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Indian family told to cook 'aromatic food' in garage days before moving into rental
Geraden Cann05:00, Mar 22 2021
LAWRENCE SMITH/Stuff
Cherie & Sunil Kaushal are advocates for Indian people trying to find rentals in Auckland.
In March 2018, home ownership was at its lowest in almost 70 years. Since then the median price has almost doubled and rent is up by a quarter. Stuff’s Off the Ladder series talks to those priced out of the market.
An Indian family was told days before moving into an east Auckland rental that they could only cook their “aromatic” meals in the garage.
With a son on steroids due to breathing problems – exacerbated by a mouldy previous rental – the mother, who requested to be identified only as “Vani”, told Stuff the family didn’t have the option of walking away, despite finding the request offensive.
“My husband wanted to walk away at that point. We were desperate for a house. We had made way over 30 applications,” Vani said.
The family didn’t want to be identified to avoid further prejudice or scorn. Stuff has seen a copy of their tenancy agreement which clearly stated the condition.
The family have lived in five homes in the six years since they arrived in New Zealand. Vani said high rental prices were making it difficult to get on the ladder.
Research by the Waitākere Indian Association and economic consultancy, Sense Partners, suggests Indian people face particular challenges getting onto the property ladder.
Particular challenges for NZ’s 240,000 people of Indian ethnicity
Around half of Indian people owned or held their home in a family trust, according to the 2018 Census.
This was below the European rate of 71 per cent, but above Māori and Pasifika, where owner-occupation stood at 47 and 36 per cent respectively.
The ownership rate for Indian people had fallen modestly between 2006 and 2018, according to Stats NZ figures, from 60 per cent to 54 per cent.
According to Waitākere Indian Association president Sunil Kaushal, Indian people face unique challenges when trying to buy a home.
His association commissioned the Report on Economic Contributions of NZ Indians, which found despite Indians having a relatively high employment rate, they tended to earn less on average.
The average income of Indians in work was around $50,000 in 2018, compared to $55,400 for all ethnicities, Kaushal said.
Young Indians experienced the biggest difference in income from the total (nearly 20 per cent), with the gap reducing to around 5-10 per cent in older adults.
Indian people were also more likely to work in industries like retail and accommodation, which tended to have lower incomes.
The report also noted the Indian population was younger than the general population.
Sunil said this made it less likely that Indian families would have family money built up, or inheritance, which children could use to purchase a home.
“The young and educated population of Indians are just trying to make a base for themselves so getting a deposit of 10-20 per cent is very difficult,” Sunil said.
Abigail Dougherty/Stuff
Waitakere Indian Association president Sunil Kaushal says many Indian families do not have family money to help children onto the housing ladder.
Indian people, like many other migrant communities, were also concentrated in some of the most expensive areas of the country. Just under two-thirds lived in Auckland and 9 per cent lived in Wellington in 2018.
“Those who came over prior to the GFC may have had enough to save for a deposit when the prices were still reasonable when a 40K deposit could get you a good house in a less desirable area which is now over (the) million dollar mark,” Sunil said.
“These days even a $100,000 deposit cannot get you anything in those less-sought-after areas.
Using wife’s maiden name to secure a rental
Sunil and his wife, Cherie, have experienced plenty of prejudice themselves when trying to find a rental.
Cherie recounts when the couple were relocating to Tauranga for Sunil’s work in 2005, real estate agents always had the same question: “Where are you from?”
“Not in a polite manner, but in an abrupt way with their noses turned down at us in a way that clearly said that we, or rather, my husband, was a brown-skinned foreigner that didn’t belong in this area.”
“I tell you what, it opened my eyes a lot and I began to wonder how my mixed race children were going to be treated.”
It was Cherie’s friends that suggested she apply for tenancies using her maiden name and that she should be the one who spoke to landlords on the phone pre-viewing.
“It was very strange to be doing this, but then we were left with no options. Either it was the European surname, or no house for the family.”
Geraden Cann05:00, Mar 22 2021
LAWRENCE SMITH/Stuff
Cherie & Sunil Kaushal are advocates for Indian people trying to find rentals in Auckland.
In March 2018, home ownership was at its lowest in almost 70 years. Since then the median price has almost doubled and rent is up by a quarter. Stuff’s Off the Ladder series talks to those priced out of the market.
An Indian family was told days before moving into an east Auckland rental that they could only cook their “aromatic” meals in the garage.
With a son on steroids due to breathing problems – exacerbated by a mouldy previous rental – the mother, who requested to be identified only as “Vani”, told Stuff the family didn’t have the option of walking away, despite finding the request offensive.
“My husband wanted to walk away at that point. We were desperate for a house. We had made way over 30 applications,” Vani said.
The family didn’t want to be identified to avoid further prejudice or scorn. Stuff has seen a copy of their tenancy agreement which clearly stated the condition.
The family have lived in five homes in the six years since they arrived in New Zealand. Vani said high rental prices were making it difficult to get on the ladder.
Research by the Waitākere Indian Association and economic consultancy, Sense Partners, suggests Indian people face particular challenges getting onto the property ladder.
Particular challenges for NZ’s 240,000 people of Indian ethnicity
Around half of Indian people owned or held their home in a family trust, according to the 2018 Census.
This was below the European rate of 71 per cent, but above Māori and Pasifika, where owner-occupation stood at 47 and 36 per cent respectively.
The ownership rate for Indian people had fallen modestly between 2006 and 2018, according to Stats NZ figures, from 60 per cent to 54 per cent.
According to Waitākere Indian Association president Sunil Kaushal, Indian people face unique challenges when trying to buy a home.
His association commissioned the Report on Economic Contributions of NZ Indians, which found despite Indians having a relatively high employment rate, they tended to earn less on average.
The average income of Indians in work was around $50,000 in 2018, compared to $55,400 for all ethnicities, Kaushal said.
Young Indians experienced the biggest difference in income from the total (nearly 20 per cent), with the gap reducing to around 5-10 per cent in older adults.
Indian people were also more likely to work in industries like retail and accommodation, which tended to have lower incomes.
The report also noted the Indian population was younger than the general population.
Sunil said this made it less likely that Indian families would have family money built up, or inheritance, which children could use to purchase a home.
“The young and educated population of Indians are just trying to make a base for themselves so getting a deposit of 10-20 per cent is very difficult,” Sunil said.
Abigail Dougherty/Stuff
Waitakere Indian Association president Sunil Kaushal says many Indian families do not have family money to help children onto the housing ladder.
Indian people, like many other migrant communities, were also concentrated in some of the most expensive areas of the country. Just under two-thirds lived in Auckland and 9 per cent lived in Wellington in 2018.
“Those who came over prior to the GFC may have had enough to save for a deposit when the prices were still reasonable when a 40K deposit could get you a good house in a less desirable area which is now over (the) million dollar mark,” Sunil said.
“These days even a $100,000 deposit cannot get you anything in those less-sought-after areas.
Using wife’s maiden name to secure a rental
Sunil and his wife, Cherie, have experienced plenty of prejudice themselves when trying to find a rental.
Cherie recounts when the couple were relocating to Tauranga for Sunil’s work in 2005, real estate agents always had the same question: “Where are you from?”
“Not in a polite manner, but in an abrupt way with their noses turned down at us in a way that clearly said that we, or rather, my husband, was a brown-skinned foreigner that didn’t belong in this area.”
“I tell you what, it opened my eyes a lot and I began to wonder how my mixed race children were going to be treated.”
It was Cherie’s friends that suggested she apply for tenancies using her maiden name and that she should be the one who spoke to landlords on the phone pre-viewing.
“It was very strange to be doing this, but then we were left with no options. Either it was the European surname, or no house for the family.”
