The findings from a BRANZ-funded study of MGHs are contained in a recently released BRANZ research report, Meeting the housing needs of multi-generational households, authored by Dr Penny Lysnar and Associate Professor Ann Dupuis. The researchers examined census data and followed this up with in-depth interviews with people living in 53 separate MGHs.
From 1996 to 2013, the number of people in MGHs grew by 49%, to 496,383. In comparison, during the same time period, single-occupant households grew by 38%. Recent growth of MGHs has been even faster: since 2001, the number rose by an astonishing 57%.
‘’The interview findings highlighted reasons for MGH living. We are seeing drivers related to the cultural preferences of Māori, Pacifica and Asian families, as well as a growth in multi-generational living in Pakeha families; something that was a norm in traditional western societies,’’ says Ann Dupuis.
Ann says of the 53 MGH research participants who were interviewed, only three lived in homes purpose-built for multi-generational living.
