Saville-Smith, K., Brunsdon, N., & White, V.
Demography Government Housing Need Housing Quality
Te Puni Kōkiri, Ministry of Social Development and Housing New Zealand, ,
2018
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This report, focusing on Component 4 of a larger project, addresses the critical issue of Māori housing stock condition and regional population changes in Te Tai Tokerau.
The study identifies two main concerns regarding stock condition: the prevalence of cold and damp housing due to inadequate insulation, orientation, and heating, and the issue of dilapidation and significant disrepair, especially in older, rental, and rural dwellings within remote communities. The investigation reveals a significant gap in robust datasets that could illuminate these issues for Māori housing in Te Tai Tokerau, noting the limitations of the BRANZ House Condition Surveys from 2011 and 2015 due to the small sample size from the region and the absence of specific markers identifying Māori-occupied dwellings. The report suggests potential remedies for these data deficits, including funding extensions for future House Condition Surveys to better capture the Te Tai Tokerau region and Māori housing conditions. It also discusses a pilot housing assessment survey being conducted by BRANZ, MBIE, and Statistics New Zealand, which could partially address the ethnicity data gap, though it acknowledges the sample size for Te Tai Tokerau may remain limited. In light of the absence of more recent data, the report revisits a 2006 survey of rural housing in Te Tai Tokerau to estimate the number of Māori households living in poor conditions and the costs associated with upgrading the housing stock to an ‘as new’ condition. Structured to first provide an overview of the 2006 House Condition Survey methodology and findings, the report then updates these findings to reflect the housing stock and remediation costs as of the 2013 census. It concludes with a discussion on strategies to overcome the current lack of detailed data on Māori housing in Te Tai Tokerau and suggests avenues for future research and policy development to address these critical housing issues. This comprehensive analysis highlights the pressing need for dedicated efforts and resources to accurately assess and improve Māori housing conditions in the region.