Aotearoa, why are we still building cold and damp homes?
A recently released Otago University study has provided further evidence that low-quality housing is a significant problem in Aotearoa.
This has prompted me to question why we are still building cold and damp homes when we know that this has enormous economic and social costs in Aotearoa?
The study looked at Wellington children who had been seen by a doctor when suffering from a respiratory infection. A building inspector checked the homes of 642 children under two-years-old and found children were up to five times more likely to be hospitalised if they lived in households where dampness, mould and water leaks were detected.
According to the United Nations, adequate housing is a basic human right, yet we continue to accept poor outcomes. Poor quality housing has a direct cost to our health system, along with a myriad of other indirect costs. For example, sick children take time out of school, which can, in turn, lead to poor educational outcomes.
Respiratory disease accounts for one in eight of all hospital stays in New Zealand and costs more than $5.5 billion every year. One in six (over 700,000) New Zealanders live with a respiratory condition, and these rates are worsening.
I am mystified as to why we continue to build houses as if we live in a warm and dry country. The incidence of mould in New Zealand homes is much higher than many of our OECD peers.
Our building code is arguably out of date and inadequate for our weather conditions. The code is designed to be an absolute minimum standard, yet it has become the target. For example, most public housing, where some of our most vulnerable citizens live, is built to comply with the code and nothing more.
In my opinion, we need to raise the standard of home construction significantly, albeit in a well-planned way, with a reasonable time-frame attached. This will allow the industry to respond in smart, innovative and cost-effective ways.
We must stop using our climate as an excuse. There are many other countries with similar or far more challenging weather conditions, yet they manage to navigate this issue. We need to raise the performance of our homes through a planned and integrated approach to insulation, ventilation and heating, which delivers better overall performance.
This is not just a health issue; it’s also a climate change issue. Heating our current housing stock is incredibly expensive and carbon-intensive. Wasting vast amounts of energy heating poor quality homes doesn’t make sense if Aotearoa is to achieve the goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.
Is it time we step up to the mark, realise our building code must change and start making this a reality?
I welcome your thoughts, Paul
All opinions expressed on LinkedIn are my own and should not be considered the position of ACENZ.
Sales Manager/Broker Owner at RE/MAX Riverina Realty
3 年Has anyone stopped to think that we need to learn how to live in a house and not expect doing nothing will fix the problem? Firstly we need to open the windows to ventilate and recirculate the air, then if it's winter you need to close the windows and vent for a purpose eg steam or smells. And you actually need to heat a house including use of closing and opening curtains at the right times and adding extra heat source if needed. You also have to clean. Just like you clean your clothes hopefully. It's take effort to keep and maintain a house. Perhaps education of how to keep a house warm and dry is the first step in solving this problem!
Project Manager at Thermawise Homes Limited
5 年From a grass roots perspective we let a good idea get over engineered with policy and a risk averse frame work. We put out dated thinking in charge of change and we 're package the same message, passive homes, green council standards and star ratings are nice to have, those in real need are happy with, above minimum insulation, low cost of living and reduced maintenance. These are real measures that those in need will tell you are most valuable.
Senior Clinical Trial Manager
5 年Agee 100% - warm dry homes for all would change the health and well being so much for many families , as well prevent a lot of the health issues we are currently trying to tackle .
Chief Executive- Strategic Leadership - Business Transformation - Digital Strategist - Governance - Business Leadership - Entrepreneur
5 年87% of people living in sub-standard housing, aka cold, damp, poorly ventilated suffer from respiratory diseases. Respiratory diseases cost NZ $7 billion a year. You do the math, fixing this problem should be priority. We're going nuts over measles, and dont get me wrong we need to. Yet every year on average 80 families bury a loved one because of asthma. A preventable death. #asthmanz #breatheeasy
Fire Inspector I.Q.P for Building Systems inspection and testing. Compliance Inspections.
5 年There is a minimum standard that should be applied for timber framed houses. Thr building code is a design document. Ment to aid designers before construction but the relevant standards for the trades are and should be applied for all trades involved.