Mike Butler: Rental property child hospitalisation claim contradicted

Housing Minister Phil Twyford justified the launch of costly new rental property standards in February by saying “6000 children are admitted each year for ‘housing-sensitive hospitalisations’” but, when questioned, two Ministries provided contradictory data that undermined the claim.

I sent a series of questions to the Minister’s office, to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, and to the Ministry of Health, all seeking evidence to support this rather specific claim.

The full quote was that “6000 children are admitted each year for ‘housing-sensitive hospitalisations’, and that these children have been found to be nearly four times more likely to be re-hospitalised and 10 times more likely to die in the following 10 years.”

Mike Butler: ‘Damp rental’ beliefs rubbished

Fewer than 3 percent of tenants find their homes cold and damp, the World Health Organisation did not recommend a healthy temperature, and client-friendly research helped understate the costs of heating and insulation proposals for rental property, according to a discussion document released today.

Iconoclastic economist Ian Harrison of Tailrisk Economics has taken aim at the cherished beliefs of Housing Minister Phil Twyford in a discussion document titled The proposed Healthy Homes Regulations: An Assessment.

Twyford is finalising a series of standards for New Zealand’s 588,700 rental properties on heating, insulation, ventilation, moisture and draught-proofing under the so-called Healthy Homes Guarantee Act that was passed last December.

Mike Butler: Why extra standards for rentals?

Few could argue against the value of warm and dry housing but many could criticise the way the Peters-Ardern Government is imposing extra standards on rental property.

Housing and Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford is about to require owners of rental property to install expensive heaters, add an extra layer of insulation, require extractor fans in kitchens and bathrooms, a polythene sheet under the floor to stop rising damp, and draught-stopping tape around windows and doors.