In the year ended June 2022, 1 in 4 households that were renting were spending more than 40 percent of their disposable income on housing costs, compared with 1 in 5 households that were paying a mortgage, according to figures released by Stats NZ today.
Rents continued to increase at a faster rate than mortgage payments. Over the last 15 years, average weekly rent payments have increased 93.0 percent, compared with a 48.8 percent increase in average weekly mortgage payments.
Average weekly rent payments for the year ended June 2022 were $410.90, compared with $475.40 for average weekly mortgage payments.
"Unaffordable housing can lead to financial stress and less money left over for other household needs," wealth and poverty statistics manager Andrew Neal said.
"It means less money can go towards things like using a heater in winter or covering an unexpected cost like a washing machine breaking."
As housing costs approach 40 percent or more of a household's income, it becomes more likely that a household will start being unable to meet other everyday expenses, particularly for low-income households.
It is important to note that these statistics do not reflect real-world changes occurring after June 2022. The 'year ended June 2022' refers to the period between 1 July 2021 and 30 June 2022, when households were interviewed for the Household Economic Survey. Households are asked about their income and housing costs over the 12 months prior to interview.
| Percent | All households |
| Less than 25% | 62.0 |
| 25% or more | 38.0 |
| 30% or more | 28.2 |
| 40% or more | 15.2 |
| 60.8 | 63.2 |
|---|---|
| 36.8 | 39.2 |
| 27.2 | 29.2 |
| 14.3 | 16.1 |
| Percent | Household owns/partly owns dwelling and does not make mortgage payments |
| Less than 25% | 91.2 |
| 25% or more | 8.8 |
| 30% or more | 5.5 |
| 40% or more | 3.1 |
| 89.4 | 93.0 |
|---|---|
| 7.0 | 10.6 |
| 4.1 | 6.9 |
| 2.1 | 4.1 |
| Percent | Household owns/partly owns dwelling and makes mortgage payments |
| Less than 25% | 47.1 |
| 25% or more | 52.9 |
| 30% or more | 37.7 |
| 40% or more | 18.7 |
| 44.8 | 49.4 |
|---|---|
| 50.6 | 55.2 |
| 35.6 | 39.8 |
| 16.9 | 20.5 |
| Percent | Household does not own dwelling and makes rent payments |
| Less than 25% | 41.2 |
| 25% or more | 58.8 |
| 30% or more | 45.9 |
| 40% or more | 25.9 |
| 39.1 | 43.3 |
|---|---|
| 56.7 | 60.9 |
| 43.7 | 48.1 |
| 24.0 | 27.8 |
The Household Economic Survey asks participants how well they think their income meets their everyday needs for things like accommodation, food, clothing, and other necessities. In the year ended June 2022, 32.2 percent of households in Aotearoa New Zealand said their income was 'not enough' or 'only just enough'.
For households that made rent payments, 49.6 percent perceived their income as 'not enough' or 'only just enough' compared with 29.5 percent of households that made mortgage payments.
Renters over-represented in poor quality housing
In Aotearoa New Zealand, 23.7 percent of all households had a minor or major issue with dampness or mould in the year ended June 2022. For households that made rent payments, however, 35.5 percent had an issue with dampness or mould.
Similarly, 31.2 percent of households that rent had a minor or major issue with keeping adequately warm in winter, compared with 20.3 percent of all households in Aotearoa New Zealand.
| Percent | All households |
| Minor or major problem with damp or mould | 23.7 |
| Minor or major problem with keeping adequately warm in winter | 20.3 |
| Crowded or severely crowded households | 3.7 |
| 22.5 | 24.9 |
|---|---|
| 19.3 | 21.3 |
| 3.2 | 4.2 |
| Percent | Household owns/partly owns dwelling and does not make mortgage payments |
| Minor or major problem with damp or mould | 13.6 |
| Minor or major problem with keeping adequately warm in winter | 12.8 |
| Crowded or severely crowded households | 1.0 |
| 12.0 | 15.2 |
|---|---|
| 11.3 | 14.3 |
| 0.6 | 1.5 |
| Percent | Household owns/partly owns dwelling and makes mortgage payments |
| Minor or major problem with damp or mould | 23.6 |
| Minor or major problem with keeping adequately warm in winter | 18.7 |
| Crowded or severely crowded households | 2.6 |
| 21.8 | 25.4 |
|---|---|
| 17.1 | 20.3 |
| 2.0 | 3.6 |
| Percent | Household does not own dwelling and makes rent payments |
| Minor or major problem with damp or mould | 35.5 |
| Minor or major problem with keeping adequately warm in winter | 31.2 |
| Crowded or severely crowded households | 7.8 |
| 33.2 | 37.9 |
|---|---|
| 28.9 | 33.5 |
| 6.7 | 8.9 |
Although rented dwellings made up just under a third of all households (31.7 percent), they made up 47.1 percent of all households that had major or minor issues with dampness and mould, and 48.3 percent of all households that had major or minor issues keeping warm in winter.
Māori and Pacific peoples over-represented in crowded households
Housing quality measures also include the degree of crowding experienced by a household.
A crowded house is one where the dwelling is too small to accommodate the number of people who live in it (as per the Canadian National Occupancy Standard). Crowded houses without enough ventilation can become damp and mouldy, affecting people's health and wellbeing.
In the year ended June 2022, 3.7 percent of households in Aotearoa New Zealand were considered crowded or severely crowded. Household crowding was more prevalent for Māori and Pacific peoples.
For Māori, 14.5 percent were in households that were crowded or severely crowded. This was the case for 29.0 percent of Pacific peoples.
Te Pā Harakeke: Māori housing and wellbeing 2021 and Pacific housing: People, place, and wellbeing in Aotearoa New Zealand have more information on housing quality measures and wellbeing outcomes, including the role of housing tenure and household crowding.
Data collection disrupted for the year ended June 2022
Data collection for the latest Household Economic Survey was significantly reduced due to COVID-19 alert level restrictions, lockdowns, and other disruptions, meaning that Stats NZ could not conduct face-to-face interviewing for much of the data collection period (July 2021 to June 2022). The achieved sample size was 8,900 households, whereas the designed target sample size for the survey is 20,000 households.
After thorough data quality analysis, the 2022 household income and housing-cost statistics were deemed appropriate for publication at the national level. Users are advised that there is greater uncertainty on statistics for demographic groups than previous years.
Stats NZ typically publishes household income and housing-cost statistics by regional council area, however, the uncertainty on these estimates was such that they were not suitable for publication. Instead, the statistics have been published for five broader regions including Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury, Rest of the North Island, and Rest of the South Island.
Impacts of disrupted data collection on 2022 household economic survey statistics provides more information regarding this decision and analysis of data quality.
