Senior cohousing in New Zealand
A thoughtful review of opportunities
A well-researched and insightful 2017 report from the Population Ageing Technical Advisory Group of the Western Bay of Plenty Sub-region (bit of a mouthful!) sets out clearly what the opportunities are for senior cohousing in NZ and beyond. Here’s part of the report; the whole thing is well worth reading.
New Zealand has had a long history of its population living in detached dwellings and owner occupation has predominated. Indeed, older people in New Zealand still have the highest rates of any population age-group in owner occupation. Older people tend to live in single storey detached dwellings despite the growth of apartments and multi-units inside and outside retirement villages. Moreover, proportionately more older people in New Zealand are living in their homes into later life, while the proportion of older people living in aged residential care (rest homes and hospitals) declines.
Despite the relatively high home ownership rates among older people, overall declining owner occupation trends means that the older people of the future are more likely to be tenants. Furthermore, constraints on income and limited capital gains realised through downsizing as well as the difficulty of finding smaller, affordable stock mean that the housing conditions of older people into the future are by no means certain. Even now it is recognised that older tenants struggle to find functional, suitable and affordable housing. In addition, New Zealand’s settlement patterns of low density suburbs can be associated with problems of connectivity for older people, particularly as many find themselves without private transport. It is estimated that by 2051, around 325,000 older people will not have a license to drive and will be reliant on others for transport. Those conditions raise questions about supporting the independence of older people in their communities. Poor connectivity and living in low density suburbs also raise issues around isolation and social participation for older people.