Your Stories

I shifted to Wellington in June 2008. Trying to find a job in a falling market was one battle, but living in an uninsulated rental was my biggest battle. The constant feeling of being so cold and watching my breath as I exhale added a sense of unwellness to the stress of job hunting. Because I was not earning an income it was too costly for me to run the heater so I would sit in the freezing cold with a blanket and my snow jacket and beany on.
Having a warm, dry and comfortable living space is so important and affects a person in a holistic way.

I sold my house in Christchurch and rented an old house. The weather boards were rotten and you could see outside throught the kitchen cupboards. It had no insultation in the ceiling or walls. It had no heating except for an open fire, and no way to ventilate bathroom or kitchen steam.

In the winter the condensation would freeze solid on the inside of the windows in the bedroom. Black mold grew on the walls that you could write your name in. It was so cold I went to bed wearing a woolly hat and jersey. I had to wear two Kathmandu Baffin Island jackets to keep warm during the day.

Have since moved to Lower Hutt and bought a house with all day sun and insulation in walls and ceiling - what a difference!

We live in Lower Hutt with our 2 young children. Our landlord doesn't do anything to help us out. We have no insulation at all. My landlords family member said he would suggest to her about a heat pump but we never heard anything. Our house gets so cold and damp in winter that our blankets get wet. My and my children have asthma and its not helping.
I think it should be compulsary for rentals to have insulation and a decent form of heating. There are too many landlords out there who do not care!

I live in a housing NZ home, sunny when it's sunny... freezing when it's cold. Despite having some insulation it is still very draughty and cold. The insulation was a botch job and only half done. Our bedrooms are mouldy and damp causing us to constantly get sick.
Meanwhile my ceiling has a hole in it which leaks, I've been asking for it to be fixed along with the mouldy dampness for a few years now.
I was informed yesterday by a fencing contracter that I was to recieve a one meter fence, this fence is only to go at the front, and serves no purpose. (They have started on it already) The government has allocated so much money toward drive-ways and fences, this to me is a total waste of tax-payers money, it's a target for taggers and is going to cost more in the long run for maintenance. Not only am I annoyed that a fence is being erected I was given NO notice about it. Meanwhile... My home is falling apart! ...How is this fence justified?... FIX OUR LEAKY HOMES!

i would like to say i would love this project to be running, we currently own our own home, but it is an 1930 built home with only ceiling bats to insilate our home, my two children one being worse and myself the mother suffer from bad asthma!! and have always done, i would love to have better insulation and heating in our home, but at the end of the day as we all know it all comes down to having the money and if you cannot afford it what can u do, so i would love to see this programe up and running, to make us healthier kiwis

Brrrrr, come on goverment, help us hard working families to live comfortably...please?
We brought our first home three years ago, a 40 yr old weather board place in good condition,, with woodburner, but no insulation in walls or floor, and during winter the temperature drops to an average of about 5degrees!!, we both work full time, but with a mortgage, increasing everyday costs of living and a baby on its way it is impossible for us to afford insulation! I am so worried about this house being unhealthy for my new baby - the lounge is fine with the fire, but the rest of house I cannot seem to keep dry - there are musty smells I cant remove and Ive cleaned and aired out .... dont know what to do, help us please

We moved to Dunedin a year ago and rented a house built in the early 1950's. We soon discovered it had no insulation and its internal walls were hardboard not gib.
One evening when we went to bed the temperature in the bedroom was 4 degrees. We regularly slept with a heater going all night. It had a wood burner but this really only heated the living room and once a heater was turned off the room rapidly became cold.The landlord didn't want to know.There was talk of a heat pump but this is the easy option for a landlord.Its cheaper than insulation & the tenant pays the electricity. It could be compulsory for rented houses to be insulated with maybe some kind of subsidy for the landlord. We have recently moved out of that house into a two year old insulated house, built to the sun with a heat pump and the difference so far is amazing.

Auckland is very misleading weatherwise, on a sunny day it may feel like the tropic but it's not. The arrival of winter translates easily to $300/month electric bill which I would rather spent on underfoor insulation or at least thermal wrap for the electric water heater.

I think retrofitting all rented out old houses/villas should be made compulsory - otherwise no landlord is willing to participate! I rented for over 4 years now and it's been promises...promises...and no action.

Having lived in a non insulated home, for the past 9 years, and not being able to afford or change this, as the home was rented, And now living in a home that is part insulated, with a heat recovery system in place, It is not only warmer, and drier, I also experience better sleep, and less discomfort in joints due to a lower level of dampness. So support Labours campaign to improve our homes, it will make a difference, and for the record, no I am not a current Labour supporter, but have been in the past.

My partner and I are living in a 1960's rented unit in central Auckland. We pay nearly $400 per week for a damp, mouldy home in winter, and spend a fortune on trying to keep it warm and dry. I can understand how it is not high on a landlords priority list to insulate his rental properties - I don't blame these people at all. But this is definetly a problem that affects a lot of tenants in this country - and not just in the cheaper rental homes either!

Went to Uni in Dunedin. The wind came in under the door to the flat, and the cold didn't go away cos of no insulation. We could see our breath in there too. We got colds a lot in the winter. People said it was just the winter, but maybe if our house had been nicer we would have been OK. I think I was sick more than the lecturers.

In my last year of living at home we moved into a 100 year old farm cottage in Wanaka. It was freezing in winter, one night it was so cold that I woke up in the night and I couldn't move my arms. I got out of bed and they were hanging limply at my sides and I could neither feel them nor move them for several minutes. The house had no insulation.

Well I'd hate to give Dunedin more great publicity, but I live in Dunedin and I've lived in a few flats. One winter there was snow on the ground for several days and the house was so cold that I stayed in bed with my asthma inhaler unable to get warm and I overdosed on the inhaler and gave my heart a real workout.

Another place I've lived in, again had no insulation, the wind would come in through the windows, I could see my breath in the house and I was frequently ill with respiratory infections and problems with my circulation. It became so intolerable that I had to leave. I was lucky enough to get a Housing New Zealand flat, I was looking forward to the retrofitting of insulation, but have now missed out.

I lived in Dunedin flats for a few years. Our first wonderful flat in manor Place was so cold that our olive oil in the kitchen never went uncloudy all year round, even on the hottest summer day. This indicates that our flat was around 8 degrees celcius even on a hot summer day. You could always see your breath in the air.
The next flat in Stafford street had a few fungal varieties growing in the shower,as well as black mould.
My first flat when I moved to Mt. Eden was on the shady side, in the shadow of the mountain. On a sunny day we had water running under the house and down the walls. It was such a damp flat that we all got sick and moved out very quickly.

Had underfloor insulation - comprising bats and insulation paper put into my 1920's brick bungalow 4 years ago. Made a big difference. Has bats in roof but not in walls.

Have a heat pump installed last winter and have a log burner fire (which I only use now in tandem with heat pump when its really really cold or I get free wood).

Live in Dunedin