Recently I went to visit a state house tenant in their home to talk about some problems they had been having with Housing New Zealand. They wanted their home heating and insulation improved and when I looked at the house I could see why. It was well cared for, but it was cold. I talked to Housing NZ and the situation was sorted out.
While I was in that particular street I was shocked by the state of some of the houses. There was a block of semi-detached houses that looked like it hadn’t been painted or cleaned in decades. I noted down the address and raised that with Housing NZ too.
Turns out it the block of houses in question were former state houses. Back in the 1990s they had been sold to their tenants. The tenants, unable to afford the regular repayments on the mortgage, had sold them off to a private investor who has effectively become a slum landlord.
Walking around that part of the electorate a bit more I soon became aware that the houses in worst condition were the ones owned by private landlords. Some were ex-HCNZ and some were ex-council. The Housing NZ homes weren’t that flash, but the basic maintenance had been done.
On the surface of it the idea that state house tenants can buy their own homes may seem like a nice one but the reality is a little different. How many of the state houses that Phil Heatley is currently hocking off are going to end up in the hands of these private slum landlords?
Slumlords! Oooh too many stories! There’s no need to be hocking off perfectly good housing stock
I have never understood why National continuously pushes this particular barrow. I can hear the spin “National proud to see New Zealanders living the home ownership dream”… it’s a pity though, it doesn’t work that way.
Of the large number of houses sold off in the 1990s, insufficient mechanisms were put in place to ensure that the very thing you saw, didn’t happen. It happened on a large sclae and made some people very rich off the back of some unfortunate suffering.
Home ownership is an obsession in this country that I don’t understand, in any case, a house is not an asset until you have nothing left to pay on it. Why don’t we focus on developing income, owning assets of whatever form? Until that time, the time when the mortgage is repaid, the bank owns it. Pushing mortgages and fuelling debt through this scheme to my mind is irresponsible. Arguably, it is about shifting the onus from government on to the people in question.
State Housing is something this country should be proud of, it is part of what we have come to expect as part of the social covenant our country has with its government.
This has always been National’s end game, putting state housing, especially in salubrious areas, into private ownership where, ultimately it will be snapped up by developers. I’m all for tenants buying houses but they should return to the state if sold. State housing is a national asset. Allowing it to pass permanently out of the state’s hands is privatisation pure and simple.
Housing is a critical area for low-income families and during the 1990s, with the sale of state houses and market rents, there were some very sad stories.
Labour’s introduction of income-related rents and the increase to the state housing stock was a key move to address the situation of these families either by giving them good affordable housing or providing the competition with the private landlords to force rentals down.
However, I don’t think the housing stock was probably increased enough (shortage of builders was one reason)to get rid of the rented accomodation that Chris describes.
Slum rental accomodation still exists and we need to look at strategies to get rid of it.
Housing sales helped many average families get into their own house, it also brought the benefits of having home owners into neighbourhoods of predominantly rental accomodation, the Housing Corp slums got improved from this. I have quite a few friends who have given a lot to their neighbourhoods through being able to buy their state house and live in it for many years.
For every “slum landlord” case there is one where a family is living in their own home, or subdividing the back section off for a new home to be built, which is hardly going to be occupied by slum tenants.
There is a major shortage of housing NZ houses now though. The waiting lists are huge while people that need somewhere to live are forced to pay market rents. Has anyone had a look lately at the price of rentals?
National party will do anything for a buck, watch them sell off all our assets!
state houses, ripped off in to them and out.— promises you can buy.– sold behind ya back. leasebacks(plural) off owners, anothers community groups— You don’t belong too . Dust, mould, holes in floor and roof/ceiling and chronically sick children etc. cut ya losses- save a childs health. heatley and carter grandstanding –the media joins in– damaging peoples lives–condemned and alienated -some state house mansion! try picking on key for a change. Another community group-not your own. villified in the media- big problems! Victimistion, condemnation harassment and alienation- state houses and National–who wants that. not me. keep them…