Key strategy to fix housing #1
Enable the emerging collective housing sector by providing financial and legal support to its representative body.
In many parts of the world, there is a thriving housing sector which currently Aotearoa NZ lacks. Here we call it 'Collective Housing.’ In the United Kingdom it is called ‘Community Led.’' This type of housing includes future occupants in its design and operation to some degree. The term ‘Collective Housing’ here in NZ is intended to be distinctive and therefore not confused with the Community Housing sector. Providers in this sector largely deliver housing for those eligible for government financial support (Income Rent Related Subsidy).
The existing housing system in Aotearoa NZ lacks due recognition of any collective housing models. For those in the middle, there is little option other then renting. ‘Missing middle’ is a term used to describe those who earn too much to get financial support from the government but earn too little to become a home owner. Source: How we Live Report (2021)
Collective housing has the potential to serve thousands if not hundreds of thousands of Kiwis. Those who are stuck as renters who may strive but are years of saving away from a home deposit. Forever Affordable Homes seeks to deliver its method of housing in Auckland for the missing middle.
The emerging Collective Housing sector includes co-housing, papakainga, community land trusts and co-operatives. The Housing Innovation Society (THIS) was founded in 2019 as an incorporated society. THIS was created to be a representative body of the emerging collective housing sector. THIS aims to operate like Community Led Homes which is the representative body in the United Kingdom.
Our future housing ecosystem needs to include collective housing. A healthy housing ecosystem offers a diversity of options across a range of prices (salary levels). Source: How we Live Report, 2021.
There are a number of organisations such as Forever Affordable Homes (FAH), The Society for Co-operatives (SCOop), and Closer to name a few who are active in the collective housing space in a range of capacities. These are all volunteer entities with little to no operational funding sources.
THIS acts as an advocacy, education and connecting organisation. It has coordinated and led submissions on and to an array of Government initiatives. It hosted the second CoHo (Collective Housing) Hui in 2021. It is currently coordinating a collective housing sector wide survey. As a purely volunteer run organisation, the capacity of THIS is limited.
The financial and legal establishment of THIS as the representative body for the collective housing sector could see it effectively resourced to take on an array of relevant and required tasks. These could include, effectively mentoring and coaching start-up housing organisations to deliver successful housing (as a form of capacity building), effectively sharing resources created by individual developments, channeling funding to individual projects, and much more.
Implementing this important and necessary step will help create a collective housing sector which can be self-sustaining in to the future. This is the first of five fixes identified by FAH to support those working Kiwis who will never catch the property ladder and are unlikely to qualify for any government housing support. They are otherwise lifelong trapped renters.
