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The ‘vanilla’ housing policies announced by major political parties ahead of the 2020 general election are unlikely to ease overcrowding in Auckland’s rental market, says an economist.
During the past legislature, some Auckland residents have chosen to share beds with flatmates or rent living room corners due to a lack of affordable alternatives.
The dorm-style apartments furnished with bunk beds and mattresses on the floor have been advertised as long-term accommodation.
David White / Stuff
It is difficult to find affordable housing in Auckland. (File photo)
Meanwhile, the average weekly rental for properties in New Zealand’s largest city has topped $ 570.
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The Labor, National, Green and ACT parties, and experts, agree that the lack of supply is compounding the overcrowding.
However, they are divided on how to solve it.
According to National, the key to reducing overcrowding is building warmer and drier homes.
His plan includes repealing the Resource Management Act (RMA) to make construction cheaper.
If elected, it would also remove the requirement that landlords install an approved form of heating in their rental properties, saying that not all tenants can afford to run a heat pump.
Although National supported mandatory ceiling and underfloor insulation in rental homes, it would review the timelines for installation.
The party claimed that the current rules came with a high price, which was passed on to the tenants.
David White / Stuff
National, Labor and ACT are all focused on increasing the supply of housing to curb overcrowding, but their strategies for doing so are different.
Labor’s housing spokeswoman Megan Woods said progress had been made in the past three years, but solving the housing crisis was complex and would take longer.
The party has pledged to reform the consent process and to provide apprentices with free training to help build houses faster.
If elected again, the Labor Party would continue to increase KiwiBuild and the Progressive Homeownership scheme.
Greens co-leader and housing spokesman Marama Davidson said he would introduce a “national affordability standard,” based on the percentage of income spent on housing based on the size and location of the home.
Kāinga Ora would use the criteria to ensure that homes were affordable by increasing its own construction projects and development subscriptions.
Davidson said the party would also regulate property managers, review the housing supplement, reform the building code, and introduce an aptitude rental order.
ACT leader David Seymour said his party would cut red tape by replacing the RMA with a law with fewer zoning restrictions.
Giving city councils more of the GST collected from construction would incentivize them to consent to more homes and pay for infrastructure, he added.
Supplied
Economist Shamubeel Eaqub was disappointed by the housing policies of the main political parties.
Economist Shamubeel Eaqub described Labor and National’s responses as “pretty vanilla.”
“We need to have a greater supply of housing aimed at people who rent. Neither party is really [doing that],” he said.
While the Greens’ policies were more ambitious, in Eaqub’s view, it was unclear what he would prioritize during negotiations with Labor if it came to forming a coalition.
SUPPLIED
University of Otago Professor of Public Health Philippa Howden-Chapman says that overcrowding is a big problem.
University of Otago public health professor Philippa Howden-Chapman said that overcrowding was the leading cause of poor housing-related physical and mental health.
There was no single solution.
For example, increasing the accommodation supplement would make the increase in rents more affordable.
But it wouldn’t help build new homes.
“There is definitely a strong commitment to [addressing] of some parties, but we need to reach an agreement between parties on that, “Howden-Chapman said.
Abigail Dougherty / Stuff
Jacqueline Paul is about to start her master’s degree in planning at the University of Cambridge in the UK.
Jacqueline Paul is a housing and development researcher for the Building Better Homes Towns and Cities Challenge and Ngā Wai a te Tūī kaupapa Māori and indigenous research center.
He said the policies announced by the major parties did not meet the needs of the “missing middle” – those who earned too much to qualify for social housing, but too little to buy their own home.
Paul said more analysis is needed on how the housing crisis affected Maori and young people.
I was sick of seeing the subject used as “political football.”
In an ideal world, the parties would work together to solve it, Paul said.
The Maori Party and New Zealand First did not respond to questions from Stuff before the deadline.
