Rebecca Marshall and daughter Alex, 8, at their flood-damaged home in Pakowhai. They will soon need to look for new temporary accommodation again. Photo / Warren Buckland
Rebecca Marshall and daughter Alex, 8, at their flood-damaged home in Pakowhai. They will soon need to look for new temporary accommodation again. Photo / Warren Buckland
A Pakowhai woman unable to move home due to Cyclone Gabrielle’s damage fears people like her are “falling through the cracks” for support because they’ve chosen to move to private rentals.
Rebecca Marshall and her eight-year-old daughter, Alex, lost their home to flooding in February.
She had hoped there wouldbe rent subsidies for her through the Temporary Accommodation Service (TAS) run by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, but those didn’t eventuate.
Now her lease is running out on the rental in September and she’s again seeking TAS support.
TAS head of accommodation response Fadia Mudafar said TAS did not take on private rentals that had been privately sourced and did not co-fund or fund the rental costs of privately sourced rentals.
“In a small number of discreet cases, TAS’s commercial supplier has used the short-term accommodation that it has on its books, such as Airbnb or holiday homes. There are no long-term tenancy agreements in place with TAS,” Mudafar said.
She said accommodation can be provided for several weeks, months or, possibly years.
TAS advises those in private rentals to seek support from MSD, but Marshall says this makes support inaccessible for her and other displaced people and has led to a “lot of frustration”.
“There are a bunch of people who fall through the cracks.
“The thing that was potentially so good about TAS is it wasn’t means tested, whereas MSD support is, so a whole lot of affected people aren’t eligible,” Marshall said.
Marshall told Hawke’s Bay Today she contacted TAS more than a month ago about whether they would help her with temporary housing this time.
According to Mudafar, a matching and placement co-ordinator was last in touch with Marshall on June 21 after she inquired about the possibility of a motorhome for when her lease expires.
“Rebecca Marshall and her household are currently registered with the service as having a future need and our standard check-in time with these households is every two weeks to discuss if their situation may have changed,” she said.
“However, if a household is feeling stressed or needs to discuss their circumstances, our call centre and matching and placement co-ordinators are available to talk with them outside of these normal scheduled times.”
Marshall shared an email sent by TAS to another Pakowhai resident in a similar situation who wished to remain unnamed for privacy reasons.
The resident was told: “Whānau that come to us with private rentals aren’t considered displaced as they’ve self-resolved their living situation.”
“Being told you are no longer displaced is a bit hard to accept,” Marshall said.
Mudafar said the comments TAS made in the correspondence to the resident were not entirely correct.
“The comments made in the letter sent are not entirely correct and TAS apologises for the miscommunication in this regard,” she said.
“Households who have managed to source short-term rentals can still return to the service and be placed in TAS supply after their lease runs out, provided they are still unable to return home; these households would be classified as having future needs by TAS and would not be considered as resolved.”
Rebecca Marshall says if she does get offered temporary housing, it will probably be on her silt-covered property, which is provisionally considered category 2A under flood risk assessment. Photo / Warren Buckland
“There is still all the infrastructure that is needed to support something if you’ve got any sort of dwelling in a rural area — sewage, water and power — so it is a bit of a project.”
Mudafar encouraged anyone in need of temporary accommodation as a result of Cyclone Gabrielle, or who thinks they may need support in the coming weeks or months, to register with TAS.
“You can register online at www.tas.mbie.govt.nz or phone 0508 754 163,″ she said.
James Pocock joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2021 and writes breaking news and features, with a focus on environment, local government and post-cyclone issues in the region. He has a keen interest in finding the bigger picture in research and making it more accessible to audiences. He lives in Napier. james.pocock@nzme.co.nz
