Survey reveals killer homes

We're appalled at the state of the country's housing stock, revealed in the new Business Council for Sustainable Development survey.

More than a quarter of the nation's homes could be making their occupants ill through damp and cold. Older people would be particularly badly affected since you spend – on average – more of your time at home.

"This reinforces what we have been saying all along: Cold homes are killing older people,” Age Concern New Zealand spokesman Alistair Stewart says.

Rising power prices have also made many older people afraid to use electricity or gas. This can have disastrous consequences for health and wellbeing. "A private elder care organisation has told us that they share our goal of keeping older people living in their own homes, but they're beginning to think that some might be better in rest homes. At least they would be warm there. Over-70s on blood-thinning medications are especially badly affected; many are hyper-sensitive to the cold."

We also want to see government investment of power profits into retrofit programmes that provide a choice of clean and affordable heating systems. New Zealand homes should move towards World Health Organisation Achievable Warm Home Standard targets of 18 degrees minimum and 20 degrees for infants, elderly and health impaired people.

New Zealand research shows that many homes struggle to achieve two-thirds of those levels in winter.

Resources

> READ the survey and other Business Council for Sustainable Development resources [link to web page - opens in new window]

>VISIT GoodHomes, a site for research to help New Zealanders to have more choices about housing as they get older.