Rental Housing Liveability Measure
Re: Rental Housing Liveability Measure
The topic of a rental housing liveability
measure has been in the public arena for more than a decade.
The Housing NZ ‘Statement of Intent 2017 /2021’
clearly identifies a number of areas such as “Social
Leadership Initiatives” that need solutions.
The
Statement of Intent mirrors many other organisations that
are calling for a Rental Wof process.
These include, but
not limited to
• Political parties,
• The NGO
sector,
• Rental housing advocacy/Union
groups,
• City Councils
A common trend amongst all
parties is demonstrated in this HNZC statement:
“Result …… measured by “activity engaged in and lead
debates about how the sector should be responding to the
needs of tenants…..”
During the past decade, no
measurable outcome or process has been initiated on a
nationwide, transparent, independent or consistent scale.
There have however been a number of initiatives to develop a
process.
• A trial of a Rental Wof program was
undertaken in 2014 provided a measure of clarity as to
“what a Rental Wof” should consist of.
• A process
developed from the many studies and reports initiated by
agencies, such as the Otago University had not developed an
outcome…until now.
The outcome identified
was process known as Rental Warrant of Fitness
(WOF).
Housing NZ have clearly sort to
achieve an outcomes to meet its stated aims on the
‘Statement of Intent’.
For
example:
• “Keeping our customers at the centre of
our thinking”. Adrienne Young-Cooper –
Chairperson. HNZC
• “Look for
opportunities to do things better. It is important for both
our tenants and all New Zealanders.” Andrew
McKenzie – Chief Executive. HNZC
In
addition to these comments is the legislative framework that
a process such as Rental Wof clearly provides an
outcome.
Legislation requires us (HNZC) to act
in a business-like manner, and to be an organisation that:
• exhibits a sense of social
responsibility by having regard to the interests of the
community in which we operate
• exhibits a
sense of environmental responsibility by having regard to
the environmental implications of our operations
Housing Corporation Act
1974
A strengthened focus on social
investment
……Part of this is
broadening the use of social investment in the design of
social services. Through better access to and use of
information, government can identify triggers that lead to
poor social outcomes and intervene at the right time and in
the right way to make significant improvements to people’s
lives.
Better Public Services
As part of its priority to deliver
better public services to New Zealanders, the Government is
focused on improving the performance of the social housing
sector. It is actively investing in new ways of working to
drive better outcomes for New Zealanders with housing need.
Central to this are the ongoing social housing reforms, and
the introduction of Better Public Service (BPS) targets
related to social housing……..
………..A
further result area has been introduced to improve the
health of children. A target has been set to reduce
avoidable hospitalisations for preventable conditions in
children aged 0-12 by 15 percent by 2019 and 25 percent by
2021. This will replace the immunisation and rheumatic fever
targets. Children make up a large proportion of our
households, with 9 percent of household occupants under five
years old, and 40 percent under 18 years old. Considering
the role housing can take to support health outcomes, we
directly contribute to the health of children by keeping our
homes healthy and safe.
A leadership role
in the social housing sector
Which
involves more outward-facing activity for us, including a
greater level of collaboration with others to achieve
improved social outcomes.
A measure of
liveability of rental houses in the community is an area
that clearly fits within the HNZC
-Statement of Intent 2017 – 2020 and the Governments
objectives.
To achieve this outcome, ‘Rental
warrant of Fitness’ is a transparent, affordable,
independent and measurable
process.
Rental Warrant of Fitness (WOF)
enables ALL of objectives of the many Government, NGO and
Property agencies identified requirements to be
met.
By implementing Rental Warrant of Fitness,
Housing NZ Corporation, for example, can
demonstrate, through leadership, that it has taken action to
address the long-standing problem of measuring the
liveability of a rental house.
Rental Warrant of Fitness
is consistent, operational and very cost effective.
The
platform in which it has been developed means it can also be
adapted to meet changing legislative and social
requirements.
Attached you will find the Rental Warrant of Fitness brochure, highlighting what it is, how it is used, and the benefits of this process. Also included in the brochure are my personal contact details. Please don’t hesitate to contact me for further information, questions or queries
P.S. Please review the Rental
Warrant Of Fitness program against your priority list, or
the example on the next page.
Priorities
To achieve success in each of our roles we have
indented five priorities to focus on. These reflect the
active and innovative contribution we will make to the
achievement of a vibrant housing sector in New Zealand.
Increase the pace and scale of housing
supply
Delivering our Asset Management Strategy
will require a significant amount of work, to realign our
housing stock to meet the needs of our current and future
tenants, and also refresh our homes as they age and reach
the end of their economic/functional life.
This is
primarily focused on our role in social housing, but also
encompasses what we needto do to support the growth of
supply of housing more generally, particularly in areas like
Auckland with significant affordability challenges.
Reduce our cost of building and, in turn,
influence cost in the sector
In undertaking our
asset development activity we need to focus on driving the
cost of construction down to ensure the scale of change
required to our housing stock is financially viable.
This priority also supports our contribution to
making housing more affordable by demonstrating how to drive
cost out of construction, which leads to more affordable
housing stock overall.
It is also an opportunity to
support the sector to find the best ways of achieving asset
delivery at scale.
Optimise the management of
our homes
Managing our homes well is a core
capability for us as a social housing provider. With over
$22 billion of property, we are one of thelargest asset
holders in the public sector; andso effectively managing
our assets is imperative. Good management of the lifetime
costs of our assets is a key driver behind us being
financially sustainable and we need to continually improve
in this space.
Demonstrating best practice in
managing our homes also creates opportunities for us to be
able to show leadership in the sector, helping to boost
overall capability in the management of social housing in
New Zealand.
Increase our understanding of
our customers and put their needs at the centre of our
decisions
As our customers change we need to
keep our business relevant to their needs.
The
growing complexities of our tenants mean we need to think
more carefully about the best way to support them to sustain
their tenancies and/or reach housing independence.
An
improved understanding of our customers enables us to design
coordinated services that improve social outcomes, and be
more thoughtful in decisions about the design of our homes.
Use our experience to influence the
performance of the housing sector
We want to
be an active participant in helping to achieve the
objectives of social housing reform. We are the largest
social housing provider in New Zealand, and will be for the
foreseeable future. We have a real opportunity to use our
scale and experience to help the sector as a whole to
develop successfully.
This will require us to think
honestly aboutwhat our strengths are and what strengths
other providers/organisations can bring to the table. We
need to be focused on influencing the best way for the
sector as a whole to work together to achieve the right
outcomes for New Zealanders.
This priority is
relevant to all our roles – from social housing to
supporting the growth of the affordable housing market.