In this study most of the women had at some stage experienced a concept of home. Therefore, they were able to theorise that concept but there was a discrepancy between what they had achieved and what they idealised as 'home'. Although the women constantly strived for many of the characteristics of home they identified they had yet to attain many of these aspects. The boundary between their ideal and what they actually had was blurred. Only later, du ring the analysis of the data, when I was able to look at the women's definition of home and compare it with what they saw as advantages and disadvantages of their present home, did the gaps became clear and the ideal nature of their definition of 'home' became evident. As a means of identifying patterns and consistencies, I have fou nd it useful to adapt what Somerville ( 1 992)2 identifies as key signifiers and I have aligned these with what the women actually said. These are:
Abode: meaning the material form of home 111 terms of its physical structure having a definite spatial position and quality.
Hearth: meaning warmth and cosiness which affects the body giving emotional well -being and a happy and emotionally nurtu ring environment.
2 I have excluded Somerville's COllcept of Pamdise which I fOlmd problematical because for most of the womell in this study their ideal was contained in all the key signifiers as identified.
Privacy:
is home as a place of control and power and if necessary exclusion of others including the state.Identity:
is having a sense of place in the world; our community and networks.There are parallels with Maori understandings of 'home' as discussed earlier in this chapter. Each signifier will be discussed in turn.
Abode
". .. beach7 maintenance free7 park7 drY7 affordable7 well maintained7 decent heating7 fireplace7 trees7 garden7 separate space for teenagers7 reasonable mortgage7 c1ean7 not damp7 accessible7 smells clean ". [interviews]
This category which discusses the physical attributes of 'home' hinges closely on the question of what is adequate housing. It is important to note Roberts' point ( 1 988) that, "the measure of 'adequate' is matched against the predominant, prevailing standards of housing in the community" ( 1 6 1 ) . I agree with Keams ( 1 993) that it is relatively easy to decide on what is a minimum level of adequate housing but it is a lot more difficult to establish what adequate housing might be for different groups in society, as each one has varying needs and it is therefore impossible to make universal statements. Qualitative assessments, add to our body of knowledge as to what issues are important and draw some conclusions in a general sense. While the academics and policymakers might debate the definition, the women interviewed were quite clear, as illustrated by the key words quoted at the beginning of this discussion.
A Waitakere City Council report ( 1 996) defines adequate housing as:
... a clean, warm, safe, uncrowded environment at a cost that does not require detrimental trade-offs with other essential goods and services such as food, clothing, education and access to medical services ... the provision of adequate housing can be viewed as an important part of any social policy which seeks to prevent social problems from occurring (2 1 ).
Reflecting on this definition I shall move forward to discuss the issues raised by the women in terms of the physical attributes of a home. Firstly, the amenities provided in rentals were an issue and this was the type of tenure most likely to have problems. Some of the women in private rental accommodation were obliged to take less than adequate facilities. Suzanne has no internal bathroom and in addition has to share the outside facility with another male tenant. She also has a problem with her child who is in the habit of running away so that each time she uses the bathroom she has to take him with her.
Suzanne The person in other house is obsessive about cleanliness and is always complaining about my not cleaning it as he likes to clean it every day .. .it would be so nice when [child] says I want to go to the toilet and offhe goes rather than me having to get up four times a night ... I can only have a shower when he 's asleep because he could just take off up the road if he decides he doesn 't want a shower. I can 't just get out and [laughs ] .. . so for me it 's waiting until he goes to sleep or hoping he 'Il have a shower with me and I 've
just got to jump out when he does which half the time 1 don 't finish what 1 want to do so that 's a problem .. . um and also if there 's someone else in the bathroom like 1 went to use it this morning and someone was in there for quite a while so ... you have to wait. It 's cold out there when you 're having a shower.
Another aspect associated with this indicator is that of disability. After putting a great deal of pressure on Housing New Zealand, Misty, who is in a wheelchair, convinced them to install a ramp and some other facilities and now finds that she is unable to move from this house as she would have to do all that work again. She has still not acquired a carport which she desperately needs:
Misty I thought about [moving to a private rental] really seriously, I thought 'I need to go out there 1 need to find myself a carport ' ... 1 desperately need, 1 mean 1 get out in mud you
know .. . and maybe a 4 bedroomed place for my kids - I wouldn 't mind paying $195 a week for somewhere that I would be happy and my children would be happy .. .! backed down (laughs). I was a bit worried about the fact that I wouldn 't be able to get that sort of help to do alterations for my place and things like that so 1 had to sort of think about that. . . but even to think that people have got that hold on you - it stinks (laughs).
A common complaint from those women renting concerns inadequate cooking facilities. Stoves usually have one element not working and it is rare for a grill to be functioning:
Ann . . . he said to me the stove needed replacing. When I came in - it was quite funny - I looked at the stove and thought "Now has he replaced it? n. It is this the new one or is
this the old one? And it was actualZv the new one but I can 't use all the elements on it because one of the elements, I put a pot on it and it collapsed.
Most women are reluctant to complain about these problems because of the fear that they will jeopardise the security of their rental. Women often blame themselves for not attending to this:
Suzanne . . . an oven that works! ... Most houses I go to don 't have a grill that goes or the elements .. .its my problem because I don 't get around to telling the landlord.
In fact, many women spent money they did not really have on upgrading their rental dwellings. Philippa, despite a clause in her agreement saying she would not make any alterations, bought a washing line, made curtains, installed some electric points, painted the garage to use as a bedroom and fixed some of the plumbing as she likes the place she has acquired which is sunny and has enough room for her six children, four of whom are teenagers.
Adequate space both within and without the home is important. While women need some personal space, a commodity they often never have, a particular, pressure IS having enough space for the children, especially teenage children. Outside, some personal space is important even to have just a little bit of garden. Anne managed to find a place with enough room only to have it sold shortly after she moved in. Both she and Ann expressed what they would like:
Anne Space for [son] and [daughter] because of the age difference - its big, and [daughter] needed all her friends so I mean its the whole teenage thing where all the teenagers are coming in all the time, [daughter] might have been about 14 or 15, and here 's this little baby, so I needed my space - and I was studying so that I needed space as well. So that was why I chose that place other than the fact that J didn 't have to do agency fees. But then it was sold, just suddenly ... and I had to get out.
Ann I want a calm space that 's secure where everyone 's got a space ... that 's what I 'm trying to do. A bedroom for everybody. I don 't think overcrowding is great I think it 's very stressful.
Older children put considerable pressure on the family and space requirements. Physically they take up more room, require some study space and generally are less controllable so that their lifestyles can conflict with the needs of the rest of the family. This was a very important issue for the women who had teenagers and were
forced by cost to rent inadequately sized housing. It was a significant feature of this research that a response to unaffordable rents was to rent a smaller home.
Adequate space is a priority issue in very small homes where adolescents require privacy often unable to be met. Amanda, who owns her home but lacks the money to make the improvements she and her son need, explains:
Amanda ... we really need to change the access to the bedroom it 's really unfair that anyone whoever comes into the house traipses through his bedroom and that there 's no privacy between the bathroom and his bedroom and in a couple of years he will be an adolescent and 1 just think it 's really important that we have some degree of privacy for both of us really.
A couple of the women have extended family coming and going and older children staying at different times. Helin, who often has extra people staying, stated that young people need support and this was one way she can help. She is in a state house and is able to utilise the garage. This considerable social service is largely hidden:
Helin 1 could make the garage into another bedroom because you really need 3 bedrooms even with just the 2 of us ... 'cause my daughter comes and goes. She '/I go in the garage ... most people here have got someone sleeping in the garage ... my nephew 's here at the moment. 1 don 't think they 're meant to but .. . it 's internal access so it makes quite a good bedroom and 1 've always got people staying.
One woman who now has her own large room said she has to make sure she comes out of her room sometimes as she enjoys it so much. The need for a space of one's own, was wistfully referred to by some and it is notable how guilty women feel about taking too much or even any personal space. Those who do manage to get some space, a room of their own, love it but are apologetic.
Others always know what is best for women on their own. One woman had received much 'helpful' advice, one example of which was the suggestion that she get a caravan:
Nathalie ... someone did suggest to me Why don 't you get a caravan for you and your daughter and she said well there are only the two of you ... you don 't really need a big place and 1 thought yes we can do this and when 1 thought about it realishcally 1 just thought no we
need our space. That 's one of the major things that I realise that we need our own rooms our own space and I couldn 't imagine living like that really. . . living in a caravan in a caravan park.
It is important to note that standards for rental homes are covered under the Residential Tenancies Act ( 1 986) which refers to local body building codes. While new buildings have to comply with current legislation older buildings either built or altered earlier are not required to. Price seems unrelated to the quality of the dwelling. Location and number of rooms are factors which dictate what tenants have to put up with.
Heating is a special problem for women, in both rental and owned homes. It was mentioned frequently, mostly as an emotional component but often as a physical aspect. Draughts and difficulty of heating especially in rental dwellings were particular problems. Sometimes other characteristics were of more importance at the time but, as an interviewer, I often noticed the southerly aspect and chilled atmosphere of some homes, a frugal environment in which heating was unaffordable.
Amanda, who owns her home, commented:
Amanda I installed a fire and that 's mainly why I 'm in debt because I had to get a $600 overdraft to buy that second hand and install it myself so it 's not permitted .. the house was absolutely freeZing ... it 's not insulated and before that I just used to go to bed at 7 0 'clock every night [laughs J for the first couple of winters and I couldn 't afford to run an electric heater very much so I installed that fire and that 's a fair amount of work.
Payne ( 1 99 1 ) notes, and my findings support this, that:
Poor heating affects women more where they spend more hours at home - during the day, when they are not in full time paid employment, and during the evenings, when women's leisure activities and childcare keeps them at home more than men ... Fuel is one area where some low income households can cut back on expenditure ( I 35) .
Smith, Kearns and Abbott's ( 1 992) study of Auckland and Christchurch householders found that Auckland respondents had 'significantly greater difficulty keeping warm in the winter' (7). They suggest that although Christchurch was colder in terms of temperature, homes in Auckland were less well insulated from
the damp leading to a greater sense of coldness. Absence of heaters or their restricted use was particularly notable in my research. The 1 99 1 census indicates that the number of homes without a heater had almost doubled between 1 986 and
1 99 1 (Statistics New Zealand: 1 993).
Many of the rental homes the women are in are inadequately insulated. Hot water bottles and blankets play a major role in winter for those women on a limited income as Anne, who is in a rental dwelling, notes:
Anne I 'm in a big house and you can 't warm it, it 's always been a place that 's rented and that 's the big difference between getting a house that 's once been a family home and they usually have all those lillle ... luxuries like balls in the ceiling. .. we keep our heater on warm, and hog it - we sit all round it, we usually just cuddle up into blankets .. . and when visitors come we just give them a blanket to cuddle up into (laughs) and we 've always done that .. . we don 't have electric blankets or anything, or else if it 's cold we all dive into my bed.
The most commonly cited housing problem in West Auckland mentioned in a Waitakere City Council report ( 1 996:25) was dampness and heating costs, issues which have a direct impact on health.
for those women In rental homes, basic needs, as discussed above are not necessarily being met and, as mentioned, they either provide these things themselves or do without. Women who own their homes are hindered by a lack of money for maintenance and this was constantly mentioned as a concern both from the point of view of comfort and as awareness of an asset that they are unable to maintain. But despite living in substandard conditions they are very aware of the privilege of owning their homes and qualify many of their statements with a recognition of this advantage. Kris and Lynne who own their own homes comment:
Kris Well it 's quite hard when I know I 've got windows that leak and that means that this floor board was damp and window with drafts that I just can 't do any thing about. I 've tried to some degree by buying these draft strips that you buy but they 're only partially satisfactory and that 's all I can do in the mean time . .... despite the things that need doing to my house I 'm quite lucky in that I have a reasonable house in a reasonable area. I wouldn 't like to be in a situation where I was in rental accommodation or I was in a group housing situation. I think I 'm beller off than that .. . therefore I 'm quite fortunate ... my house is my security. I would do anything before I lost my house.
Lynne . . . so I 'm going backwards not forwards .. . there 's no carpet. . there 's no lino. Anything in the house that 's here .. you know the paint, the curtains, I 've done it with the help of friends and parents. I 've bought paint on sale I 've mixed it myself. .. the colours I 've mixed. everything because J couldn 't afford to go to Levenes [laughs] but it 's been fim .. but ] would enjoy it more if] didn 't have these other things.
While cleaning a place is a way of establishing ownership most women expressed an opinion that there ought to be some basic standards. Anything broken can be fixed before a person moves in but cleanliness is not necessarily a factor:
Anne ... so who 's going to go in to clean it - the person who 's gone out really tired and packed up and gone, so it would be surface cleaning, they would have already been given their bond back because the landlord 's not going to wail. ..so ] think that it really needs some sort of hygiene thing, cause you 've got the stoves and . . . you 've got the loo, and the laundry .. . basically you 've got to move in and do your own cleaning before you bring the