Opinion: New Zealand’s housing crisis - time to stop talking and take action

Is social housing an answer to the housing shortage? Photo / Warren Buckland

OPINION

There is a crisis in this country. Our politicians can sit in their ivory towers and deny all they want, but I’ve seen it for myself and I’m experiencing it.

I’m talking about housing.

While I do have a roof over my head, I have been looking for a new place to live - something smaller and a bit closer to work. Sadly, I am unable to buy a place, and I am limited in my choices in terms of renting, mostly because I only have one income to rely on.

Rents are becoming unaffordable for a lot of people. I recently heard that about a quarter of the population is paying more than 40 per cent of their disposable income in housing costs - that includes rents and mortgages.

You would think that in a rural community such as the Tararua District, rents would be cheaper than anywhere else. I guess that would depend on your situation. Relatively speaking, they are cheaper than Auckland, but Auckland is arguably the most expensive city in New Zealand.

I’ve had people say to me, why don’t you share a place? It’s not easy finding a potential sharing situation, and first impressions are not a great way to judge if someone will make a good flatmate.

We have a shortage of housing. And not just in this district.

Is building more social housing the answer? If we were to ask those who live near some social housing areas, they would say no. But that’s because a small number of the occupants of that social housing are, to put it bluntly, “anti-social”. I’ve seen it myself. Domestic violence, gang members and people who generally don’t keep the properties in good condition.

I grew up in a state house and my parents took care of the property, even basic maintenance which wouldn’t be allowed today for health and safety reasons. Most people in social housing are decent people who are just struggling and don’t deserve to be tarred with the same brush. Poverty creates its own issues and, in my perception, people tend to look down on those who are struggling to make ends meet. The idea that people who live in poverty do so because they’re lazy, or criminals, is a flawed perception. Sometimes people just get stuck and don’t know how to get out of it.

I’m sure there are some people out there who say that “in their day” it was easy to buy a house and that those who are complaining about the difficulties now are not trying hard enough. It was easier in those days because housing prices weren’t out of control and the average family could afford to live on one income. That isn’t the case now.

We used to talk about basic human rights such as food, clothing and shelter. Even those are now out of reach for a lot of people.

Yet according to some politicians, there is no crisis. Years ago, some of them talked about an experiment for a week, living on a benefit. A week would never do it. They would need to live at least six months on a benefit, having to pay rent that is more than their basic benefit payment, to even get an inkling of what people are going through.

I know it sounds like complaining, but there are plenty of families in the same boat. It’s about time those who claim it’s something that is easily solved prove it, rather than talk about it.