Why buy when you can rent? An exploration on renting in New Zealand, and its impact on neighbourhood communities

Abstract

The transient living situations New Zealanders are facing due to increasing house prices, tightening loan criteria and the removal of Housing New Zealand’s ‘House for Life’ policy, are affecting neighbourhood communities. The percentage of renters in Auckland is fast becoming a majority and a demographic that is scarcely considered in any of New Zealand’s housing plans. Glen Innes is one of the first post war suburbs to be built in Auckland; location to hundreds of state subsidised social houses, and given its strong history of renting is the focus area for this thesis. A key factor believed to help create strong neighbourhood communities as seen in Glen Innes and other state housing suburbs was the House for life policy. This gave tenants a security of tenure far above what anyone could find in the private market. It is argued that this stability is what encouraged tenants to get invested, while the new renewable tenancy could see quite the reverse. This thesis redirects the current emphasis placed on homeownership, proposing an alternative plan of a fully rented neighbourhood to accommodate for both state subsidised renters, and market renters. In order to understand how this could occur, the thesis examines four community issues at various scales of design. The government’s influence on housing is revealed along with an understanding of the economic proposition of the fully rented neighbourhood. Various urban schemes and case studies are then used to assist the development of a larger urban scheme for Glen Innes, providing an alternative solution to the current redevelopment and privatisation. This leads to the development of a focused area in greater depth, drawing on research around crime within the urban environment to design public activities and spaces with a focus on safe pedestrian environments. Lastly a study on the history of New Zealand’s housing reveals the increasingly private lifestyles and the negative impact it has on creating communities. This results in the design of a new form of housing which can expand and contract, allowing an adaptable way of living for all stages of life. The research is combined to design the framework of what a successful and desirable renting neighbourhood might look like. It aims to foster a community environment while providing flexibility, stability and privacy for both state and private renters.