A pensioner who lived in his car for two years says people used to threaten to drag him out of his vehicle and beat him up.
The 67-year-old has shared the harsh realities of falling into homelessness in later life as social agencies become increasingly concerned about the number of elderly people couch-surfing, living in cars or staying in overcrowded homes.
More people are retiring without owning a home and are left at the mercy of a competitive rental market.
Social agencies say it’s a hidden crisis and those asking for help were the tip of the iceberg. It comes after NZME reported on Saturday that some elderly people were “quietly starving” due to soaring living costs.
The 67-year-old, who did not want to be identified due to his circumstances, said his experience with homelessness left him “scared” and “depressed”.
He was one of the first residents to move into Whare Pātariki, which opened last year to assist the growing number of homeless older people in Tauranga.
The retiree said memories of his time living in his car were still fresh. He ended up homeless after his tenancy ended due to the behaviour of another person living in the house. Prior to this, he had been in a job for 37 years.
“I found it hard to find places to go to the shower and toilet. I used to hide away at spots so no one could see me.”
It was not uncommon for people to bang on his window and ask for smokes or money, he said.
“They would threaten to drag me out of my car and give me a hiding.
“It was a bit terrifying.
“I used to sleep a lot and I got depressed, which I think stopped me from asking for help.”
He was grateful to now be in a safe environment.
“I really like it here; to me, it feels like home. It’s kind of funny because we are all the same age so we have a lot in common, and it is good to be around other people.”
Te Tuinga Whanau Support Service Trust executive director Tommy Wilson said Whare Pātariki was a ”mini retirement village” and could accommodate up to five individuals.
The trust wanted to create a safe facility where older people could live in a communal environment.
It brought about the realisation that some vulnerable old people were “too whakama [shy] to reach out” and spaces like this were needed to support them.
Wilson said now was the time to plan similar projects as hundreds of aged people were struggling with the economic crisis.
Grey Power Tauranga president Jennifer Custins said as a national organisation, it was aware the housing and rental shortage was a “huge problem for some people”.
She said there was not enough housing in Tauranga for older couples or singles.
"We just don’t know what is going to happen to some people."
Age Concern Tauranga general manager Tanya Smith said agencies might need to work together to find a solution.
“Maybe house-sharing with another like-minded person could be a possibility that would also help with social connection. Our younger community goes flatting, and I think [there] could be a lot of benefits from it.”
Bay Financial Mentors manager Shirley McCombe said it had seen a rise in clients aged 65 and over, but added: ”I don’t think this reflects the real need.”
“Those who are renting are being hit by the cost of living and are often hit harder with accommodation, as it is difficult to find something suitable for their needs. We have had clients over 65 who are couch-surfing, living in vehicles or in unhealthy home environments.
“People often don’t want to see us because they think they have ‘no money to budget’ or they think our role is focused on where they can ‘cut back’.
McCombe said it could help with advocacy, assisting people on the social housing register, and it could negotiate with creditors to reduce payments and work with other providers to arrange interest-free loans or assistance with house repairs.
Tauranga Rentals principal officer Dan Lusby said it had tenants who were on superannuation and the numbers were climbing.
"I don’t know how some of them can afford to pay the rent."
Social housing was not being built fast enough, and people ended up living in their cars or on the street.
“You have got to feel sorry for some of them, but our owners can’t afford to subsidise their rent either with interest rates going up.”
A one-bedroom home could fetch $400 to $500 in Tauranga, he said, and demand outstripped supply.
The latest Trade Me figures also reveal Tauranga’s median weekly rent was $650, which was 5 per cent more than in January 2022.
Commissioned research by the Retirement Commission showed that homeownership rates for people in their 60s fell from 87 per cent in 1986 to 80 per cent in 2018 - meaning one in five were still paying off a mortgage.
Te Ara Ahunga Ora director of policy, Dr Suzy Morrissey, said housing costs were soaking up a large chunk of income for those in that age bracket still making mortgage payments.
Eighty per cent were spending more than 40 per cent of their NZ Super on housing, and more than half were spending more than 80 per cent of the pension payment on housing.
“It’s a real challenge for people to make ends meet if they are having to use substantial amounts of their NZ Super to cover housing costs,” Morrissey said.
“When NZ Super was introduced, it was with the underlying assumption that those accessing it would be mortgage-free homeowners.
“Today, the reality is very different. There are declining homeownership rates [and] more people needing to continue working longer because they still have mortgages to pay, are paying rent or haven’t been able to save enough to retire.”
Ministry for Social Development information shows that, depending on where you live, the maximum accommodation supplement for a single person on superannuation ranges from $70 to $165 a week, or $80 to $235 for a couple.
A single person on superannuation was entitled to $462.94 a week after tax, while it was $356.11 each for a couple.
Ministry of Social Development Bay of Plenty regional commissioner Mike Bryant said it could be stressful for people struggling to find a home.
However, the number of primary clients aged over 65 in emergency housing continued to decline across the Bay of Plenty,
“In every part of the region, our most recent data either records no primary clients aged over 65 in emergency housing, or the number has been suppressed because it was so low it could risk identifying an individual client and breaching their privacy.”
Bryant said it was good there were housing options designed to be suitable for older people.
Those in emergency, social and public housing paid 25 per cent of their income or benefit in rent.
According to the housing register, there were 753 applicants on the waiting list in Tauranga in the December quarter last year, compared to 777 over the same timeframes in 2021.
Nationally, the number of people aged 65 and over on the register had risen to 2331 compared to 2247.
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