These results show that the effect of house ownership and housing affordability on psychological distress is likely to be confounded in the cross-sectional models. Therefore, marginal changes to these housing factors are unlikely to yield large reductions in psychological distress. Our results suggest that reductions in psychological distress are more likely to be seen through interventions that target individual socioeconomic deprivation and severe household crowding.

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New Zealand ranks near the bottom of the OECD in its health and safety rating for its children (Public Health Advisory Committee, 2010). One of the key drivers of this is the relatively poor state of our housing. Young children spend virtually all of their time in the home environment, much of which is poor quality rental housing (Baker, Keall et al., 2007). The Children’s Commissioner’s Expert Advisory Group on Solutions to Child Poverty (EAG) recently highlighted the broad costs of not maintaining this essential infrastructure for the health of children, their educational opportunities and household income. New Zealand research has clearly demonstrated that improving the quality of housing enhances children’s health and attendance at school, while more energy efficient houses reduce our carbon emissions. This article gives an overview of current research and discusses the feasibility of various policies to address this pressing problem.

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