a sense of your own mental well-being.”
'Our housing system is broken'
Gilberd said the Government’s “underlying sentiment” of what he described as the “old style deserving poor” was far more complex in reality.
"Thousands of these households in social housing are older adults who simply can't afford their housing, and affordability is one element.
"The other is those with higher levels of need, so domestic violence, disability, mental health, addiction, and released prisoners who are discriminated against.
“We really do need to get to the root cause rather than dealing with the symptoms, and our housing system is broken.”
Both said they and their organisations wanted to work with the Government to help develop social housing reform.
“Up until this point, we haven't been consulted, and we need to be involved in designing the solution,” Gilberd said.
The Government hoped the changes would narrow the gap between the cost of private and social housing. "So that support settings are fairer and better encourage work, increased hours of work, and movement into private rentals where appropriate."
“Social housing is a high-cost intervention and should be targeted to those who need it most. Modelling shows that if 10% tenants exit after five years, around 6000 more vacancies could open up over a decade,” Housing Minister Chris Bishop said.
'Out of touch'
Gilberd said comments by Finance Minister Nicola Willis that people in social housing had "won the lotto" were "out of touch".
He acknowledged, however, that Willis later said she regretted her choice of words.
SHARE ME