It’s the peak of the flu season – and right now staff in New Zealand’s hospitals and medical clinics are run off their feet looking after thousands of children and their families. Many of these children wouldn’t be sick if they lived in warm, dry homes. Urgent action is needed to make sure poor families have decent housing.
Most poor families live in rental accommodation. With the current housing shortage poor families have been pushed to the back of the queue for decent housing and end up with the worst properties. When they can find a place to live, it’s often cold, damp, mouldy and over-crowded. They have few protections as tenants. And the accommodation supplement which helps them pay for rent has not been adjusted for a long time and is not enough in many places.
CPAG is calling on the Government to act urgently to make sure all rental accommodation is healthy and affordable for families.
- Introduce and enforce a WOF for housing
- Introduce subsidies to get rentals up to a healthy standard.
- Urgently review and update Accommodation Supplement.
There is no time to waste. A child can get sick within weeks or even days when they are living in bad housing. Families need homes that are both healthy and affordable to provide a stable environment where children can thrive
Thousands of New Zealand children live in overcrowded, temporary, or run-down housing and the government spends millions subsidising this substandard accommodation through the Accommodation Supplement. This is unacceptable and New Zealanders should expect better value for public expenditure.
Every child deserves the best start in a warm, dry, secure home. Let’s make sure state and private rental accommodation is healthy and affordable for families.
To find out more information on the currently situation visit our website page and read our FAQ
Here’s what you can do now:
- Email Paula Bennett and Nick Smith and ask them to take urgent action to make sure all rental accommodation is healthy and affordable for families.
- Join our mailing list to get regular updates on housing and help us with further action.
- Join our Hikoi for Homes on November 28th.
- Have Your Say, Advocate!
Sent email but couldn’t connect with the mailing list for regular updates site.
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