TŪHOE BLUEPRINT:
Housing Repairs Programme Review and Update Long-term housing goals
Sharing Our Lessons
FROM OUR FIRST HOUSING PILOT AND INTRODUCING SECOND STAGE PILOT GOALS
Welcome to our sharing of ideas for a Tūhoe housing strategy, which has been developed jointly by the Tribal Authorities and Tūhoe Te Uru Taumatua. During 2018 - 2019 the four Tūhoe Tribals, supported by Te Uru Taumatua, conducted a housing repairs and maintenance pilot programme. This was identified as one of the short-term (1-3 years) actions in the Tūhoe Blueprint: Housing 40 Year Vision developed by the Tribals and TUT in 2017.
AIMS The aims of the pilot programme were: 1. Begin addressing the backlog of deferred maintenance and neglect, starting with those most in need of assistance; 2. Tribals to learn by doing, developing assessment criteria, standards and processes through the pilot; 3. Tribals to share their learnings with each other to ensure fairness and gain consistency of approach; 4. Use what is learned in the pilot programme as a basis for deciding what to do next.
This report outlines the results of the programme against its intended aims, summarises the main lessons learned and suggests questions to consider before another housing repairs programme is carried out by the Tribals.
TŪHOE BLUEPRINT: Housing Repairs Programme
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Sharing Our Lessons
FROM OUR FIRST HOUSING PILOT AND INTRODUCING SECOND STAGE PILOT GOALS RESULTS In total, there were 29 homes assessed by the Tribals. From these assessments, sixteen repair packages were developed with whānau. Five of the initial Manawarū assessments required complete rebuilds, so were not considered for repair packages as this was outside the scope of the pilot. Thirteen of the repair packages met the criteria required to obtain financial support from the iwi. The most common reason for packages not meeting the criteria for approval was insufficient whānau contribution to the repair package. Eleven approved repair packages have been fully delivered, with a further two repair packages partially delivered with the work nearing completion. There are thirteen whānau who are now living in improved housing conditions as a result of the pilot.
Houses assessed
Repair packages proposed
Repair packages approved
Repairs delivered
16
10
10
10
Te Komiti o Runa
6
1
1
1
Te Waimana Kaaku
4
4
1
1
Waikaremoana
3
1
1
1
Total
29
16
13
13
TRIBAL Manawarū
Another benefit of the pilot programme is that it created employment and skills development in the whārua. For example, in Ruatāhuna an estimated $50k of wages were paid to locals who provided carpentry, earth-moving, roofing and electrical labour.
The following table shows the distribution of assessments and repairs carried out by the Tribals:
TŪHOE BLUEPRINT: Housing Repairs Programme
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Sharing Our Lessons
FROM OUR FIRST HOUSING PILOT AND INTRODUCING SECOND STAGE PILOT GOALS FINANCIAL ANALYSIS At the outset of the pilot a limit of 10 housing repair packages per Tribal was agreed. The iwi contribution could be a mix of grant or loan finance, up to a total of $10,000 per repair package. 13 repair packages were approved with a total estimated cost of $248,900. This cost was to be covered by $97,250 in iwi grants, and on top of this $151,650 of iwi loans to whānau were recommended by the Tribals. Iwi loans to whānau will be repaid over periods of up to 10 years. As of 30 April 2019 the iwi has received a total of $13,028 in whānau loan repayments.
CRITERIA, STANDARDS AND PROCESSES DEVELOPED The pilot developed capability and experience within the Tribals in the form of standards, criteria and processes for assisting whānau with housing repairs and maintenance in the whārua.
approach, what the repair package would include, approval process and guidelines for the quality of repair work. These standards can now be applied and improved to enable future support to be provided. These standards were handmade, they are not an import of government agencies. Based on the agreed common set of standards, Manawarū tribal created a template to capture the data needed to consistently assess households. This assessment criteria template is now operated by 2 other Tribals. A decision tree was created to guide assessments through to repair package development and is now used to enable transparent decision making and selection. In keeping with Tūhoe desire to minimise the impact of people on Te Urewera, Living Building Challenge (LBC) principles were also considered as part of the package of repairs. Basic guidelines for doing this are applied to suppliers within the repair package development stage.
The four Tribals developed and agreed a common set of standards they would all use. The standards cover eligibility, vulnerability assessment,
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Sharing Our Lessons
FROM OUR FIRST HOUSING PILOT AND INTRODUCING SECOND STAGE PILOT GOALS LESSONS LEARNED Using a joint approach across the Tribals helped with fairness and the development of consistent standards. Any continuation of a housing repairs programme should also use this joint approach. The assessment criteria, decision tree and standards developed in the pilot should be re-used to avoid each Tribal having to reinvent the wheel. Some whānau are dealing with very complex issues such as addiction, family violence, and selfpreservation. These issues must be addressed before the whānau is able to engage in the housing repairs programme. Addressing this wider set of issues was beyond the scope of the programme. As a result, a number of homes prioritised for repair could not be progressed in the pilot. Information about the medical health of whānau was used to identify which homes to prioritise. Having a close working relationship with the medical centre in their whārua made it easier for a Tribal to incorporate this data into their assessment process.
Capability and capacity to run the pilot effectively varied across each Tribal. For example, there were different levels of understanding of building standards, sustainability objectives and monitoring the quality of the work. There were also differences in how some Tribals applied the assessment criteria. A change in GM and staff at Te Waimana Kaaku Tribal occurred part-way through the pilot, after the assessment criteria and approach had been jointly agreed by the Tribals. This may have led to a weaker understanding of the agreed approach, causing difficulty producing housing repair packages that would meet the criteria for iwi contribution. In two Manawarū cases, repair packages do not have written loan agreements with the whānau. In the absence of a written agreement there may be uncertainty over whether the whānau repayment responsibility is clearly understood and followed through.
TŪHOE BLUEPRINT: Housing Repairs Programme
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Sharing Our Lessons
FROM OUR FIRST HOUSING PILOT AND INTRODUCING SECOND STAGE PILOT GOALS LESSONS LEARNED In the 2-3 years before this pilot programme began, Te Komiti o Runa and Waimana Kaaku Tribals each carried out their own surveys to gather information about housing quality in their whārua. The surveys were done without a considered approach to assessing need, fairness and responsibility. This created speculation and unrealistic expectation within the whārua about who might receive Tribal housing assistance. When the housing repairs pilot programme began in 2018 it was difficult for these prior expectations to be reset. This may have contributed to the small number of approved packages and repairs delivered by those Tribals. In some cases, repair works were unconsented and therefore may not meet mandatory quality standards. Unconsented works also send a signal about the quality standards expected for Tūhoe housing.
The Manawarū cost overrun was largely due to repair package costs being agreed on the basis of an estimate provided verbally by the builder during house inspections. The estimates lacked sufficient due diligence and as a result, actual costs for the Manawarū repairs exceeded the initial estimates. Further thought should be given to ensuring greater accuracy of cost estimates and/or including a contingency in the repair package to allow for cost overruns. More rigorous financial controls and project management should also be used to ensure repair costs are tracked and are within approved budgets. GST should be included as a cost within the overall repair package before the iwi and whānau contributions are agreed.
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Questions to consider before beginning another housing repairs programme
1
6-12 months on, what has been the experience of whÄ nau whose homes were repaired, and what does that tell us about the effectiveness of the programme? Have whÄ nau followed through on their contribution? What positive impact has this had on their lifestyle, health, resilience and responsibility?
Sharing Our Lessons
FROM OUR FIRST HOUSING PILOT AND INTRODUCING SECOND STAGE PILOT GOALS
2
At what point does it become uneconomic to repair a house? On average, repairs cost $30,619 (incl. GST) per house. The maximum cost to repair a house in the pilot was $73,495 (incl. GST). To finance this cost, the whānau will be burdened with debt for a number of years. The repairs may only add a few years to the life of a house which, in a few years, may be uneconomic to keep habitable. This debt burden must also be considered against the ability of whānau members to repay the loan, and how much benefit they are likely to receive from the repair work during their own expected lifetime.
3
What is a realistic iwi financial contribution for housing repairs? Should the iwi contribution be determined on a case-bycase basis, rather than trying to set a limit across the board? How much financial support should be set aside for individual housing repairs, versus support for village projects?
4
There is a trade-off between dealing with the backlog of neglect to fix housing quality while keeping individual lifestyles the same, versus progress towards reinvigorating hapū village lifestyles where communal housing fosters responsibility, kinship and care for the land and each other. This is felt most when a
house is unrepairable and needs to be rebuilt. A rebuilt house may last 50-100 years or more and is a costly undertaking that could burden a whānau with financial debt. Repaying that debt burden could lock the whānau into the current house, making it difficult for them to become part of a future hapū village. But on the other hand, through taking responsibility for their own housing situation the whānau may become more able to envisage being part of a communal village lifestyle based on responsibility and kinship. How will the repair programme deal with homes that are not feasible to repair and instead require extensive renovations or replacement? Should future rebuilds be linked with hapū village reinvigoration plans?
5 6
How will the Tribals work with whānau who are in need of assistance but, because of a complex set of social issues within the whānau, are not able to engage with the housing repairs programme?
7
Would a combined Tribals approach to working with a single builder or project manager lower overall housing repair costs, make it easier to get the work done within budget, and ensure greater consistency of standards, including LBC/sustainability across all the whārua? Could this be done in a way that also develops project delivery and construction expertise within each whārua?
8 9
Should all repair work meet the standards necessary for building consents, to ensure quality of delivery and to set an example for the high housing standards expected of Tūhoe housing in the future? How will the whānau maintain their house now the repairs have been done? Are there any DIY programmes or training within the whārua to build the capacity to self-manage needs?
What financial controls are needed to ensure Tribals deliver repair work within approved budgets?
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Introducing the Second Stage Housing Repairs The first pilot set out to develop standards and practices that could be used to deliver Housing Repair support starting with our most vulnerable. We were all on a steep learning curve with lessons abundant. With learning there is more to test. The second stage seeks to improve on the standards established and to continue to progress support to those most in need without creating a sense of entitlement and dependency on our collective resources.
Sharing Our Lessons
FROM OUR FIRST HOUSING PILOT AND INTRODUCING SECOND STAGE PILOT GOALS
Second Pilot Programme Aims Short-term actions
Medium-term actions
1.
Address backlog of housing neglect, insulation and deferred maintenance for those most in need of assistance. (Tribals.)
5.
2.
Financial literacy for school aged and whānau on becoming home owners. (Tribals).
6.
3.
Build a village with shared infrastructure, using the Living Community Challenge approach. Use this as a demonstration project, and to produce a model that can be used to develop more housing within the whārua. (Te Uru Taumatua).
4.
Development of new Tūhoe Living Building Challenge (LBC) housing and infrastructure designs. (Te Uru Taumatua).
Preferred supplier arrangements for housing and infrastructure services. (Te Uru Taumatua) Facilitate Tūhoe business development opportunities related to construction and maintenance of housing and infrastructure.
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Notes
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