Building reforms a 'lost opportunity' to improve housing for disabled

Thursday, 3 June 2021

Dr Huhana Hickey organised a protest outside Parliament to lobby for more disabled voices in Government (video first published February 26, 2021).

A major shake-up of building rules has failed to address the “segregation” disabled people face when trying to find housing, advocates say.

The Building Amendment Bill, the first phase of a series of reforms to improve building quality and efficiency, passed its third reading in Parliament on Thursday.

But with no new standards on access for disabled people, the landmark reforms have been called a “lost opportunity”.

Dr Huhana Hickey is a wheelchair user and says she would be unable to fit through the front door of many new builds.

Disability advocate Dr Huhana Hickey is a human rights lawyer. She has multiple sclerosis and uses a wheelchair.

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Hickey said she would be unable to fit through the front door of many new builds she sees around Auckland.

Nationwide, it is thought only 2 per cent of the housing stock is accessible for disabled people. (File photo)

“We have actually got entire suburbs that exclude disabled people, so we are probably talking about a full segregation around disability for a lot of areas,” she said.

“They are focusing on density, not quality. There has absolutely been no real desire to make the houses quality driven around accessibility.”

The Building Act, as it stands, does not have any minimum standards on accessibility for disabled people in residential housing builds.

The Auckland and Wellington councils made a submission during the consultation period of the reforms in 2019, calling for this to be considered.

However, it was ultimately not included in the two bills and separate work stream that make up the reforms.

Disability Advisory Panel member Rachel Peterson is calling it a “lost opportunity”.

Peterson uses a wheelchair and currently lives in a private rental in Auckland. It is the first time she has ever lived in an accessible home.

“Before living here I was in Warkworth, my kids were going to school in Long Bay, and I was working in Albany. I was commuting for two to four hours depending on traffic,” she said.

“The reason I was in Warkworth is because that was the closest to a home that was semi-accessible, that I could use the toilet and shower in.”

Minister for Building and Construction Poto Williams said the bill that passed on Thursday was the first phase of the reforms.

“The Building Amendment Bill will support housing supply and affordability, improve trust and confidence in the building sector and support the use of new, innovative and efficient building methods,” she said.

“These changes are part of the broader Building System Legislative Reform Programme which are a series of reforms to building laws to lift the efficiency and quality of building work, and provide fairer outcomes if things go wrong.”

Williams said other ideas raised through submissions “could be considered at a later date”.

Minister for Disability Issues Carmel Sepuloni said she had been advised that some disabled people may be able to access housing modification funding through the Ministry of Health or ACC.

“This assistance provides funding for people with serious disabilities to enable them to have essential alterations made to their home to meet their specific needs,” she said.