Property Tenure:
Collective housing in Aotearoa most often is forced to adopt conventional individual unit titled tenure structures with common areas administered through a body corporate as the easiest way to achieve their aims in a system that does not readily accommodate shared thinking, ownership or tenure. The problem with unit titles comes over time as second and third generation ownership property values climb out of affordability reach of new particularly young community members. There are a range of property ownership and tenure models with long term advantages for communities and societies not currently prioritised in Aotearoa New Zealand. These include traditional Māori shared land ownership models, Undivided Land held in common, Community Land Trusts, Leasehold land, and Company Share. The following headings outline potential challenges related to property ownership or tenure:
-
There are other options for housing ownership beyond the traditional outright ownership of part or rental of investment properties. Some collective housing communities operate under a rental model, where rents are paid to a central organisation, often a Charitable Trust or Community Land Trust. Rental models such as this enable the central management of property within a community, and have a low barrier to entry.
-
Long established Aotearoa NZ collective housing projects note that demographics can change over time as members age with the community. Individual property ownership structures may also increase individual property values over time. This can make them less affordable and accessible to new or younger families changing the demographics and leading to increases in the percentage of rental occupants. This in turn can change the resident commitment levels, the extent of community engagement and increase occupant turnover.
-
Cooperative housing with a legal cooperative structure that owns land and housing where members own shares in the cooperative and associated rights to occupy the housing at a controlled concessional rental is another potential legal structure. It has the advantage of decoupling security of housing tenure from housing considered as property investment and is effective at maintaining long term affordability as community members change. Producer focused cooperative legislation in Aotearoa New Zealand should be extended to facilitate the formation and operation of housing (consumer) cooperatives with clear and simple legal structures to protect the interests of their residents on a continuing basis, as occurs in many European countries such as Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Spain, and the UK.
-
Streamlining the process of joining a collective housing community is key to ensuring its longevity and success. People will inevitably leave for various reasons, and enabling new members to join without undue financial hardship or struggle is important. Minimising up-front costs to joining, such as bonds or deposits, can allow more people to view collective housing as a feasible option. Trial periods of occupancy are a common way for new people to test their fit within a community.
-
Sometimes the owner of a home within a collective housing community may wish to rent this out to others, either short or long term. This is subletting, where a community member owns a piece of property, but does not occupy, instead acting as a landlord. Including some rental members within a community allows more diversity, often including more children, and can be a good stepping stone into purchasing in the community. Renting directly from the central community organisation minimises this risk, as it removes the profit motive and ensures that renters are able to be full community members as occurs at Peterborough in Christchurch.
