Housing crisis hits elderly

Older people are sleeping in their vehicles as the housing crisis bites those in their retirement years.

The Salvation Army is among groups that expect to see more elderly people living in their vehicles or on the street as the population ages and those without their own homes struggle to pay rents.

Salvation Army Social Housing national director Greg Foster said it recently housed an older man in Auckland who had been living in his truck for two years.

In Nelson, a supported living agency had to turn away two older men who had been living in their cars while they tried to find a house.

Foster said there was a ‘‘huge need’’ for housing as people got older. The church’s housing programme is focused on those aged 55 and older, but most of its tenants were around 70, he said.

‘‘We’re expecting a huge increase in homelessness among the 65-plus in the next 10 years. There’s going to be well over 1 million people over 65 by 2030.’’

The rise was due to factors including a tight, expensive rental market, less home ownership, and a low disposable income.

‘‘It’s not looking good. There’s some serious demographic challenges blooming, and it’s going to be more common to see elderly living on the street.’’

The Salvation Army has 320 units for older people across New Zealand, and is building another 120 in Auckland alone.

‘‘We have to build more social housing,’’ Foster said. ‘‘It’s not rocket science when you think home ownership rates are declining and a growing number of people are retiring, they don’t have savings and there’s no way you can survive on your own.

‘‘We’re sort of estimating that the Government would need to build [about] 3000 social housing units a year in order to meet the growing demand of over-65-plus.’’

Barry Mills, chairman of supported living facility Abbeyfield Nelson, said it had to turn away two men who looked to be in their 60s in the past year. They were single men from out of town, living out of their cars with no place to call home.

‘‘We couldn’t do anything for them, because we didn’t have any rooms vacant. Even if we did have a vacancy, we probably still couldn’t take them, because we have a process to go through and a waiting list.’’

He said Abbeyfield in Stoke had 12 rooms and the one in Nelson 11, which were both full, with about 16 people on a waiting list.

Age Concern Nelson Tasman manager Caroline Budge said it received about one inquiry a week from somebody looking for a home.

‘‘We definitely hear of people who are living in their cars or campervans. The lack of affordable housing for older people locally is an issue – we’re definitely seeing it here.’’

Budge said many people came to Nelson because it was a nice place to retire, but some struggled to find adequate housing.

Habitat for Humanity is building three one-bedroom units for older people at an affordable rent close to Nelson Hospital. General manager Glenn Brewerton said it

usually built homes for families with children, but recognised that affordable housing for older people was an issue.

‘‘We’re making a very small dent in a very big problem.’’

He said applications for the three homes opened a few days ago to singles or couples who didn’t have assets, with an estimated move-in date of midSeptember.

Habitat for Humanity New Zealand acting CEO Alan Thorp said Nelson Habitat for Humanity building homes for the elderly showed the importance of community groups which could respond to specific needs they saw.

‘‘We’re hoping to work more closely with both local authorities and central government on addressing issues of housing adequacy within New Zealand.’’

Housing and Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford said last year there was a ‘‘real need to provide decent, affordable tenuresecure housing for older New Zealanders . . . In Nelson, particularly, because of the rapidly ageing population’’.

The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) housing quarterly report showed that over 65s represented about 9 to 10 per cent of all social housing applicants in the year to June.

In Nelson, the number of applicants waiting for a home on the MSD housing register increased in the year to March, from 53 to 100, and in Tasman district from 43 to 58.

Of the Nelson applicants, 67 were priority A, who are people considered ‘‘at risk’’, including a severe and persistent housing need that must be addressed immediately. In Tasman, 44 applicants were priority A, up from 27 in the December 2017 quarter.