8 August 2013

Housing New Zealand Corporation may miss opportunity to plan for the future

The Government’s $2.9 billion investment in new housing ignores the needs of New Zealanders with disabilities, says a leading disability organisation.

David Matthews, Chief Executive of CCS Disability Action said that many of the new houses being built for Housing New Zealand Corporation over the next three years would be inaccessible to disabled people, currently 20 per cent of the population and growing.

“Housing New Zealand Corporation seems to have little interest in ensuring their houses are accessible to those with disabilities. Only a small percentage of homes are required to use universal design principles to ensure they are accessible.”

In the last Census, 285,000 people said they had a mobility disability and 256,100 people said they had an agility disability. Mr Matthews noted that even allowing for an overlap between the two groups that was a lot of people, some of who would certainly need social housing.

“Unfortunately, the reality is people with disabilities tend to have lower incomes and are more likely to be unemployed. They are therefore more likely to need social housing. With an aging population, the number of people who require accessible social housing is only going to increase. The time to start planning for the future is now.”

Mr Matthews noted that a Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment report into housing pressure in Christchurch said that people with physical disabilities are vulnerable to homelessness.

“Housing New Zealand Corporation’s mandate is to provide social housing for everyone who needs it. There is no point investing $2.9 Billion in housing if it cannot meet the growing need for accessible housing.”

Mr Matthews was clear that it is far cheaper to implement universal design when building houses than to retrofit later on.

Housing New Zealand Corporation needs to follow the lead of the Social Housing Unit and push accessibility in their houses right now. With a major investment planned, the timing could not be better. “Missing this opportunity, will result in more costs later on, both to the government and disabled people.”

ENDS

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