Healthy Homes Initiatives - Auckland - Co-design: testing ideas to make homes warmer and drier - Ministry of Health

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Healthy Homes Initiatives - Auckland - Co-design: testing ideas to make homes warmer and drier - Ministry of Health
Healthy Homes
Initiatives – Auckland
Co-design: testing ideas to make homes warmer and drier

                                         October 2016 - February 2018
Healthy Homes Initiatives - Auckland - Co-design: testing ideas to make homes warmer and drier - Ministry of Health
Executive Summary
This report outlines the lessons from a co-design process on Auckland’s
Healthy Homes Initiatives. This is led by The Southern Initiative for the
Ministry of Health.

This second report on the                      We have learned by doing and                   many stakeholders. We refined
Auckland Healthy Homes                         made changes as needed. We                     and tested nine prototypes:
Initiatives (HHI) co-design journey            have abandoned some ideas
                                                                                              1. landlord letter to improve
focuses on work undertaken                     that did not work and returned
                                                                                                 communications.
since October 20161. It:                       to others, approaching them
                                               slightly differently. This has been
•     builds on the key findings                                                              2. Minor Repair Service (MRS) to
                                               done in a “safer to try, safer to
      from earlier work by outlining                                                             undertake low cost and high
                                               fail” environment. Safer because
      the co-design process and                                                                  impact minor repairs
                                               we begin testing with smaller
      lessons learned from the                                                                   for private rentals and low
                                               numbers and do not expect
      testing of ideas (prototypes)                                                              income homeowners.
                                               everything to be perfect. In
•     details the tensions that have           testing, we are always supporting
                                                                                              3. landlord liaison role (within
      surfaced during testing, and             the whānau and minimising
                                                                                                 the MRS) to strengthen the
      next steps in the process.               risk through the process while
                                                                                                 landlord’s understanding
During this phase of the co-                   balancing live testing.
                                                                                                 and buy-in to improvements
design process, the team has                   During the testing phase, the co-                 needed.
continued to test and refine ideas.            design team worked closely with

     Designing the Minor Repair Service

1.   Link to first report: http://www.beaconpathway.co.nz/images/uploads/AWHI_Stage_One_report_May17.pdf

2                                                         The Southern Initiative
Healthy Homes Initiatives - Auckland - Co-design: testing ideas to make homes warmer and drier - Ministry of Health
4. working with Auckland Council       As the total housing supply will
   Compliance and MBIE Tenancy         remain a challenge over the
   Compliance and Investigations       coming years - improving the
   teams to test how to best           quality of the existing stock
   ensure properties are brought       quickly is crucial for lower
   up to standard.                     income families.
                                       The co-design team will continue
5. building capacity and capability
                                       to develop and refine prototypes,
   within existing curtain banks to
                                       and to share the lessons learned.
   make them more effective and
                                       As we continue tracking the out-
   Auckland-wide curtain drives to
                                       comes for whānau in the HHI
   boost the available stock.
                                       system in Auckland, we will paint
                                       a stronger picture of what works
6. home performance training
                                       for them, for landlords and for
   for HHI assessors – including
                                       other stakeholders.
   simple and practical tips on
   making a home warmer and
   drier based on science
   and expertise.

7. a locality-based ‘peer to peer’
   empowerment model of home
   performance knowledge.

8. testing whether a power
   voucher and education would
   help whānau to heat their
   homes more in winter.

9. leveraging other resources
   to support whānau such as
   Healthy Rentals.

Through the co-design process,
we have been able to test and
document how current housing
policy and legislation plays out
in real life for vulnerable whānau.
Testing with the MRS and the
landlord liaison in particular, have
shown that legislation change
alone may not be enough to
spur some landlords into making
necessary changes to ensure
their properties can be warm, dry
and healthy. Early trends show
that some landlords will “need
to be managed into compliance”
with persistent advice and
engagement.

                                               The Southern Initiative     3
Healthy Homes Initiatives - Auckland - Co-design: testing ideas to make homes warmer and drier - Ministry of Health
Background
From 2015 The Southern Initiative has been using a co-design process to
establish a sustainable supply of housing-related interventions to create
warm, dry, healthy homes for Auckland’s Healthy Homes Initiatives.

In late 2015 the Ministry of Health           high rheumatic fever incidence                        called Kainga Ora. AWHI continues
contracted The Southern Initiative            DHB regions including Northland,                      to deliver the HHI service for
(TSI) at Auckland Council to                  Waikato, Wellington, Lakes, Bay of                    whānau living in the Counties
increase the supply of housing-               Plenty, Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti                    Manukau DHB area.
related interventions for the                 District Health Board (DHB) regions.                  Healthy Housing Initiatives target
Auckland HHI service known as
                                              The services were further expanded                    those with high health needs
the Auckland-wide Healthy Homes
                                              as part of Budget 2016, beyond                        providing support and interventions
Initiative (AWHI).                                                                                  through a mix of the Healthy
                                              reducing household crowding and
AWHI was the first Healthy Homes              rheumatic fever to creating warm,                     Homes Hubs and inter-agency
Initiative (HHI) set up by the Ministry                                                             collaboration. The below diagram
                                              dry and healthy homes for pregnant
of Health as part of the Rheumatic                                                                  briefly outlines the HHI process.
                                              women and vulnerable 0-5 year
Fever Prevention Programme (RFPP)
                                              olds (refer appendix 1 for eligibility
to reduce household crowding
                                              criteria details).
and the subsequent transmission of
Group A Streptococcus (which can              At this time, Auckland and
lead to rheumatic fever). In 2015,            Waitemata DHBs established a new
the initiative was expanded to other          HHI service for their population

The HHI process

     1                             Whānau referred to                              e.g. Minor Repair Service
                                     other services                                    MSD entitlements
                                                                                      Housing relocation
                             2                                                        HNZ home repairs
                                                        Whānau not eligible for          Beds/bedding
                                                         AWHI or Kainga Ora             Heating device                       Whānau has everything
                                                         Whānau eligible for                                                  they need and leaves
                                                         AWHI or Kainga Ora                                                    AWHI or Kainga Ora

                                 AWHI or
                             Kainga Ora Hub                  3                           4                                         5
       Whānau need
          identified
       and whānau
         is referred                                        HHI assessor
                                                                                       Hub coordinates                       Follow up with whānau
                                                            visits whānau                                          6
        to AWHI or                                                                      interventions                            six months later
                                                          & plan developed
        Kainga Ora                                                                                               September
                                                                                                                                   (after winter)

                                                                                                           Whānau needs
                                                                                                          more interventions

4                                                        The Southern Initiative
Healthy Homes Initiatives - Auckland - Co-design: testing ideas to make homes warmer and drier - Ministry of Health
The Four Phases
of Co-Design

Co-design is a user-centred approach that focuses on:
•   people’s experiences and insights to generate new perspectives and new solutions

•   fast experimentation (prototyping) and learning by doing.

The diagram below shows the four phases of co-design. This report focuses on the testing phase,
although the process is more iterative than shown in the diagram.

The actual design process might look more like this:

                                                 The Southern Initiative                          5
Healthy Homes Initiatives - Auckland - Co-design: testing ideas to make homes warmer and drier - Ministry of Health
In late 2015, the design team began
by listening to the lived experience
of whānau and frontline workers
through empathy interviews. These
findings were developed into key
insights and further developed
into ideas (prototypes) through the
following process:
• insights were shared with
  stakeholders from the
  health, housing, social
  enterprise, community,
  government, and local
  government sectors at a
  stakeholder workshop

• ideas (prototypes) were
  generated by the stake-
  holder workshop

• smaller groups worked
  with the ideas and refined
  them for testing

• further refinement and
  prototype testing was
  undertaken.

The co-design process is iterative
so the first ideas tested resulted
in additional ideas being tested.
The lessons drawn from ongoing
work with whānau and frontline
staff across the HHI system have
contributed to the evolution of
these prototypes. The evolution of
initial prototypes to those currently
being tested is shown in the
following diagram and described
in more detail in the following
sections.

6                                       The Southern Initiative
Healthy Homes Initiatives - Auckland - Co-design: testing ideas to make homes warmer and drier - Ministry of Health
Key ideas created from Stakeholder Workshop

                                                                   One stop shop
                Improved                                                                                                                          Helping
                                                                  to make it easier                              A mobile
             communication                                                                                                                        families
                                                                for private landlords                           home fix it
               with private                                                                                                                     to heat their
                                                               and families to make a                              truck
                landlords                                                                                                                          homes
                                                                house warm and dry

                                                               Ideas refining and testing
                                                                   A delivery system that empowers                                            Empathy interviews
                                                               families and connects existing community                                     with whānau, provision
            Introductory letter                                        enterprises and businesses                                              of advice, a power
            to private landlord                                                                                                             payment and an energy
           developed and tested                                                                                                                monitoring device
                                                 A working bee            Curtain installation       Curtain supply

                                                                    Prototypes tested
        1                                        2    3                                       5                                   8
                                                                            An Auckland wide curtain drive
Letter (refined and                          A Minor Repair                                                                   Power pilot
 used as standard                            Service with a                                                                                              7
     practice)                              landlord liaison
                                                                                                                 6                              Empower familes to
                                                                                9
                                                                                                                                               achieve warm and dry
                                                                       Leveraging other                                                        homes – Kootuitui Ki
                           4
                                                                       resources such as                                                      Papakura – whānau and
                                                                        Healthy Rentals                                                            Ko Huiamano
               Escalation to Council and MBIE
       !        compliance teams for homes
                                                                                                    Home Performance training
                                                                                                      for frontline workers
                   in a poor state of repair

                                                                          The Southern Initiative                                                                     7
Healthy Homes Initiatives - Auckland - Co-design: testing ideas to make homes warmer and drier - Ministry of Health
Key Insights
Listening to whānau and AWHI assessors in November and December 2015
helped the team develop key insights.

The eleven key insights listed below reflect AWHI referrals as the Kainga Ora service
had not yet been set up. These insights have informed:

• the way in which Kainga Ora was established

• how AWHI operates now

• the development of prototypes.

1. Whānau try to be                  3. Whānau find some inter-               6. Personality
self-reliant                         ventions too costly to run               and dedication
Many have tried to improve their     If given heaters, many whānau do         Some AWHI assessors go beyond
homes before becoming part           not use them.                            their role to get positive outcomes
of AWHI.                                                                      for whānau. Whānau do not feel
                                                                              judged by AWHI assessors as
                                     4. Mixed views of
                                                                              they do by some people in
2. Whānau are struggling             AWHI process                             other agencies.
and vulnerable                       Some whānau viewed the HHI
Some people sleep together to        process positively and believe
                                                                              7. Communication with
keep warm and more than one          that the interventions made a
family might live in one small       difference to their children’s health.   landlords could be better
house because of need.               Others were frustrated by having         Some private landlords are not
                                     to answer the same personal              being told that there is a sick
Families have expressed wanting to
                                     questions repeatedly with different      child in the home and we cannot
assist extended family members in
                                     agencies and did not want to             assume they know how to make
need but wanting their own house
                                     be involved.                             the home healthy.
at the same time.
Families perceive Housing New
Zealand homes as a good option       5. AWHI’s advocacy                       8. Healthy homes literacy
due to lower cost, greater ease,     AWHI assessors play a crucial and        Whānau and AWHI assessors need
and higher quality compared to       positive advocacy role in getting        appropriate education about how
private rentals.                     interventions implemented. They          to make homes healthy and how
                                     also navigate the complex social         to use the interventions effectively,
                                     assistance systems and have to           such as heating, or mechanical
                                     follow up constantly on behalf           ventilation in kitchens and
                                     of whānau.                               bathrooms.

8                                             The Southern Initiative
Healthy Homes Initiatives - Auckland - Co-design: testing ideas to make homes warmer and drier - Ministry of Health
9. The Healthy Homes                   11. Frustration with
journey is difficult and               agencies
complex                                Some AWHI whānau are frustrated
Whānau are contacted multiple          by their treatment by government
times by multiple agencies but         agencies and are nervous about
information is not always shared       them coming into their home.
and it is unclear who is responsible   Good outcomes have sometimes
for some tasks.                        been dependent on the attitude of
                                       an individual within an agency.
10. Information sharing                The research also showed that
and relationships across               the school nurse involved with
                                       Group A Streptococcus throat
agencies are critical                  swabs was a positive relationship
for interventions to be                for some whānau.
delivered effectively
and efficiently
An appropriate level of information
about the AWHI process, and
housing interventions is needed
across government agencies and
organisations supporting the
AWHI process.

                                                "We were all
                                                sleeping just in
                                                 my room. Just
                                                to keep warm."
                                                 – HHI whānau

                                               The Southern Initiative     9
Healthy Homes Initiatives - Auckland - Co-design: testing ideas to make homes warmer and drier - Ministry of Health
1. Landlord letter
After preliminary testing, a letter to inform landlords that a sick or vulnerable
child lives in the property has been refined, and is now used across Auckland.

The letter was developed and            Experience in talking to tenants     •   HHI assessors felt the letter
tested with landlords, a community      about their landlords, and in            assisted whānau to advocate
paediatrician, the AWHI hub, AWHI       contacting landlords with the            for themselves.
assessors, and whānau. It was           letter, has identified that:
                                                                             Some whānau declined using
designed to be official (from the
                                        •   many tenants have in-            the letter for a variety of reasons
DHB) but also to set up a platform
                                            complete contact details         including concern about rent
for an open dialogue between
                                            for the landlords                increases and the reaction from
landlord, tenant and the HHI. We
                                                                             their landlord. The HHI continues
had found that the landlord may         •   landlords respond in a
                                                                             to work with whānau not using the
not know there was a sick child             variety of ways. The HHI
                                                                             letter to help ensure they are living
in the rental property and that             calls landlords to get their
                                                                             in warm, dry and healthy homes.
whānau were often too nervous               details so they can send the
to communicate with the landlord.           introductory letter. Some are    The co-design team, hubs and
Landlords told us that an official          initially very defensive while   MRS will continue to ensure the
signature from the local DHB                others want to know what         letter remains an effective tool to
would have the most impact and              they can do                      engage landlords. The impact of
encourage landlords to engage.                                               the letter is reviewed regularly with
                                        •   whānau like the letter to
                                                                             the regional HHI hubs and with the
The letter was adopted and used             support them in discussions
                                                                             MRS team.
by the AWHI hub from 2016                   with their landlord
and the Kainga Ora hub when it
commenced. It has since been
refined to take into account:
•    the expanded HHI
     eligibility criteria
•    services that the new MRS
     can provide to whānau
     living in owner occupied
     and private rental homes
     (including boarding)
•    feedback from whānau, the
     hubs and their assessors and
     the landlord liaison.
The letter is sent to the landlord by
the Hub if the whānau agrees. HHI
assessors talked to the whānau
about the home, their relationship
with their landlord and the letter as
part of the assessment.                                                             Above: A landlord letter from a DHB.

10                                               The Southern Initiative
2. Working bee to
Minor Repair Service
The early working bee prototype has developed into a Minor Repair Service
that provides home improvements for low-income families living in private
rental homes or their own homes.

Early AWHI data highlighted that        As part of exploring this prototype        cannot hang curtain rails;
whānau living in private rentals        the co-design team learned that:           some properties require
were not getting as many warm                                                      extensive repairs beyond
                                        •   technical home performance
and dry interventions as Housing                                                   what a working bee could do
                                            knowledge is needed to
New Zealand families. Private
                                            understand how to best make        •   legislation, including the
sector landlords involved in
                                            a home warm and dry, and               Residential Tenancies
ideation said that information
                                            most HHI assessors did not             Act 1986 requires a property
and advice on making their rental
                                            have this expertise                    to be provided and maintained
properties warm and dry was
                                                                                   in a reasonable condition.
not easy to find or understand. It      •   the relationship with the
also identified that this technical         landlord is critical               The above learnings formed the
knowledge and skill often did not                                              basis of a number of prototypes
                                        •   it was difficult to coordinate a
sit with the role of an HHI assessor.                                          explored later in this report.
                                            time with the tenant, landlord,
The early working bee concept               assessor and suppliers of          Stakeholders, including the co-
was to coordinate improvements              the interventions                  design team, Ministry of Health and
to private rental homes to make                                                Habitat for Humanity, refined the
                                        •   only limited improvements
them warmer and drier for                                                      working bee concept to a MRS.
                                            can be made without
HHI whānau.                                 landlord’s consent e.g., they      Habitat for Humanity was
                                            can install bubble wrap but        contracted to pilot the MRS
                                                                               covering south Auckland initially,
                                                                               while working with the co-design
                                                                               team to iterate and refine the
         "Yeah we've all                                                       prototype.

         learned a lot, the                                                    The team acknowledged there
                                                                               was a tension with this prototype
          bubble wrap, little                                                  between simplifying the HHI
                                                                               system and adding another
         things can make a                                                     assessment into the process for the
          huge difference."                                                    private rental sector. However it is
                                                                               an important step in ensuring
          – HHI whānau                                                         that those living in the private
                                                                               rental sector get the best
                                                                               possible outcomes.

                                                 The Southern Initiative                                            11
What does the MRS do?
The MRS is designed to:
• assess the property to identify what interventions and/or improvements are needed to enable a warm
  and dry home2

• discuss with the tenant how they can help keep the home warm, dry and healthy (reinforcing the messages
  delivered by the HHI assessor)

• send the landlord a report prioritising any changes needed to make the home warmer and drier

• contact the landlord and provide impartial advice on how to make the home warmer, drier and healthier
  for the tenant, advise on available subsidies that they may be eligible for, and get a financial contribution
  from the landlord towards the repairs

• undertake low cost but high impact interventions.

MRS staff complete the assessment and send the report to the landlord prioritising the key interventions required
for the home and listing the ones that the MRS can undertake. The assessment is free and the service provides
free labour for installing interventions. The landlord pays for the materials.

MRS interventions
Interventions undertaken by the
MRS may include:
•    draught stopping, including
     around doors and windows
     and covering broken
     windows
•    providing a mould removal
     kit and advice on its use (use
     70% white vinegar and 30%
     water to kill mould)
•    providing column heaters,
     particularly when unflued gas
     heaters are being used
•    repairing guttering (less than
     2m long)
•    applying secondary window
     glazing using bubble wrap
•    installing window security
     latches where windows are
     not opened for security or
     safety concerns, to help
     with ventilation
•    installing curtain rails where
     needed and collecting and
     hanging curtains provided by
     the curtain banks.                                                                                                 Inside the MRS van

2. The assessment design drew heavily on early Warrant of Fitness work undertaken by multiple parties including local government (Eco Design
Advisors, Local Boards, Councils), Beacon Pathway, NZ Green Building Council and University of Otago

12                                                         The Southern Initiative
Habitat for Humanity, AWHI
and Kainga Ora worked with
other HHI around the country to
get some of the supplies at cost
such as bubble wrap. Currently
curtain rails are supplied by some
landlords or from local donations.
Early home assessments identified
that some interventions could not
be provided by the MRS, for
example:
• mechanical ventilation which
  required an electrician so could
  not be installed

• interventions not making the
  home warmer and drier

                                                                                                MRS fixing a leak
• some interventions such
  as window security stays are
  only provided where they
  directly addressed helping keep
  the home warm and dry.              Curtain measurement                    the builder now measures for the
                                                                             curtains and checks if any curtain
                                      and Installation
Intervention logic was developed                                             rails are needed. This ensures
                                      Early co-design work highlighted
to guide which interventions                                                 curtains are correctly measured,
                                      that some whānau received
should be undertaken to achieve                                              full-length, and cover windows
                                      curtains but were unable to install
warm, dry and healthy homes.                                                 properly to prevent draughts.
                                      them for reasons including a lack
Referrals have increased rapidly      of curtain rails. It also identified   The MRS is a two year trial until
over the later part of the winter     that curtains frequently did not fit   2019. Co-design will continue
with 65 referrals from July to        correctly. For example, some were      to work with the MRS team to
September 2017, up from 30            measured only to the windowsill or     capture lessons that improve
referrals in the previous quarter,    did not cover the entire window.       MRS for families and landlords and
when the service was just starting.
                                      As part of the MRS assessment,         inform broader systems changes.
As HHI assessors saw the positive
outcomes for whānau that they
were referring, the number of
whānau being referred increased
rapidly. The maximum capacity for
MRS was 400 homes per year and
around 250 referrals were received                                      "Yeah he gave us a little
up until February 2018.                                                  heater that was helpful,
                                                                         I warm the room for like
                                                                        20 minutes and then
                                                                         before I put them to
                                                                         sleep in there it's warm.
                                                                        – HHI whānau

                                              The Southern Initiative                                               13
3. Landlord liaison within
the Minor Repair Service
Specialist skills for communicating impartially with landlords are required to
gain landlord approval to implement minor repairs and to encourage the
landlord to undertake other necessary interventions.

It is critical that landlords        • obtaining agreement from the         be required of them. Landlords
understand the need for warm           landlord, where required to          were reassured once they read the
and dry improvements as they will      undertake interventions and to       report and were happy to discuss
have an ongoing role in keeping        cover the costs of materials         the recommendations.
their property up to standard. In
addition, they need to agree and     • explaining and encouraging
                                                                            Insulation referrals
fund many of the interventions.        the landlord to implement
                                                                            An insight from discussions with
                                       other priority improvements
During the landlord letter testing                                          landlords was that some felt
                                       (which cannot be completed by
and development of the MRS,                                                 suspicious of ‘cold calls’ from
                                       the MRS) and giving advice on
it was identified that, in the                                              insulation companies.
                                       available subsidies to assist with
same way that the HHI assessor
                                       making these improvements.           Therefore, one part of the landlord
is a navigator for the whānau,
                                       This includes reinforcing the        liaison role is to encourage
a landlord navigator role was
                                       landlord’s legal obligations.        landlords to obtain insulation
needed within the MRS. We
                                                                            quotes, taking advantage of Energy
hypothesised that the landlord
                                     The landlord liaison works closely     Efficiency and Conservation
liaison needed to be a skilled
                                     with the MRS assessors to ensure       Authority (EECA) subsidies.
communicator and negotiator
                                     the landlord understands the           We tested changing the process
who understood landlord
                                     improvements required and is           from Greenstar making the
motivations, home performance
                                     encouraged to undertake them.          introductory phone call for
and the legislative context.
                                     The role has empathy for each          insulation, to the landlord liaison
In the pilot of the MRS,             individual landlord or property        discussing insulation with the
the landlord liaison role managed    manager and explains that the MRS      landlord as part of the MRS
all communications between the       team also worked with whānau           recommendations. So far this has
MRS and the landlord, including:     to improve their understanding of      resulted in more quotes being
• contacting the landlord once       keeping a home warm and dry.           arranged but only a handful more
  they have received the report      As the number of landlords in          homes have been insulated than
  and explaining the MRS, the        the service increased, processes       when the insulation company
  proposed interventions and         to improve time frames and             previously cold called. A number
  their benefits                     engagement with landlords were         of landlords are still sitting on
                                     adjusted. An example of this is        quotes or have declined to receive
• explaining the interventions       changing to sending the report         an insulation quote. This will be
  that the MRS will undertake        to the landlord prior to phoning       further investigated with landlords
  that do not require landlord       them. Conversations prior to           and property managers.
  consent e.g., tenant education,    this were sometimes difficult as
  secondary glazing using            landlords got nervous when they
  bubble wrap                        did not know what was going to

14                                           The Southern Initiative
Emerging trends about landlords of properties occupied by HHI whānau
Based on the first 200 referrals to the MRS, approximately 90 per cent have been private rentals and 10 per cent
homeowners. About half of the private rentals are managed by professional property management companies.
From the 70 cases that have been completed, four categories of landlords have been identified:

            49%                                                                                     33%

   Responsive to the tenants                                                                 Persistent follow-up
  needs and engaged with the                                                                  required from the
 service - they are immediately                                                            landlord liaison to agree
  happy for MRS to complete                                                                  to any interventions
their interventions and perhaps                                                            including free ones and
 undertake recommendations                                                                   obtaining insulation
  for work outside of the MRS                                                                       quotes
   e.g., Installing mechanical
            ventilation

                                                                                                     4%
            13%
                                                                                           Property managers who
                                                                                           engage with the service
 Unresponsive to attempts                                                                    but the owners are
  from landlord liaison to                                                                subsequently unwilling to
 engage and/or will not fix                                                               undertake non-mandatory
    the significant issues                                                                   recommendations.

                                  "For seven years every time the
                                   builders would come and fix it they
                                  would be paid to plaster over, and
                                  the builders kept saying like this is
                                   not a fix, and then eventually the
                                   ceiling collapsed."
                                  – HHI whānau

                                                The Southern Initiative                                            15
"Within 23 minutes of me
                                                        sending the email I had
Deferred maintenance                                     a response...saying she'd
The MRS identified a number
of rental and owner-occupied                             been in touch with the
homes in poor repair where
no recent maintenance had
                                                         owner, listing the things
been undertaken. This included
leaking roofs, rotting window
                                                        she was going to do..."
frames where window panes had
                                                               – Landlord liaison
fallen out, or mould ingrained
into the linings. It became clear
that engaging some landlords
in upgrading the homes would
require extra advocacy and,
ultimately for some cases,
enforcement (refer section 4
on compliance prototyping).

Other findings so far include:
• there have been a few cases where one property management company or real estate branch has managed
  more than one HHI property

• a very small number of landlords or property managers increased the rent or served a 42 or 90-day notice at
  some point along the HHI process. This is being monitored. It is often difficult to tell whether it is attributable (in
  full or in part) to the HHI involvement. MSD offered to assist in these extreme cases where appropriate.

• the tenant and landlord relationships were inextricably linked. It appeared easier to achieve interventions where
  the tenant perceived that they had a good relationship with the landlord

• it is sometimes not clear cut whether damage is the result of poor maintenance and wear and tear or caused
  by a tenant, for example broken windows

• even when the tenant acknowledges that they have caused the damage it can add stress to the tenant-
  landlord relationship given the financial consequences of needing to remedy it.

Based on interactions so far it is estimated that if landlords do not engage meaningfully within 3 months,
it is unlikely that they will undertake recommendations made by the MRS that require landlord consent.
Findings to date show that the landlord liaison role is crucial to the functioning of the MRS. Co-design will
continue to work with the landlord liaison. One of the opportunities identified for further work is investigating
ways to increase the number of landlords installing insulation. Another is to work more closely with property
management companies to achieve better outcomes.

16                                                 The Southern Initiative
"We do get frustrated.
    What we find though is that
     even when we ask tenants
     at inspections – is there
     anything?...they don't like to
    volunteer information."
     – Property manager
                                                                        "We have been
                                                                         asking for help for
                                                                         so long but nothing
                                                                         is done. We are
                                                                         grateful for anything
                                                                         that can be done
                                                                         to help us."

                                                                        – Alisi

Residential Tenancies Act 1986

Section 45 Landlord’s responsibilities
The landlord shall:
(a) provide the premises in a reasonable state of cleanliness; and

(b) provide and maintain the premises in a reasonable state of
    repair having regard to the age and character of the premises
    and the period during which the premises are likely to remain
    habitable and available for residential purposes;

If the owner is not named on the tenancy agreement and a property
manager or company is named as the sole landlord for the tenancy,
the company generally takes on all the rights and responsibilities of
the landlord.

                                            The Southern Initiative                              17
Alisi's family's
property manager
needs a push
Alisi's property manager agreed to repairs only after
persistent followup by the Minor Repair Service

Alisi and Melino, their two adult children, two
younger children and grandparents have lived in
their four bedroom home since 2013. The house is
managed by a well known real estate company.
They were paying $430 a week in rent. There
have been regular property inspections where
the tenants have raised maintenance concerns
such as a rotten lounge wall and mould in the
bathroom.
No repairs had been undertaken and the family
disguised the decaying wall in their lounge with a
wall hanging. One of their children tested positive
for strep throat three times and the school clinic
referred the family to AWHI.

18                                               The Southern Initiative
Above: Mould on the walls and ceilings in the lounge (left). Mould on the children's mattresses (right).

When the AWHI assessor visited,                    permission. At this visit the builder
she noticed that there was a lot                   noticed that the landlord had
of mould in the home and it felt                   started on some of the repairs
very cold, so the family agreed to                 that the Minor Repair Service had
be referred to the Minor Repair                    identified as needed. Alisi said that
Service to see if they could help to               their rent had increased by $50 per
improve the home.                                  week but it was not clear if they
                                                   were due for a rent increase.
The Minor Repair Service builder
visited the family and talked                      The Landlord Liaison contacted the
about what the family could                        property management firm again.
do to make the home warmer                         After several calls the Landlord
and drier. He also found that the                  Liaison found that the responsibility
home was poorly maintained.                        for the property had changed
There was a significant roof                       within the company. The new
leak and a bathroom with no                        property manager agreed to the
external ventilation. These and                    Minor Repair Service adding some
other maintenance issues were                      safety latches to the windows so
contributing to a lot of mould.                    that the tenants could feel secure
                                                   opening them to ventilate
It took many attempts for the
                                                   the house.
Minor Repair Service to contact
the property manager. They                         At the visit to secure the new
emailed him the report and                         latches the home still felt cold
offered assistance and advice on                   to the builder. The Minor Repair
the EECA insulation subsidy. The                   Service provided the family with an
property manager said that the                     oil column heater and advice on
report was “absolutely wonderful”                  how to heat most effectively
and that would help him have a                     and cheaply.
conversation with the landlord
                                                   The property management
about getting the work done.
                                                   company subsequently fixed the
He appeared surprised about
                                                   roof. The Minor Repair Service
the EECA subsidy.
                                                   are still working with the property
The Minor Repair Service builder                   manager despite the case having
went back to undertake the repairs                 been with the Minor Repair Service
which did not require landlord                     for nearly a year.

                                                               The Southern Initiative                       19
Left: The lounge wall had rotted from the roof leak.
                                                          Above: No groundsheet or underfloor insulation.
                                                          There is space to install both, but under the house
                                                          needed clearing.

     Right: New window latch and bubble
     wrap covering the glass.

20                                        The Southern Initiative
4. Compliance
Where the landlords do not remedy issues, there may be avenues
to enforce compliance through Council and Government agencies.

Landlords (and property managers                 these homes to see if the building was insanitary or dangerous according
as their agents) are required to                 to the Building Act. Many of the issues at this property were the result of a
provide tenants with a safe and                  combination of poor quality housing, lack of maintenance and the tenant
healthy home (as set out by various              behaviour, for example the tenant confirmed that they were not opening
laws and bylaws3).                               windows regularly to ventilate their home. However, the home had:
The Auckland Council’s Regulatory                • external doors bolted locked from the outside
Compliance teams’ responsibilities
include investigating complaints of              • windows that could not be opened due to a lack of maintenance
potential breaches of the Building
and Resource Management Act(s)                   • a PVC roof without gib in parts or insulation and was therefore
and as appropriate, enforcing                      extremely cold.
the provisions under these Act(s)
regarding dangerous or in-
sanitary homes.
The MBIE Tenancy Compliance
and Investigations team are tasked
with enforcing the Residential
Tenancies Act 1986.
The co-design team has been
working with both compliance                                                 "...her cousin would always visit and
teams to test how to best ensure                                              she would smell it herself as well as
properties are brought up                                                     Plunket did, they would say oh you
to standard.                                                                  know what is that and we would tell
This includes, when each org-                                                 them oh it's the hole in the bathroom
anisation has a role and under                                                that hasn't been fixed, like we've been
what legislation, and safeguard-                                              complaining for ages and they're like
ing the whānau.                                                               yeah we're going to come do it, we're
                                                                              going to come do it but still nothing
The MRS identified several homes
                                                                              was done until we took it to court."
they thought might be dangerous
or insanitary, and where the                                                – HHI whānau
landlord was difficult to engage
with to improve the home.
The co-design team asked
the Auckland Council Building
Compliance team to visit one of

3.   e.g. Residential Tenancies Act 1986, Building Act 2004 and Building Code, Housing Improvement Regulations 1947, Council bylaws.

                                                            The Southern Initiative                                                    21
The Council Building Compliance          Tenancies Act 1986 (Landlord’s               teams on a case by case basis, if
team was confident that the house        Responsibilities) was being                  we identify properties, which may
would not meet the definition of         met. They identified issues that             not comply with the legislation.
dangerous or insanitary in court         they could act upon under the                There is now an established
and it was their view that the           Residential Tenancies Act 1986               pathway for all HHI to share
recently established MBIE Tenancy        and are working with the landlord.           information on suspected
Compliance and Investigations
                                         The MBIE and Council teams                   non-complying landlords with
team would be better placed
                                         have checked several other HHI               the Tenancy Compliance and
to achieve warmer and drier
                                         properties that may be in breach             Investigations team. In Auckland
improvements to the property
                                         of legislation. They have a range            there is an established pathway
under the Residential Tenancies
                                                                                      to inform the Auckland Council
Act 1986.                                of tools to ensure compliance
                                                                                      Compliance team of possible
                                         is met ranging from education
Therefore the MBIE Tenancy                                                            cases. They will undertake the
                                         through to formal warnings, and
Compliance and Investigations                                                         necessary investigations and
                                         in the most serious of cases, legal
team visited the same property                                                        determine if further action
                                         enforcement.
particularly in view of whether                                                       can be taken. This prototype
Section 45 of the Residential            We will continue to work with both           is continuing to be tested.

     The main legislation includes:
     The Residential Tenancies Act 1986 requires                The Building Act 2004 requires local councils
     landlords to provide and maintain rental properties        to have policies on dangerous and unsanitary
     in a reasonable state of repair, and comply with all       buildings.
     relevant laws and bylaws including.
                                                                Buildings are considered dangerous if they’re
     • Building Act 2004 and the Building Code                  likely to cause injury, death or damage to other
                                                                properties.
     • Health Act 1956
                                                                Buildings are considered insanitary if they:

     • Housing Improvement Regulations and                      • are offensive or likely to be harmful to health
       bylaws set by individual councils under the
       Local Government Act 2002.                               • don’t have enough protection against
                                                                  moisture
     The Housing Improvement Regulations 1947
     are enforced by the relevant local authority. Their        • don’t have an adequate supply of drinkable
     purpose is to ensure that properties are warm,               water, or
     dry, safe and sanitary, by creating minimum
     requirements that housing must meet. This                  • don’t have adequate sanitary facilities (such as
     includes provisions for:                                     a toilet or shower).
     • room size, function and safety
                                                                A tenant can apply to the Tenancy Tribunal for a
     • light, ventilation, drainage and dampness                work order or other type of order if a landlord won’t
                                                                meet their responsibilities for providing a safe and
     • overcrowding                                             healthy home.

     • sewerage and sanitation

     • heating

22                                                 The Southern Initiative
Daniel's family
had a disengaged
landlord
Daniel’s landlord had not fixed fixed their
home despite Daniel and the Minor Repair
Service contacting him many times.

Daniel and Sonia had rented their five bedroom
home for 10 years. It was originally a commercial
premise and was in poor condition. The family paid
more than $500 a week rent and did not receive an
accommodation supplement. All of Daniel’s three
children have had rheumatic fever and one may
need heart surgery. He is also the legal guardian of
his two young nieces who are frequently sick. The
family was referred to Kainga Ora by the rheumatic
fever nurse at the bicillin clinic.
At the Kainga Ora assessment, the family talked
about what was wrong with their home and the
HHI assessor referred the family to the Minor
Repair Service.
When the Minor Repair Service visited they found
a number of problems. The home was very cold
and draughty.

                                                  The Southern Initiative   23
Above left: The kitchen and main living areas had plastic roof sheets with no insulation
     Above right: Windows in the home were broken and putty was coming away from the rotting timber window frames

Very little maintenance had been                Another attempt was made to                    The Tenancy Compliance and
done over the past 10 years. When               contact the landlord after a month             Investigations team thought it
Daniel has asked for repairs, the               but he could not be reached.                   was reasonable to insulate the
landlord had suggested that Daniel              Daniel wanted a better home for                ceiling. However, this would not
do them himself because the                     his family, however it took many               be required until July 2019. After
house was going to be demolished                months for the family to find a                a number of months of looking
eventually. The landlord had the                property large enough. In the                  the family found another home
toilet glued four times when it                 meantime, Daniel had been clear                and the Tenancy Compliance and
needed screws - it was still broken.            that he didn’t want another family             Investigation team are working
                                                to live in these conditions. The               with the landlord to ensure another
Daniel bought some silicone
                                                MBIE’s Tenancy Compliance and                  family does not live in this property
and patched the shower himself.
                                                Investigations team came to check              in its current condition.
The landlord liaison phoned
the landlord who said he was                    if the property complied with the
going away for a month. In the                  Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
meantime, the Minor Repair                      They concluded that the home
Service:                                        was in not in a reasonable state of
• applied sealant around                        repair including missing fire alarms
  the windows                                   and other fire hazards such as
                                                bedroom doors padlocked from
• covered the broken windows                    the outside.

• covered the windows with
  bubble wrap to help with
  insulation - they had to be very
  careful so the glass would not
  fall out

24                                                         The Southern Initiative
Above: There was severe mould on bedroom
                ceilings and in other rooms
                Left: In places outside the ground level was high,
                making the walls damp.

The Southern Initiative                                              25
5. Curtain supply prototype
To meet the increased demand for curtains from the HHI expansion the
Auckland curtain banks needed to increase their supply of lined correctly
fitted and hung curtains.

Curtains are key to insulating a home, as 21-31% of heat is lost through windows in an uninsulated house.
For a house insulated pre-2007 levels, windows account for the largest proportion of heat loss (42-45%)4.
This prototype tested what was needed to ensure that all whānau received curtains that were effective in stopping
heat loss. Initial testing with the South Auckland Curtain Bank (SACB) identified a need to increase their supply
substantially and change their curtain standards. Improving curtains for AWHI and Kainga Ora whānau in private
rental and owner occupied homes required a multi-pronged approach:

• improving understanding
  across multiple agencies about
  how curtains worked and why
  it is important to have them
  correctly measured, lined
  and installed

• providing (where possible)
  doubled lined curtains for
  all rooms except toilets and
  bathrooms. Previously they
  were supplied for less rooms
  due to limited resources

• adding staffing capacity at the
  SACB to meet the demand for
  effective curtains created by the
  increase in HHI referrals

• making delivery and installation
  of curtains much simpler
  for whānau.

                                                                                                 Ill-fitting curtains

4. BRANZ

26                                             The Southern Initiative
Improving the                        three high schools in late 2016,             drive by collecting and delivering
                                     collecting approximately 100                 the curtains to the SACB and Vision
understanding of
                                     curtains. This identified that               West Curtain Bank. Approximately
effective curtains                   working with community                       500 more curtains were collected
To increase understanding            organisations could increase                 during the extension.
about good quality and correctly     the supply of donated recycled
                                                                                  One of the learnings from the
installed curtains, the co-design    curtains and the SACB took
                                                                                  curtain drive was that people
team documented the key              over contacting schools in
                                                                                  replace curtains as their needs
components of effective curtains.    early 2017.
                                                                                  dictate; therefore, the opportunity
This knowledge formed part of
                                     The co-design team organised                 to recycle needs to be ongoing.
discussions with key implementing
                                     an Auckland-wide online ‘call for            The additional curtain collection
organisations including the MRS
                                     curtains” through Auckland Council           points have agreed to support the
and curtain banks.
                                     in mid-June 2017. Collection                 drive until at least the end of 2018
This information was reinforced in   points were organised across                 and advertising will be ongoing.
the Home Performance Advisor         Auckland, with three Council
                                                                                  About 10-15% of curtains collected
training that was delivered to HHI   community centres and Habitat
                                                                                  were not fit for repurposing, and
assessors and other key staff.       for Humanity supplementing
                                                                                  reusing donated curtains is slightly
                                     the existing collection points.
                                                                                  more time consuming than sewing
                                     Approximately 100 curtains were
Increasing the supply                                                             new ones given they need to be
                                     collected and it was decided
of recycled curtains                                                              sorted, washed, frequently resized
                                     to extend the curtain drive and
                                                                                  and lined.
To test the supply of recycled       increase advertising (through
curtains, the co-design team         community newspapers). Habitat
organised curtain drives with        for Humanity assisted the curtain

                                                        The South Auckland Curtain Bank team receives secondhand curtains

                                              The Southern Initiative                                                       27
Increasing the supply                  belong to them, so to keep any
                                       landlord curtains to rehang when
of new curtains
                                       they leave the property.
As the demand for curtains
increased, the co-design team          To meet the demand for curtains,
wanted to investigate how much         stakeholders realised we needed
it would cost to get new curtains      to increase the capacity of the
sewn in comparison to refitting        Curtain Banks long term. Habitat
second-hand curtains. Habitat for      for Humanity has been working
Humanity assisted the SACB by          closely with the SACB in aligning
securing 1100m of donated curtain      the delivery and installation of
material from Guthrie Bowron. The      curtains and is now responsible for
added staffing capacity enabled        managing the curtain bank.
new curtains to be sewn with
this material.

Comparison
We found that repurposing curtains
was 10-15% more expensive than
sewing from new material but
had the added benefit of diverting
those curtains from landfill. As
the supply of recycled curtains is
variable, therefore a supply of new
curtains will always be needed. At
the time of publication increasing
the supply of ready-made curtains
is being investigated at the
national level.

Linking with the MRS
for measurement and                                 "It's heaps warmer,
installation
Previously curtains were measured
by HHI assessors as part of their
                                                     it's the warmest
initial home visit. Discussions with
assessors and whānau identified
                                                    the house has
an inconsistency in measurement
and that the task was at times                       ever felt..."
time consuming.
                                                     – HHI whānau after receiving curtains
It was decided that the MRS
builders measure for curtains
when they undertake their initial
home assessment.
The MRS then provided the SACB
with the measurements for the
required curtains and collected and
installed the curtains once made.
Whānau are told the curtains

28                                            The Southern Initiative
6. Home performance
training
Tailored Home Performance training was organised to strengthen
understanding of how to keep a home warm, dry and healthy.

The co-design team worked with the nationwide
Home Performance Advisor programme to develop
training that was tailored to meet the needs of
the Auckland HHI. The programme covered how
healthy homes are linked to healthy people, what a                         "If I understand how to
healthy home needs to have, and what households                             make a house warmer and
can do to improve their home’s performance to                               healthier...I can explain
support their health.
                                                                            and have a knowledgeable
Over 50 HHI assessors and other related people
                                                                            discussion by sharing and
from AWHI and Kainga Ora participated in the two
daylong courses (one early 2017 and one late 2017).                         offering cost-effective ways."
The feedback from participants was positive and                               – HHI assessor
regular joint AWHI/Kainga Ora courses are planned.
This training has also been tailored for local
community delivery, as explained in section 7
Empowerment Models.

                                                 The Southern Initiative                                     29
Key home performance messages delivered during these trainings included:

• how the home works together as a whole

• how to keep the heat in your home - what are good curtains and how to use them effectively, draught
  stopping, the importance of insulation and simple secondary glazing options including bubble wrap

• why it is important to reduce moisture in the home and cost effective ways to achieve this

• how to best ventilate the house to remove moisture - dry air is easier and cheaper to heat

• the importance of heating and how to heat more efficiently.

Attendees were taught the basic science behind the messages they were delivering to whānau.
With this, they are better able to understand, remember and explain to whānau why actions are required.
The co-design team is continuing to work with whānau in delivering their training. Regular training
for AWHI and Kainga Ora staff is being refined for delivery in 2018.

                                                                                Draught stopping around a door frame

30                                              The Southern Initiative
Bubble wrap applied as secondary window glazing

"Not only can it be used in what I
 do in my workplace, but I can also
 apply this in my own home and
share with family and friends."

– HHI assessor

        The Southern Initiative                                                     31
7. Empowerment models
A community of whānau working with the Kootuitui Ki Papakura Trust tested
if home performance education could be shared through a peer to peer
model to empower communities to make improvements themselves.

An opportunity to test an               Home performance                     The first home assessed in
empowerment model arose                                                      Papakura on a sunny September
                                        training
through TSI’s work with partners                                             morning was very cold. Habitat
                                        The Kootuitui whānau and co-
Kootuitui Ki Papakura Trust and                                              for Humanity taught the whānau
                                        design team worked together
Kootuitui whānau.                                                            how to apply draught stopping
                                        to develop a training tailored for
The Kootuitui Ki Papakura Trust         whānau in which they learned         and bubble wrap, and correctly
supports three strands of work          the key components of home           install full-length curtains. The co-
with six Papakura schools and           performance. Eight of the whānau     design team was able to assist with
whānau - education, health and          participated in home performance     requesting HNZ to get the home
homes. The homes strand is being        training so they could spread        insulated and the process helped
led by Kootuitui whānau with the        that knowledge in their own          the co-design team understand
support of the Kootuitui Whānau         community. This built on training    the importance of whānau
Engagement Facilitator and the TSI.     they had already had in tenancy      knowing what to ask for so they
This model reaches whānau who           services and financial literacy.     can advocate for themselves.
HHI may not be aware of or have         The training was reinforced by       Those changes have resulted in a
struggled to engage with.               immediately assessing two of their   warmer home - the whānau feel
                                        own homes alongside Habitat          they can now have grandchildren
Ko Huiamano                             for Humanity and the Auckland        back in the home.
Also using a co-design process,         Council’s Eco Design Advisor.
the Kootuitui whānau developed a
peer to peer training and skill share
prototype called “Ko Huiamano”,
which is based on the key
principles:
•    Whakawhānaungatanga:
     connecting with people
•    "Fill my kete, fill your kete”:
     empower whānau champions
     with accurate information
     and skills and help them to
     share that knowledge and
     empower other whānau
•    strengths-based approach:
     acknowledge whānau in
     Papakura are best placed to
     design local solutions that will                                        In-house training with Kootuitui whānau
     contribute to better housing
     and social outcomes.

32                                              The Southern Initiative
A second private rental home was        community needs and has the
assessed and upgraded by the            flexibility to adapt to opportunities
Kootuitui whānau. They installed        as they arise. The knowledge
draught stopping, bubble wrap and       remains in the community and
some curtains. During this process,     is further embedded with each
whānau identified where their skills    whānau that becomes involved.
and interests lay, with one member      This is a proactive locality-
showing strong aptitude and             based model.
interest in the physical repairs
process.

Continuing support
for Kootuitui
Kootuitui whānau will share their
housing knowledge with local
whānau. This includes education,
housing assessments and assisting
whānau with interventions to make
their homes warmer, drier and
healthier. The Kootuitui whānau
will start with simple interventions
such as draught stopping and
bubble wrap, referring to other
suppliers for more difficult work.
If eligible, whānau can be referred
to AWHI for further support if
they choose.
The “fill my kete fill your
kete” principle means the
empowerment will not stop there.
It is hoped that those whānau will
then support other whānau in their
understanding of how to make
their homes warmer and drier.
The co-design team is continuing
to work alongside the Kootuitui
whānau so that their continued
learning meets theirs and their
community’s needs. In the past
year, the enthusiasm and interest of
the whānau has expanded, as the
benefits have been realised in their
own homes. As their knowledge
has increased, the whānau have
identified further areas of interest,
and follow-up workshops have
been provided.
This local empowerment model
is responsive to whānau and

                                                 The Southern Initiative        33
8. Power
The cost of power was identified as a barrier for some whānau in heating
their homes. This prototype tested providing healthy homes education,
and assistance with heating costs.

Empathy interviews and key                       the home warm and dry, two                       The post power-
insights identified that even if                 months’ payments towards power                   payment survey showed
whānau were given a heater,                      ($150) and a post-survey (with $75
many did not use it. They often                                                                   improvements in the
                                                 power payment). The payments
could not afford the power or                    were made directly to the family’s               heating of homes
were concerned about how                         electricity account. The key                     including:
much heating would cost. A
                                                 findings are based on the 42
heating voucher prototype was                                                                     • more whānau heating their
                                                 whānau who completed
identified during the brainstorming                                                                 home and a corresponding
                                                 both surveys7.
session and further refined by key                                                                  increase in use of electric
stakeholders including the AWHI                                                                     heaters and a reduction in the
hub, Mercury Energy and TSI.                     Key findings from the                              number of whānau who used
In winters 2016 and 2017 we                      research were included:                            their electric oven to heat their
tested whether providing healthy                                                                    home (see Main Way of Heating
homes education, and assistance                  • most whānau already under-                       chart)
with heating costs, impacted                       stood and implemented the
on how much whānau heated                          key components of keeping a                    • a reduction in the number of
their home. Empathy interviews                     home warm, dry and healthy                       whānau sleeping together to
were undertaken in 2016 with                                                                        keep warm (60% of whānau
five whānau who were Mercury                                                                        slept together frequently to
                                                 • most whānau managed their
Energy or GloBug customers5,                                                                        keep warm in the pre-winter
                                                   power use tightly, understood
to better understand how and                                                                        survey compared to 35% in the
                                                   their power bills, and had been
when they heated their home,                                                                        post-winter survey).
                                                   a customer of Mercury or
their understanding of keeping
                                                   GloBug for a number of years                   While whānau identified
their home warm and healthy, and
how they approached electricity                                                                   improvements in the warmth of
costs and payment. This informed                 • education needed to be                         their home, in the post-winter
a pilot in 2017 involving AWHI                     specific to the needs of whānau                survey, many of the homes were
whānau who were recorded as                        - a user centric approach meant                still cold. Nearly half of whānau
having insulation and curtains6                    that while the key messages                    (48%) identified that their home
and who were Mercury or GloBug                     were always covered, the areas                 had been warmer over the
customers. The pilot, completed                    of focus differed based on the                 past two months, and a third
by 42 whānau included a pre-                       whānau need and interest.                      (33%) stated that it was partially/
survey, education on keeping                                                                      sometimes warmer.

5.   Mercury and its prepay service GloBug attended early stakeholder meetings and supported the power research.
6. Homes with insulation and curtains were chosen as these interventions reduce heat loss.
7.   This was conducted in September and October so part of the improvements could relate to the mild spring.

34
However when asked if their home
 was very cold, 38% responded
 yes, and 38% somewhat.
 Heating of bedrooms remained
 an issue with 71% of whānau
 identifying that they did not have
 enough heaters to heat
 their bedrooms.
 The Families Package Winter
 Energy payment will provide
 support to some HHI whānau.
 We will investigate ways to
 support whānau who will not
 be eligible for the payment.

 Main ways of heating

                        35
                                        32
                        30
                                   26
                        25
Number of Households

                        20

                        15

                                                                                                    12
                        10                          9
                                                        6
                         5                                        5     5
                                                                                         3               3
                                                                                             2                       2
                                                                                                                         1
                         0
                               electric heater   do not heat   heat pump             fireplace   electric oven   gas (portable)

                       pre-winter payments                     post-winter payments

                                                               The Southern Initiative                                            35
9. Leveraging other
resources
A number of housing improvement and assistance programmes in Auckland
have similar or complimentary objectives to the Healthy Homes Initiative.
By working together, whānau can access more interventions.

A key benefit of this process            and Whau Local Board areas. The        Habitat for Humanity has
was that stakeholders peripherally       initially landlord driven programme    been contracted to deliver the
involved in the HHI, or in delivering    has since been expanded to have a      programme which allows them
similar services were linked             tenant focus.                          to funnel the different referrals and
together. Some of these are                                                     the landlord liaison is working with
                                         The close fit of this programme
described below.                                                                both programmes.
                                         with the MRS and the opportunity
                                         to expand the MRS delivery to
Auckland Council                         include Healthy Rentals was            Habitat for Humanity
Eco Design Advisors provide free,        identified. Healthy Rentals is now     The Home Repair Programme
independent advice to Auckland           providing a range of interventions     provides assistance to low-income
households on sustainable and            that assist with energy efficiency     homeowners who could not
healthier buildings, better use of       to HHI whānau within the relevant      otherwise undertake home repairs.
energy, water, and materials, and        local board areas. This allows the     It uses a mix of volunteers, donated
minimising waste. Advisors share         whānau to benefit from more            materials and repayment terms
information through presentations,       improvements which might assist        tailored to the family’s ability to
community workshops, one-on-             them including: replacement of         repay to help the homeowners
one meetings and in-home advice.         incandescent bulbs with LED            continue to live independently and
The Eco Design Advisor service           bulbs; providing a thermostat-         securely in their homes. The Home
has been a key adviser to the co-        controlled portable heater or a        Repair Programme has been used
design team and is also a service        thermostat if needed for an existing   where HHI homeowners have
that is offered to homes that do         heater; and wrapping the hot water     significant repairs beyond the
not meet the HHI eligibility criteria.   cylinder and lagging the pipes.        scope of the MRS.
Healthy Rentals provides a free
independent home assessment,
and partial subsidies for im-
provements including insulation,
heat pumps, bathroom ventilation
and groundsheets. It focuses on
improving housing quality for
tenants with low income or health
conditions related to cold, damp,
mouldy housing. Initiated by the
                                                                                                Auckland Council Eco-
Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board                                                                Design Advisor teams up
in 2013/2014, the programme is                                                             with Habitat for Humanity to
now also provided in the Māngere-                                                             support whānau training.

Ōtāhuhu, Papakura, Puketāpapa

36                                               The Southern Initiative
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