Housing research identifies challenges
Research into the housing needs of older people recommends a partnership approach to policy development and delivery that involves the public, private and voluntary sectors.
The research was commissioned by the Centre for Housing Research, Aotearoa New Zealand (CHRANZ) and carried out by the New Zealand Institute for Research on Ageing (NZiRA) and Business and Economic Research Limited (BERL). CHRANZ manager Terrence Aschoff said the research was intended to inform policy advisers and decision makers on broad strategic issues affecting older persons’ housing.
The research analyses the housing situation of people aged 65 and over in New Zealand, including the types of accommodation that will best meet the needs of an ageing population and improve the quality of life for older people.
It says the key challenges are the need to maintain and upgrade mainstream housing (owner-occupied and rented) so that ‘ageing in place’ remains viable, and the need to develop a range of alternative housing options to meet special needs, whether these be care needs, social or cultural preferences.
It says ‘ageing in place’ is clearly a favoured approach in New Zealand government policy, and it is likely that the vast majority of older people in the future will be ‘ageing in place’ rather than in institutional care.
However, staying in a long-term family home may not be the best option in all circumstances, and specialised housing in the form of sheltered or extra-care housing, retirement villages or social villages will be part of the mix.
The report says it may be more economic to renovate existing housing than to build specialised housing for older people, to cope with the increased demand fuelled by population ageing.
It also says that partnerships between public, private and voluntary sector agencies “is a promising avenue to explore. This may avoid the ‘silo’ approach to policy development and delivery and help to co-ordinate activities.”
CHRANZ has recently released three other research reports, The Impact of Financial Circumstances and Tenure Choice (BERL, June 2004); Housing Costs and Affordable Housing (DTZ Research, June 2004); and Scoping Bi-Directional Impacts of Economic, Social, Environmental Changes and the NZ Housing Market (Motu Economic and Public Policy Research, July 2004).
All the reports are available on the CHRANZ website at www.chranz.co.nz
