Property developers are using title covenants to stop houses for low-income families or disabled people being built in subdivisions, a parliamentary committee was told yesterday.
The Human Rights Commission said it supported a clause in the Affordable Housing: Enabling Territorial Authorities Bill that would render void any covenants
aimed at stopping the provision of affordable housing or the development of social housing.
The legislation gives territorial authorities the ability to require some affordable housing to be built in new developments or to contribute money or land towards affordable housing being built elsewhere.
Chief commissioner Rosslyn Noonan told Parliament's local government and environment select committee there were cases of property developers using restrictive covenants to prevent certain types of housing.
She urged MPs on the committee to support those aspects of the bill that would stop this happening.
"The focus of our submission is on those sections of the bill that would prevent developers using title covenants to exclude social or affordable housing, including supported accommodation," she said.
"In New Zealand we should not be encouraging developments which completely prevent mixed housing. We should not be allowing developments which effectively ghetto-ise the very well-off ...
"What we know is there's real difficulty in finding places for supported housing for disabled people. It's a constant issue.
"It's not just covenants. Various other mechanisms are used to try to prevent, minimise, supported housing for disabled people, and our view is that there shouldn't be measures which prevent some element of supported housing in developments."
If the best land, particularly inner city or on the city fringe, was "locked out" from providing some affordable housing, "you're really building a long-term problem for society and for the future".
Housing Minister Marian Hobbs said the committee had heard before that in Auckland there was increasing use of such covenants to limit what kinds of housing could be built in certain areas.
Ms Noonan said people had been able to "get around" the Human Rights Act, so this bill would clarify the law.
She said "a number" of cases had been brought to the commission.
Business NZ said the legislation should not proceed. It said the bill could well reduce the number of dwellings available and increase the cost of available housing.
- NZPA
