Opinion: District in better position to understand housing needs

Kāpiti mayor K Gurunathan.

Weekly column by Kāpiti mayor K Gurunathan.

Last Thursday, after a long gestation period, we passed the Kāpiti Coast District Council Housing Strategy 2022.

It is underpinned by two significant reports. The first is a qualitative document, Not just a house, a life — Understanding Real Housing Need in the Kāpiti Coast. The second is a quantitative document Housing Demand and Need in Kāpiti District.

Both are the result of a comprehensive six-month housing needs assessment, and solid work by council staff.

Political pressure for the council to get involved in social and affordable housing investment started in late 2016 with the formation of a community-led Housing Taskforce that advised the mayor's office.

Apart from 118 subsidised pensioner housing managed by the council, there was no other investment. Council's position, until then, was that housing was a central government responsibility.

At the same time anecdotal evidence of a housing crisis was rising from NGOs such as the Salvation Army. Council advocacy for government agencies to invest in social housing was, however, stymied by the methodology agencies used to measure housing need.

The Ministry of Social Development managed a housing register where those experiencing housing stress personally registered their need. Over the years, I have noted, the list hovered only around the 150 mark. The real problem was hidden. This inadequate measurement meant Kāpiti could never match other priority areas in the region that attracted the attention of government agencies.

The Housing Taskforce made about a dozen recommendations to the council and leading the list was an immediate council investment in a housing needs assessment to counter the MSD's ridiculously shortsighted measurement.

Council's response was finally turbo-charged by the Government's recognition of the worsening housing crisis and the need for state intervention to stimulate the housing market.

First, the legislative move, the National Policy Statement (NPS) on Urban Development Capacity, forced councils to measure the land-based capacity of councils.

The second step was the NPS directed councils to remove restrictive planning rules and enable higher density housing around city centres and transport hubs. It also demanded greater consideration on access and affordability. It is this legislative requirement that has pushed the council into taking practical steps.

Even as councils were scrambling to respond, the Government dealt a sledgehammer blow to expedite market forces to deliver more houses by reducing the ability of councils and communities to shape their communities. The Medium Density Residential Standards amendment targeted tier 1 urban centres, including Kāpiti, to use a new planning process.

This expanded greater intensification across all residential zones. It takes legal effect from August. Council staff have responded incredibly well to these pressures.

While these measures are designed to stimulate the private supply market, social housing continues to need government and council investment. It's in this area that the reports adopted by council on Thursday will be helpful.

We now have a set of counterfactuals to argue a case for government investment in Kāpiti. Over one in four private renters pay more than 50 per cent of their household income in rent. Only 5 per cent of renter households can afford to service a mortgage to buy a house at the median 2021 sale price.

The mortgage cost as a percentage of household income is 79 per cent in Ōtaki, 78 per cent in Waikanae, and 72 per cent in Paraparaumu. There has been a 50 per cent increase in people living in emergency housing since the beginning of the pandemic. Demand for social housing has doubled from 13 families in 2016 to more than 200 families in October 2020.

The council recognises housing to be at the heart of creating strong communities directly contributing to thriving environments and a vibrant local economy.

The work put in by staff and the public consultation and feedback, all framed by the Government's big legislative stick, has placed the council to be proactive and ready to take a bigger role in housing.

We are aware housing is a complex issue and not solely the responsibility of one sector or organisation. Our strategy is a foundation to help grow productive partnerships.