Report highlights rental home woes
Tenants told public health researchers looking into Taranaki’s rental market they feared their children would suffer lifelong impacts because of their poor housing conditions.
In a scoping report completed by the Taranaki District Health Board’s (TDHB) Public Health Unit, the link between cold, damp housing and poor health was clearly highlighted, along with how the reduced availability of affordable rental accommodation put families under additional stress.
The research considered the current issues related to rental housing in Taranaki and the impact on the health and wellbeing of tenants.
Interviews with 10 renting families whose children had been admitted to hospital or referred to the TDHB paediatric outpatients unit for illnesses likely linked to poor quality housing were conducted as part of the study.
Other stakeholders in the rental sector, including property managers, were also questioned.
Of the tenants spoken to, the majority told researchers their housing was damp, cold and hard to heat. Eight out of the 10 participants stated there was mould ‘‘larger than an A4 sheet of paper’’ in the house.
Living in such poor quality housing was found to have a negative impact on the health of the families affected. ‘‘These included upper respiratory tract illness, such as asthma, lower respiratory tract chest infections or pneumonia, bronchiolitis and croup,’’ the report, dated September 2018, said. ‘‘Some participants expressed concern that repeated infections and illnesses had caused ‘lifelong’ damage to the health of their children.’’
The report also highlighted the squeeze on the region’s rental market, the result of a mix of more people becoming tenants, increased demand for properties and the rising costs associated with buying a house.
Between 2001 and 2013, there was a 20.5 per cent increase in the number of people living in rental accommodation, with the greatest demand for properties with a weekly cost of below $350.
The study highlighted the quandary families found themselves in when making housing decisions.
‘‘The key decision was choosing a house they could afford, or paying more rent for a better quality rental property but struggling to cover other expenses. Often the decision to pay higher rent was unsustainable and forced families into debt.’’
This resulted in families having to juggle other costs to ensure they could pay the monthly power bill or having to resort to sleeping in the same room during the winter months, which was found to increase the risk of illness.
All participants of the study also spoke about the reduction in the overall availability of rental properties in Taranaki in the past three to six months.
Reasons for this included Housing New Zealand’s move to lease directly off private landlords for its clients and more people relocating to live in the region.
Such demand within the rental market resulted in increased competition for housing, where tenants faced rigorous scrutiny from property managers.
In addition, Ma¯ ori and other nonEuropean ethnicities were more likely to be discriminated against when trying to either buy a home or secure a rental, the study outlined.
‘‘Overall, the findings show that due to highly competitive rental market, especially for properties under $350.00 per week, and active discrimination in the rental market, people may be forced into ‘taking what they can get’ rather than what is the most suitable for their family.’’