13 August 2018 Otago Daily Times – Warm and Cosy Homes Essential for Everyone

13 August 2018 by Jason Quinn
This article from the Otago Daily Times is pretty shocking. It’s amazing to feel the scale of the problem when you think about one-third of all the hospital missions due to poor quality housing. If it is even close to accurate that’s an outrageous amount of money. Think how much we save on health care and misery as a society with better housing.
Additionally, I’m a bit sensitive to legal issues being the son of a Policeman from the lawyer land of the USA. There certainly is a change happening in New Zealand with legal liability and poor quality buildings. When you read quotes like “current laws don’t allow cafes to sell food that makes people sick. It should be illegal to sell accomodation that does too.” I think – somebody, lots of somebodies, are going to be sued. There’s already cases of tenants suing and winning in Tenancy Tribunal to not pay rent for poor quality housing and penalties as well. 

THERE has been much recent commentary on the local housing market.

Some commentators have argued that new legislation aimed at improving the quality of rental properties is leading to investors ‘‘pulling out’’ of the market (ODT 31.7.2018). CoreLogic data, on the other hand, shows investors are accounting for a growing number of buyers in Dunedin (ODT, 1.8.2018).

Exactly who is buying properties in the city is somewhat of a red herring. And availability and affordability are only part of Dunedin’s housing issues. Quality – or the lack of it – is also hugely important. Dunedin still has too many properties that are not warm or dry enough to keep people healthy and comfortable at a reasonable cost.

Therefore, as well as advocating to central government for more homes to be built here, I am also keen to see the overall standard of the city’s housing stock improved. Not only does everyone deserve to live in a warm and cosy home, regardless of whether they rent or own, they need to for their health’s sake. I have been told by health professionals that nearly one third of admissions to Dunedin Hospital are wholly or partly a result of poor quality housing. The city has cheap housing by New Zealand standards, but a high proportion is of relatively poor quality – mainly due to age.

I have been told by health professionals that nearly one third of admissions to Dunedin Hospital are wholly or partly a result of poor quality housing. “

Current laws don’t allow cafes to sell food that makes people sick. It should be illegal to sell accommodation that does that too.

Read more on this link.

 

 

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