Reality Check: Living in a gated estate

In New Zealand we tend to think of gated estates as an overseas phenomenon seen in exclusive parts of California or high crime areas in South Africa.

But these enclaves are spreading throughout the country as developers look for a point of difference to give them a marketing edge.

With fences or walls and security gates, these developments offer prospective buyers safety from crime and exclusive access to facilities which can include boat ramps, bush walks, helipads and even your own lake for waterskiing. And, generally, all services to the property are provided and maintained.

Harcourts agent Jane Bond, who has become increasingly involved with marketing properties in gated estates, says they appeal to moneyed people who crave privacy and security.

"It's mainly security, but in general you have everything taken care of for you," says Bond. "You've got expansive lawns and gardens, or beautiful bush. You don't have to worry about upkeep because it's all taken care of for you. It's a growing trend among the elite."

No records of gated estates are kept so no one knows how many there are in this country but they include developments such as Lake Taupo's The Point, Styx Mill Country Club on the outskirts of Christchurch, Northbrook Waterski Estate near Rangiora, Point Ridge at Albany, and Stapleford Park near Havelock North.

Jenny Dixon, of University of Auckland, and Ann Dupuis, of Massey University, have been researching gated estates and say they are a response to people becoming increasingly worried about safety. Another driver is a loss of faith in public institutions, whether it is the ability of the police to protect you or the ability of the council to provide adequate services.

"The idea that were living in a risk society is quite pervasive," says Dupuis.

Adds Dixon: "I think it's an overseas phenomenon and somehow it's got into the psyche of developers that a development has got to have security.

People are feeling insecure and these estates somehow appeal to them."

Dixon and Dupuis have not only been looking at the cultural side of these developments but also the legal aspects.

They say this an area where buyers should exercise caution because when they buy into an estate they buy into its rules - and these are often very hard to change.

Dixon says buyers should make sure there is a good mechanism for dispute resolution because there is no standard system of governance or industry oversight.

"These developments can seem very attractive because you don't have to do the garden, you don't have to do the upkeep," says Dupuis. "And then people find that when they get into these developments there are all these other obligations they have to fulfil.

"In the United States there's now a backlash from the owners. They're rebelling against these very strict rules."

Dixon says that also in the US, because of the costs of maintenance, surveillance and security, some walled estates no longer employ guards and were leaving their gates open.

Dixon, who attended a conference on gated communities in Johannesburg recently, says the trend is moving in the opposite direction in South Africa with more communities requesting gates across their streets.

She says many estates there have electric fences and armed security guards.

We're a long way from that yet, but it will be interesting to see if we follow the trends in the US. There, a group of activist architects in a protest action have started placing bright orange viewing platforms outside gated estates so the public can see over the walls.