For the first time, ‘‘houselessness’’ is a key focus of the Queenstown Renters’ Survey.
Conducted by the Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust, via independent researcher Katherine Davies, the survey — which opened
on Wednesday — is the first of its kind conducted since May-June, 2020.
While at that stage the impacts of Covid on renters was an obvious new focus, the continued impacts of the pandemic, including the rise of peer-to-peer rentals and absentee homeowners, who don’t rent their properties, have now led to specific questions targeting those who have no options but to live in their cars, tents, vans, hostels or ‘couch surf’.
Housing trust boss Julie Scott says they’re working with Queenstown Housing Initiative founders Lindsay Waterfield and Hannah Sullivan to ensure they reach those who can’t even class themselves as renters in Queenstown due to their living situations.
This year’s survey also canvasses discrimination in finding housing, which aligns with an indicator from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development’s ‘Homelessness Outlook’, while a ‘wellbeing’ section’s also been added to align with Queenstown council’s ‘Quality of Life’ survey question.
In the latter, participants were asked to rate their overall quality of life, however the trust’s survey includes a qualitative question about the impact of housing on overall wellbeing.
This is the fifth survey of its kind since 2009, the results of which are used to support funding applications to central and local government, and inform work being done to help improve housing for renters.
Scott’s expecting ‘‘a much bigger number of responses this year’’ — in 2020, 525 people participated.
A trend over the life of the survey’s been the consistent percentage of respondents for whom housing affordability continues to be a barrier to remaining in the district and/or buying a home here.
In 2009, despite affordability issues, just 28% of respondents said they’d considered leaving to find more affordable housing.
But in 2016, 86% expected housing costs to be a barrier to any long-term commitment to the Queenstown-Lakes — that jumped up to 92% in 2016 and down to 89% in 2020.
‘‘Obviously, that has a massive impact [on the district], and it’s something we have to take quite seriously,’’ Scott says.
She notes both Community Trust South and Central Lakes Trust are financially supporting the 2024 survey, which high lights the importance those trusts are placing on housing affordability and availability in the district, and their willingness to work with the housing trust, and others, to find solutions.
The survey’s available here till February 20 — results are expected in April.
