# Older Persons and the Right to Adequate Housing — AGAC Issue Focus extract, including New Zealand older renters

- Document ID: doc-0164
- Publisher: ASEM Global Ageing Center; extract hosted by Building Better
- Source document/publication label: Spring/Summer 2023
- Physical pages in preserved original: 26
- Original capture/access label: June 2026
- Primary evidence reviewed: 10 October 2026

[Preserved original](/pdfs/2023%20-%20Building%20Better%20-%20Older%20Persons%20Right%20to%20Adequate%20Housing.pdf) · [Primary source](https://asemgac.org/board/view?bd_id=pb01&wr_id=31)

## Synopsis

AGAC publication extract containing Bev James’s older-renter research article; the preserved 26-page file is not the complete international issue.

## What this document contributes

This extract of AGAC Issue Focus examines adequate housing through an international human-rights framework and includes Bev James’s article Improving Rental Housing for New Zealand’s Ageing Population. The article draws on interviews with 108 older tenants conducted in 2017–2018, alongside differently dated national and policy evidence. It describes insecure tenure, rent pressure, poor dwelling condition, accessibility barriers, cultural needs and homelessness pathways, then proposes better rental supply, information and connected support. The original contains front matter, an introduction and the complete NZ article, followed by only the opening page of the Ukraine article. Building Better hosts the extract but AGAC is the publisher. This historical evidence is not current tenancy-law guidance or a national prevalence survey.

## Contents

- AGAC cover, publisher, contributors and contents (physical pp.1–9)
- Introduction to adequate housing and ageing (physical pp.10–13)
- Bev James NZ older-renter article and references (physical pp.14–25)
- Opening page only of Laura Mills’s Ukraine article (physical p.26)

## Substantive findings

- The cover identifies AGAC Issue Focus Vol.04 No.01, Spring/Summer 2023; the publisher page is dated 11 July 2023. Building Better’s February 2024 hosting path/PDF metadata do not establish the issue’s first publication day.
- The preserved file has 26 physical pages. The NZ article occupies physical pp.14–25 / printed pp.5–16; physical p.26 is only the first page of the following Ukraine article, so the complete international issue is not bundled.
- The NZ article synthesises interviews with 108 older tenants conducted in 2017–2018 and other evidence. Interview-cohort findings must not be presented as current national prevalence (physical p.15).
- Its adequate-housing framework covers tenure security, services/infrastructure, affordability, habitability, accessibility, location and cultural adequacy; the framework is not a guarantee of an individual housing allocation (physical p.14).
- Participants described forced moves linked to tenancy termination or unaffordable rent, poor heating, unmet repairs and difficulties obtaining accessible homes or modifications (physical pp.18–20). These are historical study accounts.
- Nineteen of the 108 interview participants had experienced homelessness within the previous five years; six were in homeless situations at interview. These counts describe the selected cohort, not all older New Zealanders (physical p.21).
- The article reports that one-quarter of study participants could not identify a source of tenancy information, motivating an older-renter information tool. This is a cohort finding and historical initiative, not evidence of current tool uptake (physical p.23).
- Recommendations include affordable secure rentals, accessibility, culturally suitable housing, homelessness prevention and links to income, health and home support. Historical legal and programme statements require separate current-source verification (physical pp.22–23).

## Uses and implications

Use the seven housing dimensions and tenants’ accounts to structure housing-needs interviews, service-navigation resources and proposals for older-renter support. Attribute historical cohort findings precisely and consult the full publisher issue for international chapters not included here.

Intended readers: Community housing providers; Older-renter advocates and support navigators; Councils and housing researchers.

- Consider affordability, condition, access to services, modifications and cultural/family needs together when discussing a housing option.
- Seek current tenancy advice and service eligibility information; the article’s 2023 legal statements are historical.
- Incorporate older tenants’ lived experience and cultural needs into housing design and support planning.
- Distinguish selected interview findings from national statistics and evaluate information tools rather than assuming reach or effectiveness.
- Housing providers can use the framework to assess tenancy support, dwelling accessibility and links to local services; the article does not establish a validated return on investment.

## Identity, dates and provenance

Cover: Spring/Summer 2023. AGAC publisher entry: 11 July 2023. Building Better hosting path and PDF technical metadata: February 2024; exact extract first-publication day unverified. Evidence review: 10 October 2026.

The original PDF, filename and June 2026 capture label are preserved. SHA-256: `0077741f9d67f6e42bb225d5c9c47ccd9d4046bc63e5a79085533481f4676039` (511,671 bytes). The reviewed hosted PDF is byte-identical to the preserved original.

## Evidence limits

Spring/Summer 2023 publication extract, not the full AGAC issue or the UN expert’s separate report. NZ evidence includes 108 tenant interviews from 2017–2018 and mixed-year secondary sources; cohort counts are not current national prevalence or causal estimates. Historical legal/programme descriptions and rights-based recommendations are not current legal advice, delivered outcomes or individual entitlements. Original extract is byte-identical to Building Better’s hosted PDF; full AGAC issue byte comparison was not completed.

## Primary sources

- [Primary source 1](https://www.buildingbetter.nz/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Bev-James-in-asem_issue_focus_spring_summer_2023_1.pdf)
- [Primary source 2](https://asemgac.org/board/view?bd_id=pb01&wr_id=31)

Repository fixture `artifacts/research/housing-source-audit-2026-10-10.json` records original hashes/full page evidence, primary-source comparisons, date precision and retrieval limits.