HOUSING

WHAT IS HOUSING?

Housing is most readily defined in terms of the physical structures used to provide shelter. It can take many forms that can be culturally specific and change over time. The theme of housing can also refer to the issues around the way in which the fundamental needs for shelter from the elements, and associated needs for privacy and security, are met.

HOUSING AND OUR WELLBEING

In a national consultation conducted by the ABS in 2011-12, Australians said that having housing, or a home, means a great deal to people in many different ways (MAP 2013, ABS). It can provide more than just shelter from the elements, including:

• a place for privacy
• a place to socialise, entertain, and spend time with others
• a safe place to keep possessions
• a place to care for family members and friends
• a place to relax, eat and sleep
• as a potential source of wealth.

For some people their housing choice, such as location or design, may reflect their preferences or desires, not just their needs. However, regardless of whether the choice is based on a need or want, there is no 'one size fits all' approach to housing; it should cater for the different needs of people at different stages of life, their physical abilities and their cultural context. Appropriate housing can be an important determinant of:

• health and subjective wellbeing
• building social connections
• access to jobs and public services.

Current housing conditions and historical trends can be monitored using information on:

• housing quality
• location
• type of structure of dwelling and size of dwelling (number of bedrooms)
• tenure and landlord status
• housing costs and affordability
• house prices
• estimates of the prevalence of homelessness
• household composition - one family, multiple family, group, lone person
• levels of government assistance
• urban density, greenfield and brownfield development.

HOUSING AND OUR CHANGING WORLD

There are a range of events, pressures and drivers of change that have the potential to substantially affect wellbeing. In relation to housing, some examples are:

• demographic trends - births, life expectancy, people living alone, international and domestic migration patterns
• socio-cultural expectations of housing type and quality
• change in financial situation - the ability to afford to rent or buy or inability leading to financial hardship/housing stress
• overcrowding due to lack of affordable housing
• access to services
• change in government policy around housing
• changes in employment, location of employment, or employment opportunity
• change in personal circumstances, such as family breakdown or formation, illness
• pressures from the built (lack of green spaces) and natural environment (consequences from natural disasters)
• change in supply and demand for housing
• rising standard of living.

HOUSING AND ACTIONS SUPPORTING WELLBEING

There are many ways that people, families, community groups, the business sector and governments can work to improve peoples housing situation, particularly to improve an individual's capability to take control over their housing and related decisions that affect their lives:

• ensure the availability of affordable and adequate housing (rental or purchasing) based on peoples needs
• ensure secure tenure (renting or owning) to give people stability and security in their housing
• enable access to information about private and government housing, such as access to the internet to search real estate listings, information on rental bond payments, or how to apply for public housing
• help people to have stable employment and economic resources to secure appropriate housing.

BUT THIS IS NOT THE WHOLE STORY...

To gain a better understanding of housing in Australian society, look through the pages on:

• Economic wellbeing
• Family and community
• Work
• Regional populations
• Built and natural environments

USEFUL RESOURCES

Need some more information on housing? This section can point you in the right direction.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012, Information Paper – A Statistical Definition of Homelessness (cat. no. 4922.0) - This Information Paper presents the Australian Bureau of Statistics statistical definition of homelessness.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2013, Measures of Australia’s Progress, 2013 (cat. no. 1370.0) - This publication is designed to help Australians address the question, 'Is life in Australia getting better?' Measures of Australia's Progress provides a digestible selection of measures in answer to this question. Australians can use this evidence to form their own view of how our country is progressing, includes measures under the 'Home' theme.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2004, Information Paper: Measuring Social Capital - An Australian Framework and Indicators (cat. no. 1378.0) - Presents a descriptive framework for the measurement of social capital, together with a proposed set of indicators, and background and definitional material.

Council of Australian Governments, National Affordable Housing Agreement – Performance Reporting Framework - The Agreement provides the framework for the COAG members to work together to improve housing affordability and homelessness outcomes for Australians.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 2013, How’s Life? 2013 Measuring Well-being - This publication paints a comprehensive picture of well-being in OECD countries and other major economies, by looking at people’s material living conditions and quality of life across the population through a wide range of comparable wellbeing indicators, includes indicators on housing conditions.

KEY TERMS

Dwelling

A suite of rooms within a building which are self-contained and intended for long term residential use. To be self-contained, the suite must possess cooking and bathing facilities as building fixtures.

Homelessness

In accordance with the ABS statistical definition, when a person does not have suitable accommodation alternatives they are considered homeless if their current living arrangement:

• is in a dwelling that is inadequate; or
• has no tenure, or if initial tenure is short and not extendable; or
• does not allow them to have control of, and access to space for social relations.

Housing Costs

Housing costs comprise of rent payments and mortgage payments but can also include a range of payments required to maintain tenure of a dwelling. These can include rates payments, strata fees, dwelling insurance and essential dwelling repairs and maintenance.

Overcrowding

Households requiring one or more extra bedrooms under the Canadian National Occupancy Standard.

The Canadian National Occupancy Standard measures housing utilisation that is sensitive to both household size and composition. Based on the following criteria used to assess bedroom requirements, households requiring at least one additional bedroom are considered to be overcrowded:

• there should be no more than two persons per bedroom
• a household of one unattached individual may reasonably occupy a bed-sit (i.e. have no bedroom)
• couples and parents should have a separate bedroom
• children less than 18 years of age, of the same sex, may reasonably share a bedroom
• children 5 years of age or over, of different sex, should not share a bedroom
• single household members aged 18 years or over should have a separate bedroom.

Tenure

The nature of a unit's (i.e. household's, income unit's or person's, where applicable) legal right to occupy the dwelling in which the unit members usually reside. Tenure is determined according to whether the household owns the dwelling outright, owns the dwelling but has a mortgage or loan secured against it, is paying rent to live in the dwelling or has some other arrangement to occupy the dwelling.

REFERENCES

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2013, Measures of Australia’s Progress, 2013 (cat. no. 1370.0)

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 2013, How’s Life? 2013 Measuring Well-being