Conducted by the Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust, via independent researcher Katherine Davies, the survey, which opened on Wednesday, is the first of its kind conducted since May-June 2020.
While at this stage the impacts of Covid on renters are an obvious new focus, the continued impacts of the pandemic, including the rise of peer-to-peer rentals and absentee homeowners who do not rent their properties, have now led to specific questions targeting those who have no option but to live in their cars, tents, vans or hostels or "couch surf".
Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust chief executive Julie Scott said the trust was working with Queenstown Housing Initiative founders Lindsay Waterfield and Hannah Sullivan to ensure they reached those who could not even class themselves as renters in Queenstown, due to their living situation.
This year’s survey also canvases discrimination against those seeking housing, which aligns with an indicator from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development’s "Homelessness Outlook". A wellbeing section has also been added to align with the Queenstown council’s "Quality of Life" survey question.
In the latter, participants are asked to rate their overall quality of life, but to expand on that, the trust’s survey includes a qualitative question about the impact of housing on overall wellbeing.
This is the fifth survey of its kind since 2009. The results are used to support funding applications to central and local government and inform work being done to help improve housing for renters.
In 2023, 525 people participated in the survey, but this year Ms Scott said she was expecting "a much bigger number of responses".
A trend over the life of the survey has been the consistent percentage of respondents for whom housing affordability continues to be a barrier to remaining in the district and/or buying a home in Queenstown.
In 2009, despite affordability issues, only 28% of respondents said they would consider leaving to find more affordable housing.
But by 2016, 86% expected housing costs to be a barrier to any long term commitment to the Queenstown Lakes area. That figure jumped to 92% in 2018 before slightly dropping to 89% in 2020.
