This research will give all those committed to ageing in place, older people’s well-being, and a sustainable housing stock in NZ, a better knowledge base to transform those goals and aspirations into reality. It is a collaborative project between CRESA, Public Policy & Research, Auckland University, Waikato University and BRANZ and brings together expertise in housing, the built environment, energy, neighbourhoods and communities.

This research is designed to help New Zealanders’ ability to age positively as valued, integral members of their families and communities by reducing older people’s displacement because of poor house condition and performance. The research will generate three tools for policy workers and service providers seeking to optimise older people’s capacity to positively age in their communities. Those tools are: An Information Base which will enable the public, private and community sectors to develop more effective repairs and maintenance services and products for older people; A Housing & Neighbourhood Adequacy Tool which will provide practitioners with a practical means of assessing the adequacy, risks and opportunities presented by an older person’s dwelling and neighbourhood; and some Older People Repairs and Maintenance Service Models which provide models for effectively delivering repairs and maintenance support to older people.

The research consists of national surveys and case studies in Auckland, Kawerau and Marlborough and with older new settlers.

Objective 1: Older People’s Dwellings and Staying in Place To  enhance older people’s ability to repair and maintain their dwellings and to age positively in their communities by: (a) establishing the current condition and performance of the dwellings of older owner occupiers and tenants; (b) the repair and maintenance investments and practices of older people; and, (c) the extent and relative importance of repair and maintenance burdens in prompting older people’s disengagement from their communities and movement into higher dependency living environments.

Objective 2: Meeting Older People’s Repairs and Maintenance Needs To enhance older people’s ability to repair and maintain their dwellings through the active development and provision of targeted and responsive repair and maintenance services, products and policies by: establishing the range of services and product gaps experienced by older owner occupiers and older tenants; identifying variations in the repair/maintenance service needs of older people associated with locational and socio-cultural characteristics; establishing the capacity of the building industry, the community housing sector, the older people sector and public agencies to respond to the repairs and maintenance needs of older people.

Objective 3: Practical & Effective Staying in Place Repairs & Maintenance To improve the capacity of the private, community and public sector’s to effectively support older people to repair and maintain their dwellings and age in place by demonstrating effective and practical product and service delivery opportunities, systems and models.