Census gives insights into alternative forms of housing

Census gives insights into people living in alternative forms of housing – Media release

Over 98,000 people lived in alternative forms of private housing or communal (non-private) dwellings in New Zealand in 2013, according to new 2013 Census analysis released today by Statistics New Zealand. This was 2.3 percent of the population.

The aim of the analysis is to draw attention to people living in different kinds of dwellings. "Most people in New Zealand live in conventional dwellings, such as houses, units, and apartments,” Census Customer Focus manager Gareth Meech said. “The report we’ve published today gives us a unique insight into people who live outside this norm.

“For example, it shows that people in alternative types of private dwellings tended to have lower incomes than people in conventional dwellings, despite having similar rates of employment. This may reflect another of our findings – that people in alternative private dwellings were less likely to have a formal qualification,” Mr Meech said.

Living outside the norm: An analysis of people living in temporary and communal dwellings uses 2013 Census data to paint a picture of people living in alternative forms of housing. This includes people living in residential care for older people; residential and community care facilities; boarding houses; motels and other guest accommodation (which includes those offering long-term accommodation); prisons and penal institutions; and alternative forms of private dwellings including improvised dwellings (eg garages) and motor camps.

The report describes the attributes of these people, including their age distribution, ethnicity, and how long they had lived at that dwelling. It also describes their income and employment profile and other selected characteristics.

Other key points about people living outside the norm in 2013 include:
• Almost 32,000 people lived in residential care for older people.
• Three-quarters of people who lived in residential care for older people were aged 80 years or over.
• Of the 11,589 people who lived in motels and guest accommodation, nearly half were born overseas.
• 4 in 5 people who lived in boarding houses did not have a partner.

Find related information:

• 2013 Census QuickStats about housing
• 2013 QuickStats about people aged 65 and over
• Housing in Auckland: Trends in housing from the Census of Population and Dwellings 1991 to 2013
• Treemap visualisations: People in occupied private dwellings and People in non-private dwellings

ENDS

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