The Government has outlined a plan aimed at expanding the support available for people sleeping rough and helping them into social homes as the country grapples with a homelessness crisis.
The announcement followed the release of the Homelessness Insights Report, which revealed a sharp increase in people living without shelter, including those sleeping in cars and on the streets.
The 2018 to 2023 period showed a 37% increase in people living without shelter despite the large-scale use of emergency housing costing more than over $1 billion across that period.
Housing Minister Chris Bishop said homelessness had been a problem in New Zealand for decades, rooted in a "broken housing system" and becoming more severe during "challenging" economic times.
"It’s very difficult to get accurate numbers of people living without shelter because people in these circumstances often move around and avoid engaging with government services, but it’s clear that rough sleeping is a genuine problem."
The first action was the expansion of the Housing First programme, with $7 million allocated this financial year to fund up to 300 additional social homes for people already engaged with Housing First but still sleeping rough.
Housing First, which began under the previous National-led government, was designed to house people who have been homeless for at least a year and often face complex challenges such as mental health or addiction issues.
Once housed, individuals receive tailored support for as long as needed.
The additional social homes would be leased from the private rental market in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, and Christchurch, Bishop said.
"Leasing existing homes is a deliberate choice – it means Housing First providers can immediately begin contracting the homes and supporting people into them without the time lag caused by consenting and building."
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development was working with Housing First providers who are also community housing providers, or had established relationships with one, to secure appropriate housing quickly.
Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka said the second action was to provide $10 million in additional funding to support services, specifically those that were already established and had proven successful.
"These services are likely to be specific to certain locations – because what works in Christchurch may not work in Hamilton and vice versa."
The third action, already underway, was to increase the efficiency of transitional housing, Potaka said.
"This means making sure that we have the right transitional housing properties in the right locations and with the right providers to ensure we can better support demand.
"There could be some rebalancing of places towards providers who have demonstrated an ability and willingness to work with rough sleepers."
New measures include expanding Housing First, boosting support services and improving the efficiency of transitional housing (Source: 1News)
Ministers had directed officials to "significantly" increase occupancy rates by ensuring housing was in areas with the greatest demand, reducing turnaround time between tenants and speeding up the move-in period, he added.
"This will mean fewer units sitting vacant and more homeless people being housed."
The Ministry of Social Development would be expected to assess all beneficiaries going into these social homes for good cause to redirect their benefit to contribute to accommodation costs in the fourth action, Potaka said.
"Most people in social housing pay a contribution of 25% of their income. Beneficiaries in social housing can choose to pay this through a direct deduction from their benefit – but many choose not to.
"Non-payment of rent over a sustained period can eventually result in tenancy termination and homelessness. Implementing a redirection where good cause exists was a recommendation from a frontline homelessness provider."
Potaka is an Associate Housing Minister (Social Housing), Minister for Māori Development, and Minister of Conservation. (Source: Q and A)
The fifth action was to encourage MSD staff to use "greater discretion" when assessing emergency housing applications.
Potaka said the requirements needed to qualify for emergency housing would not change.
"Those requirements are firm but fair, and to relax them risks going back to the emergency housing motel catastrophe under the previous government when thousands of families and children were consigned to live in dank motel rooms for months or even years on end."
The emergency housing motel model cost over $1 million a day at its peak and was widely criticised for placing vulnerable families in unsafe, unsuitable accommodation.
While the Government had tightened eligibility criteria, critics argued this had contributed to a rise in street homelessness.
Potaka had acknowledged that "many" had made this connection, though he stopped short of confirming it.
Working with Social Development Minister Louise Upston, Potaka said the Government would make it clearer to staff that they should "feel empowered to use their good judgement and common sense" when deciding whether someone qualified.
"The Government is committed to delivering the right homes, in the right places, with the right supports for rough sleepers. These five actions will help to deliver on this commitment."
The actions would begin immediately and were expected to be largely delivered in the next three months.
'Barely touches the sides': Opposition responds to announcement
Labour's housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said the announcement was an "admission by the Government they have made homelessness worse".
"300 extra places when they have put thousands more on the streets will barely touch the sides of the tragedy they have created by denying emergency housing was needed, and making it harder to attain."
Green Party housing spokesperson Tamatha Paul said the Government needed to explain where the funding was coming from and why it was not already being spent to provide housing support.
"The housing crisis in Aotearoa is spiralling out of control amid growing poverty and homelessness. This Government clearly has no plan or interest in fixing it."
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