Handy Quotes

Quotes from "Renting in NZ: perspectives from tenant advocates" 

Elinor Chisholm, Philippa Howden-Chapman & Geoff Fougere
2016

Currently, around a third of New Zealand’s households, and half its
population live in rental accommodation. The proportion of tenant
households is growing. Tenant advocates, who are a first port of
call for tenants experiencing difficulties in their housing situation,
can provide unique insight into the experience of renting in New
Zealand. This article presents key themes generated from semistructured
interviews with tenant advocates. Tenants are confronted
with issues of poor housing quality, insecure housing, high rents
relative to income, lack of autonomy, and difficulty asserting their
legislative rights. These aspects of renting in New Zealand are likely to
have adverse effects on health. Tenant advocates play an important
role in supporting tenants to better housing. Their knowledge of
the relationship between a landlord and tenant, particularly in times
of trouble, means they can provide unique perspectives on policy
solutions.
In all, 44,000 people, or about One in every 100 New Zealanders, is homeless. A number which has grown since 2001
(Amore 2016). Some homeless people stay in rental homes; almost a fifth of rented properties
are crowded (18.7%), far more than the proportion of owner-occupied homes (5.7%
of those with mortgages, 3.5% of those owned freehold) (Ministry of Health 2014, p. 15).
Fourth, there is strong evidence showing the negative impact on health of poor housing
conditions such as cold, damp, and crowding (Howden-Chapman et al. 2007, 2008;
Baker et al. 2013; Shortland 2015).
The support of advocates could make a great deal of difference in improving outcomes for tenants.
The lack of security affected tenants’ experiences of their homes. One participant
noted that ‘you talk to people with nil money and they say “why would I plant vegetables,
because the landlord could turf me out in 90 days and by the time they’ve grown I’m not
going to be there”’
Another issue identified by participants was the lack of autonomy tenants had in the
home. This meant that tenants had to go without certain privileges enjoyed by owner-
4 E. CHISHOLM ET AL.
occupiers, such as having pets, and making changes to the home and property. As one participant
put it,
Renter kids don’t have dogs and dogs help kids. Those choices are gone. It’s double privilege.
You’re renting so it’s not even that option of saying ‘have we got enough money for a dog?’
You wouldn’t build a tree hut. [It’s] not going to your kids and saying ‘what colour shall we
paint your room?’ The little things that actually are a part of growing up, handyperson’s stuff.
There’s a whole lot of stuff that’s not measured that happens when you’ve got your own place.
(Interview 1a)
‘People don’t assert their rights … They don’t know their
rights’ (Interview 6). Another noted that ‘Many of the tenants are not well informed
and don’t have the capacity or ability to advocate’ (Interview 3a). One participant
reflected that cultural mores had an impact on the likelihood that people would
report problems with their home or tenancy: ‘A lot of the Pacific people in particular
find it very hard, and although they’re suffering, and they don’t like what’s happening,
they find it hard to speak out’ (Interview 2b). Another put the issue partly down to educational
inequalities. She stated that ‘If you’ve had a reasonable education it helps you to
be articulate and that helps confidence so you can speak up … If people feel inadequate
or afraid, they’ll be less likely to protest’ (Interview 7). 
One participant, who often worked with students on short-term tenancies, said ‘They can’t be bothered. They’ll be moving on somewhere else’ (Interview 4a). When tenants did decide to negotiate with their landlord or pursue legal action, it was very time-consuming.
Quotes from “Generation Rent” by S&S Eaqub.
“Owning one’s own home has been a rite of passage for generations of New Zealanders.”
“Not owning a home in NZ often means being bereft of both social and financial security.”
“The modern generation has experienced a very tough economic adulthood.” 
Renting has not traditionally been part of the kiwi dream; it has always seemed like a second-rate option. 
A lot of rental housing is in very poor condition, and tenants have few rights and little security. 
But if people have become more accepting of renting, often this is only because they are resigned to not owning a home. Generation Rent may be united in renting but most are not doing it by choice: they are forced to rent - forced into what is currently a second-class option…” 
Quote from Mark Bennett
“One aspect of renting often mentioned is security of tenure. This means a tenant’s ability to choose to remain or leave the house they are renting. When asked, tenants usually indicate that they want the option to stay, saying that this would provide them with a more stable home – and better outcomes for their community connections, psychological and physical health, education, and finances.
In New Zealand, some security of tenure is achieved by tenants and landlords agreeing to a fixed term lease, generally 12 months. Otherwise, the landlord must usually provide the tenant with 90 days' notice that the tenancy is being terminated.
This contrasts starkly with the situation in jurisdictions where tenants are given a number of years of secure tenure; for example, in New Zealand discussions of renters' rights there has been a focus on Germany's strong protections for tenants, under which tenants may stay indefinitely (with very limited exceptions).”
“The landlord has the means to purchase a house and to use it as a financial asset. The tenant has likely been forced to rent rather than to own, but is trying to make the house their home. The control that the law relating to security of tenure provides them should reflect this.”

Context	Central Proposition	Aim	Theories + Methodology	Literature
Context - renters and tenants in NZ have little to no rights, and the rights that they do have are often ignored and not enforced. This leads to a less than ideal living situation for many, if not most, renters in New Zealand. As a quickly growing demographic something has to be done…	How can we empower tenants through design?  —How can we motivate landlords to be better through design???	To empower tenants through design, and maybe challenge the landlords and tell them why its good to be a good landlord coz then you get good tenants?  a tenants rights campaign a landlords symbiotic relationship campaign i dont fucken know	user centred design? political design..? social innovation and design activism	got a bunch of literature on the subject lol