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Wellington, New Zealand – This month, New Zealand imposed stricter regulations on real estate investors and speculators as part of the government’s efforts to respond to the country’s deteriorating housing crisis.
Under the new law, real estate investors will no longer be able to deduct mortgage interest from taxable income
Efforts are being made to re-establish the main role of housing as a housing rather than a financial asset, and to address the country’s housing shortage, soaring housing prices and homelessness.
According to the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand, the move was carried out after the value of homes has risen by 145% in the past 10 years. According to Statistics New Zealand, rents have also risen-37% in the past 10 years.
As of 2018, 42,000 people in the country have no homes or live in temporary or shared housing. According to data from the Ministry of Social Development, there are more than 23,000 people on the public housing register.
The dire situation has aroused the interest of the Human Rights Commission, which in August announced plans to conduct a national survey of housing.
Chief Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt said that in the past 50 years, successive governments have failed the New Zealand public.
In the 1970s, there was a Royal Housing Investigation Commission, which led to the establishment of the National Housing Commission, which was dissolved only 10 years later.
“Looking back, this is an important institution that oversees growing problems,” he said. “We looked away from the ball and left everything to market forces.
“The Human Rights Commission does not approve of public or private methods-it was determined by the government at the time, but whichever method is chosen, it must be provided, and it has undoubtedly failed in recent years.”
He said that traditionally, New Zealand has been actively drafting international human rights laws-including the right to have a decent family-but it has not been so good at bringing these rights back home.
“These treaties have been ratified, so they are legally binding, but somehow, when politicians and officials fly home across the Pacific, they suffer from amnesia,” he said.
“The right to a safe, secure, and decent home is essential to happiness. Without a decent home, it is difficult for people to become active members of society.”
Al Jazeera interviewed some New Zealanders and recounted their experience of finding a house.
Jim
Jim suffered life-changing injuries and was unable to work, he found himself on the street [Sasha Borissenko/Al Jazeera]When Al Jazeera was talking to Jim*, he was living on the streets of Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. He has been homeless for more than two weeks, but he hopes to move to another part of the country with his family.
He said Jim has been receiving sickness allowance since he was hit in the back of the head by an axe five years ago. He did not remember the circumstances that led to the accident, but only woke up in the hospital and he was told that he was lucky to be alive.
After the accident, he has been in and out of public housing, but it turns out that obtaining permanent financial assistance is difficult because his head injury means he will never be able to work.
After the end of a halfway house, Jim found that there was no roof on his head.
This is the first time he has taken to the streets, but he said that people are often helpful-providing food, bathing every day, and homeless communities have always been enthusiastic.
“You really just want to stay alone and not be harassed. I take it every day. I have a pair of good shoes and a blanket. I’m as comfortable as possible.”
Benjamin Duvistein
Benjamin Duyvesteyn, a 25-year-old engineer, moved to Raglan on the North Island of New Zealand to work for two years, but in April 2020, when his relationship with his brother deteriorated, he moved into a tent.
He said that working part-time in Raglan and there are no vacancies, living in a campsite for 15 New Zealand dollars ($10.40) per night is more meaningful than moving to Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city. 200 and 250 New Zealand dollars (138.65 US dollars and 173.33 US dollars) per week can live in what he calls a “shoe box”.
Duyvesteyn eventually lived under canvas for 10 months.
“It’s not great. I must have had a better time in my life,” he told Al Jazeera. “The campsite does not have any washing facilities or hot water. It has been freezing all winter. I will wash clothes in the laundromat in the city. I will use the battery pack to charge my phone. If it rains, I won’t be able to sleep. Before drying out.
“There is a mouse as big as a cat. Once I found a mouse in my tent, which is why I basically live outside the supermarket and buy every meal every day. But this is what I have to do. I Working full-time, so it means I save some money.”
Duyvesteyn moved in with friends in early 2021.
Kelly-Jayne Ferry
Kelly-Jayne Ferry said finding a new home was a “thought-provoking” experience [Ruth Hollinsworth/Ruth Holly Photography]Kelly-Jayne Ferry and her two daughters have been living in the Mount Victoria area of Wellington, the capital, for three years. At that time, their property manager gave them 42 days’ notice that they would not renew the lease.
“I am sad to leave our home,” Ferri told Al Jazeera. “After renting for so many years, I have always had a lingering fear in my heart, worrying that we might move again soon, which means that I have never really invested in building a beautiful place.
She said that finding a suitable, affordable new place close to a girls’ school has been thought-provoking.
“The lack of cohesion between price and quality shocked me,” Ferri told Al Jazeera. “It’s frustrating. You might see a house with peeling paint and dirty walls. It has not been treated for 50 years, and there is very little sunlight. Then you see a beautiful sea-view apartment at the same price. Where is the line and how does it work?”
Ferry found that there were almost no available properties, and the properties offered were usually designed for young professionals who could pay up to 300 New Zealand dollars (XXX US dollars) per week for a house or a room in a small apartment.
Ferri says that landlords often break through the limits they can escape.
“I really feel sorry for those who don’t know what the law is, or they don’t have the confidence to say it. But even if you do say it, it is always possible to endanger your happiness and the safety of owning your home, because when you challenge them , You have given them a reason to kick you out,” she said.
Due to COVID-19, Ferry’s move was delayed, but she and her children have now found a warm and dry house in Rosennis, a suburb of Wellington.
“So life is good, until next time we have to move!”
Rachel Lydia Barker
26-year-old freelance video editor Rachel Lydia Barker (Rachel Lydia Barker) has spent her adult life in renting or housing, but due to COVID-19, she now lives in Wellington with her parents.
Buck came from the middle class and was quite affluent.
She inherited some money from her grandparents. Her parents have been saving since she was born, but despite “a lot of help”, her cost of living relative to housing prices means that she can’t afford to buy in the city. House.
Buck said it would be cheaper to provide a mortgage than rent a house, but she could not save enough money to pay the deposit. “Of course, I prefer to repay the mortgage instead of paying the same amount of rent, and I may be moved at any time.”
She is planning to go to Australia to meet her sister who just bought an apartment in Melbourne. Buck’s sister realized that her income abroad would greatly increase, and after two and a half years, in addition, in order to get help from her family, she got a deposit.
“My parents are very sad. They are British and they decided to move to New Zealand for a better life. I was eight years old and New Zealand used to be a safe haven. In many respects it is still the case, but the cost of living is becoming more and more similar. If it’s not more than cities like New York or London-and there are no benefits that these cities must provide.”
Nigel Mander
Nigel Mander lived a short life, but did not regret it.He said his attitude towards housing needs to be changed [Sasha Borissenko/Al Jazeera]Nigel Mander is a former professional clown in his 60s who has been renting a house since his mother passed away 12 years ago.
After traveling the world, he moved into an abandoned shop and lived there for five years. “I don’t have much publicity because I don’t want to be offside [municipality]There are wire and water damage, and the roof leaks, but it is cheap and has been effective until the owner drove me out. “
Since Mander has lived a short life from house to house at the mercy of various landlords and friends, he said he does not regret it.
“My life situation is not very stable, which left me with a potential insecurity, but I will not let it let me down. I tend to proceed cautiously, and I will stick to it anyway. I have never been a Saver, and I travel a lot.
“We need to change people’s attitudes towards housing. This shouldn’t be about owning your own castle or owning property as an investment, but if you have a spare room or a vacant house, there may be people — and people who can use the company. Lonely people-they will appreciate accommodation. I think there is a lack of community aspects.
“Of course there are enough houses to use, but when greed starts to work, people decide to own 20 houses or leave them vacant because it’s easier than renting them out. That’s my problem.”
Murdoch Stephens
Murdoch Stephens has rented a house for more than 20 years, and he said that everyone “has experienced a short-term change in the New Zealand housing market.” [Sasha Borissenko/Al Jazeera]The 40-year-old writer Murdoch Stephens has lived in a rented house since he was 18.
In the spring of 2019, when the area made headlines due to the “monster rat” infestation, he shared an apartment in Mount Victoria (one of the wealthier suburbs of Wellington) with five other people.
At that time, his apartment encountered a challenge-rent increased by 18%, and there were infrastructure problems, but he could not get in touch with the landlord. Just kidding, the landlord may be a big mouse living in the garden, which became the premise of his book “The Landlord of Rat King”.
“What we’re not talking about is the subtle consequences of the housing crisis; for example, people maintain relationships they shouldn’t have because they are afraid of changing their living conditions, or communities are fragmented because people travel between suburbs.
“As a writer, you can’t make much money at the best time, but I am especially worried that young people are getting less and less opportunities to pursue creative careers, because the cost of living means that this is not an option.”
Stephens is not interested in belittling landlords, politicians, or personalizing issues. He said that the housing problem is structural and requires a change in the way of thinking to solve it.
“In this environment, everyone lacks change. We have not changed its language or any language that expresses collective reactions.”
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