Pensioners struggle in rental market
Kinsa Hays, 75, had never been a renter before she sold her home in Opotiki 10 years ago. Originally, it was just to make life on the pension a little easier.
But then her son needed help buying a house in Auckland, and her daughter wanted money for a new kitchen.
Hays realised she would not be able to buy again. She house-sat, then found a house-share situation for a year.
But when it was time to move again, she found rents had risen and she could not afford to rent alone. ‘‘If [NZ] Super is $370 a week, you can’t pay $230 at a minimum for somewhere to live.’’
She said the biggest problem was the lack of security that came with renting.
‘‘I’m 75; I want somewhere to live until I can’t be there any longer. But people don’t seem to be interested in leasing for that length of time.’’
She has now decided that sharing a property with other older tenants is the best solution.
A new study by the Population Ageing Technical Advisory Group (PATAG) has found the country’s housing stock is illprepared to deal with a growing number of pensioner tenants.
The Bay of Plenty case study was conducted by consultants Bev James and Kay Saville-Smith. The group said its findings could be extrapolated to the whole country.
It is expected that by 2021, home ownership levels among people aged 65 and over will have dropped below 50 per cent.
Three-quarters of retired renters live in private rentals and 54 per cent receive an accommodation supplement to help pay the rent.
Saville-Smith said there was little rental accommodation that was targeted to older people. She said they were often vulnerable to the health problems that could come with poor-condition housing.
‘‘If the housing stock is damp or cold, older people – like children – tend to be vulnerable to that.’’
Most were on fixed incomes, so they suffered when rents rose. ‘‘There is not a lot of elasticity in what they can pay.’’
Many chose to go to rest homes rather than stay in rental properties, she said.
Grants are available to modify housing but Saville-Smith said many investors incorrectly thought the work would reduce their property’s value.