Crowded house

When money's too tight to stretch to rent or mortgage payments, many a household has to squeeze in with relatives. That puts an intolerable squeeze on the family, the house and the health of everyone in it. Debrin Foxcroft looks at the scale of the problem
I remember the damp. And the noise. The constant noise. I grew up hearing the murmurs of other people's sleep. My sister was an asthmatic. When we shared a room, I would sleep lightly. Any change in her breathing and I shot awake. It became habit, listening to the snores and mutterings of others and creaking slats of double bunks. My family lived in a small, three-bedroom state house which my mother, a single parent, bought in about 1997. It was really closer to two and a half bedrooms, the half looking little more than an oversized closet. At our most overcrowded we had seven or eight people living in that house, all but one older than 13. Three were strapping big boys of 15 and 16. It wasn't all family. Two of my brother's friends lived with us during high school and another may as well have - he slept there more often than not. When my sister didn't sleep in my room she had a small bed in our mother's room. That means someone else had taken her spot with me. The half room had two boys most days, three when we were desperate. There were times when you couldn't see the floor. Also, there was a bed in the lounge that became a couch during waking hours. In winter, we all battled for the prime spot in front of the gas heater in the lounge. It was a challenge. We had to compete with the clothes horse, two cats and a slightly overweight, smelly American cocker spaniel called Hoover. Mum found some carpet in the classifieds - someone was re-modelling - so at least the floors weren't bare. But everything was damp. Our dehumidifier ran constantly. In summer, windows were thrown open and flies rushed in. When the weather was good we sat on the grass watching the world go by. There were a few rules. No shoes in the house. The sound of too many people marching to and from the lounge drove my mother up the thin gib walls. The front door was never locked during the day; my mother could only cope with just so many keys before she gave up and left everything unlocked. If extra people stayed, mum wanted a heads up. It just meant pouring an extra cup of tea in the morning. If one of us caught a cold, everyone did. It is by pure luck and possibly a healthy intake of vegetables that we never got anything worse - Debrin
MY EXPERIENCE in cramped conditions is similar to that of 14 per cent of Manukau households which are considered overcrowded, according to a study published in March by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Overcrowding is defined as a household in which the number of people living there exceeds the ability of the building to provide adequate shelter and services to its members. This works out to be a family of seven or more in a three bedroom home or two families living under one roof. There are numerous reasons why families live in overcrowded homes. My mother just couldn't say no to kids in need or to a long list of non-paying exchange students. In general, the reasons for overcrowding fall into two categories. It can come down to an economic battle. Rent prices, cost of living, child care costs and bond requirements can force families to live with others. Overcrowding can grow from family tradition and cultural expectation. Reverend Mark Beale, of Clendon/Weymouth Anglican Church, says some families are quite happy to live in close quarters and see nothing wrong with it. 'I had five sisters and four brothers. We lived in a three bedroom house and I can't think of a time that we thought there was a problem,' says Mr Beale. Monte Cecilia Housing Trust executive David Zussman, though, has serious concerns about New Zealand's overcrowding figures. 'This is the homelessness you don't see,' he says. 'When a family loses their home, when they run out of options, they go to the rest of the family for help.' Housing manager of the trust in south Auckland, Elaine Lolesio, agrees the desperation of eviction often causes overcrowding. 'When families are evicted where will they go? If there's no room in the house they move into garages, sleepouts. We hear about men sleeping in cars so they can go straight to work in the morning,' she says. 'Drive around south Auckland during the summer when the garages are open and you will see just how the people live.' Alan Johnson, a policy analyst for the Salvation Army in Manukau, believes people need to be aware overcrowding is a serious problem. 'The reality is we could be seeing really chronic housing shortages as early as next year,' he says. The signs are that shortages have already begun. The Government report says the Auckland region is short of 4500 dwellings, with Manukau accounting for half of these. The North Shore also faces a shortage of homes with just under nine per cent of households defined as overcrowded.Waitakere and Franklin districts are better supplied with houses, in line with the national average. But Mr Zussman points out that while there are houses out west, there is a real lack of affordable housing, leaving struggling families out in the cold. 'Up until 2004 there were no emergency housing services in Waitakere,' he says. Monte Cecilia set up a branch in west Auckland and met a desperate need. 'What we are finding is there is a demand for our services,' he says. 'The question is, where were these families going before 2004?' Overcrowding can have long-lasting consequences. The 2007 Social Report released by the Government says adequate housing is a core component in the quality of life. Dr Michael Baker, associate professor at the University of Otago's Wellington campus, says his key concern is the increased transmission of infectious diseases. 'New Zealand has unusually high rates of infectious diseases,' he says. 'A one per cent increase in overcrowding in a neighbourhood in New Zealand equals a five per cent increase in tuberculosis in that same neighbourhood.' Dr Baker sees the situation as a mathematical equation combined with an element of chance. 'Half of transmissions of the pandemic flu happen in the home. Crowding is making us more vulnerable.' Rheumatic fever is also a concern in this country, with infection rates much higher than in other developed nations. 'A lot of these diseases have particular ecologies,' says Mr Baker, meaning they thrive in very unique environments. 'Maybe it's some combination between the cold, damp housing and a tendency towards overcrowding that allows the high level of transmissions.' But the concerns connected with overcrowding go beyond sharing diseases. All of the emergency housing groups have very real worries about the level of transience created by overcrowding. With a Maori and Pacific Island heritage, Mrs Lolesio says a long-standing house is part of cultural tradition, a home that belongs to generations. Current housing shortages don't fill this need. Mr Zussman describes overcrowding as a possible trigger for other community concerns. 'Educational outcomes are compromised. When kids have no space at home they are going out onto the streets,' he says. Recent news reports on boarding houses in Auckland have led to increased government discussion on overcrowding, including a 90-day action plan to increase affordable housing. It comes at a time when the housing market is facing a significant squeeze. Last year 30 per cent fewer houses sold in the Auckland market. But none of the emergency agencies on the ground in Auckland feels it is enough to really tackle the problem. Mr Johnson believes that while overcrowding is a blip on the radar, for the most part, it is still being left to continue unabated. 'Part of the problem is that there has been an indifference to the housing issues of the poor,' he says. In the 2008 budget, the Government allocated $37.8 million for housing over three years, and $5.1 million over four years, to pay for the first stage of a housing development at Hobsonville. But Mr Johnson is still disappointed. 'It hasn't really addressed current supply issues,' he says. 'The Government used to give people a hand into their first house. Let's go back to that. Many people don't look back once they are into their first house.' My mum eventually arranged a Housing New Zealand loan that helped her buy our little house. While overcrowded, our family was healthy and happy and, yes, a little crazy. But we were loved and we were okay. I don't think my mother has ever got used to living with fewer people. There are now four of us in a three bedroom house, but the mentality hasn't changed. To this day mum still cooks for an army.