Homes with benefits
Co-authored by Imogen Schoots & Devon Sanson
Are you and your home in a boring, stale relationship? Want a home that gives you something more than just a roof over your head? Fancy trying a Forever Affordable Home? One that makes you feel warm, safe, and fulfilled. Homes without the commitment of a 30-year mortgage or pressure of 3-monthly inspections.
This housing not only is great for the individual, there are also wider community benefits. We’ve identified 8 key benefits and features of the Forever Affordable Homes (FAH) method. We haven’t listed leadership here, but FAH is actively pursuing it to bring more FAH’s to you!
1. Forever affordable outcomes
For the occupant of a FAH home, housing costs are known for decades to come! ‘Rent’ equivalents are worked out through set formulas. These formula’s are included in the agreements which establish the development. Profit is intentionally limited. The development is structured and financed to ensure this benefit for its occupants. Preventing further capital gain between future occupants also helps. In FAH homes the lived experience of the house is of higher value than its exchange value. Profit is not the motive of this type of housing.
‘Rent’ increases for residents as per the Auckland case study, roughly proposes half of that for market rentals (set at 2%). This amount is known at the time future occupants do the paperwork to become a co-owner.
2. Human capacity building
Occupants gain skills through their involvement in governance, co-design and operation of their co-owned home. This develops their social, financial, operational, administrative and leadership capabilities. These skills can transfer to other parts of the residents' lives. Democracy and responsibility sharing are essential parts of successful housing of this type.
3. Reducing gentrification
The Forever Affordable Home model helps reduce gentrification. This can be achieved through supplying forever affordable housing in key locations. This includes close to transport and other public amenities.
In many parts of our urban areas, the government enables upgrades to amenities and infrastructure. Rightly, the public areas we all use and share should be improved given the wider community benefit. However, if not managed well, it can lead to gentrification. The community can get displaced through subsequent increases in house and rent prices. Paying for the upgrades may also increase rates. People and businesses can be forced out of an area.
Rising land values must be captured to ensure housing affordability is retained. This can be done through different planning tools. We advocate for Inclusionary Zoning for this purpose. Rising land prices are captured in some European cities by governments also setting land aside, in some instances into a Community Land Trust.
4. Wellbeing
It's time to prioritise a home’s value for its users over its capital value. A key way of doing that is through co-designing with residents’ needs and wellness in mind. The intention is to build homes that meet people’s needs throughout their life. There is flexibility in these models which allows residents to easily up-size or down-size too. It is recommended that some apartments are purpose built accessible, so residents' future needs are met.
Similar projects built locally and overseas are warm, durable, light, and even hypoallergenic. These considerations are not always taken into consideration by locally built market housing.
5. Socially connected
A Forever Affordable Home is special because occupants become part of a community. This starts through the upfront design stages. It continues through occupancy given the creation of intentional meeting and lingering spaces. Also through being involved in the governance and potential operation of the building. Through intentionally designed spaces, neighbours have ‘natural’ opportunities to meet, chat, and make connections.
Developments are encouraged to have commercial and/or flex spaces depending on size and location. These sorts of spaces have many benefits. They integrate the community, generate additional income, may provide work opportunities and possibly even services or similar for the occupants. Our Auckland based case study area was found to have a shortage of early childhood education centres (ECE). Including ECE in the development means residents' families are likely to integrate with the wider community who also use these services. In other developments, this could be a cafe, co-working space, and/or community space.
6. Development catalyst
Developments of this type magnify and amplify the appeal of surrounding areas. This form of housing can regenerate urban areas and transform drab neighbourhoods. Forever Affordable Homes present a unique regeneration tool in infill and brownfield sites, particularly where land use is changing. They can activate previously underutilised/abandoned areas. People focused, intentional design, often results in an uplift of design quality in surrounding areas. It sets a benchmark as the anchor development, encouraging subsequent projects to follow the example of high-quality urban design.
The beauty of the method is that it is scalable and replicable elsewhere. It also provides a different vehicle for investment with a broader array of returns. There is a growing demand for suitable social impact investments.
7. Long-term sustainability
A triple bottom line sustainability outcome is achieved through the FAH method.
With higher levels of design input by future residents, homes commonly have greater sustainable performance outcomes. The co-design process and sharing of resources (eg. laundries) can reduce operational utility costs. The co-design process works to meet the specific uniqueness of the place and its intended occupants.
Economic sustainability is achieved given the ongoing affordability. Social sustainability is detailed in other benefits listed such as human capacity building and burden reduction.
8. Burden reduction
This form of housing is intended for those that earn too much to qualify for any assistance but too little to save and/or qualify enough for a mortgage. It is also a way to catch those falling into possible welfare dependency (public housing need). This form of housing offers a viable aspirational living option out of assisted housing.
Losing (or the threat of losing) a stable home comes with serious health impacts. Understandably, the likelihood of mental-ill health increases. Those in this unfortunate situation are more likely to make wellbeing sacrifices to ensure a roof over their family's heads. This in turn impacts our society’s collective health and increases demand on health and welfare services.
This form of housing reduces economic and mental stress for residents, with further flow-on paybacks. This people-centered approach reduced demand for services such as health, education and welfare.
Summary of benefits of Forever Affordable Homes.
Lets shack up
If you’re feeling unfulfilled by your current situation, or you like the sound of what we’re proposing, let us know in the comments below.
Slide into our DMs at kiaora@foreveraffordablehomes.co.nz to keep up with updates or to express your interest in having a Forever Affordable Home of your own.
*This blog content draws on the Auckland case study, knowledge of the sector by the co-author’s and Imogen’s lived international experience.
**FAH seeks to source images reflecting Aotearoa New Zealand’s cultural diversity where ever possible.
