Tougher housing standards needed to keep tamariki out of hospital

A housing researcher thinks tougher standards are necessary to keep tamariki out of hospital. Private rental properties must now comply with healthy homes standards, but Kainga Ora houses have two years longer to ensure they're insulated, have good curtains, a heating source, extractor fans, and no moisture issues. Only 11,000 of Kainga Ora's 66,000 properties meet the standard. University of Otago's Public Health associate professor Nevil Pierse has been researching these issues for nearly two decades. He tells Midday Report's Mani Dunlop conditions are worst in private rentals, and that Kainga Ora is setting itself higher standards than the law requires as it upgrades its houses.