The average stay for people living in emergency housing in Upper Hutt has jumped from 2.8 weeks to 50 weeks in five years.
People are spending nearly a year living in emergency housing facilities in Upper Hutt as sky-high rentals, rising house prices and cost of living issues continue to bite.
Figures obtained from a written Parliamentary Question from National’s Chris Bishop paint a worsening picture across much of the lower and central North Island for those seeking a place to live.
The Ministry of Social Development figures show as of June 2023, the average consecutive time a person was spending at an emergency housing facility in Upper Hutt was 50 weeks - just two weeks shy of a full year.
It’s a significant jump from five years ago, when the average was just 2.8 weeks.
Bishop, National’s housing spokesman and Hutt South candidate, said emergency housing had become a “social and economic disaster”.
He said spending nearly an entire year in emergency housing is no life to live for families and children.
The Ministry of Social Development website states people can access emergency housing if they have nowhere to stay tonight, or in the next seven days. Costs will be covered for a week before people have to start paying for some of the associated payments.
A publicly available report from MSD’s general housing manager Karen Hocking in 2021 showed many were being housed in motels.
In that report, Hocking said the ministry recognises motels are “not a long-term solution, or the solution that we want to deliver for people who are potentially in a vulnerable situation”.
But the latest data, which covers Upper Hutt, Lower Hutt, Wellington City, Tauranga, Napier, Hastings, Hamilton and Nelson at the top of the South Island, shows people are staying longer in emergency housing across the board.
Nelson is the only area where the time spent in such facilities is starting to decline, however, people are still spending more than six weeks in emergency housing, as opposed to just under four weeks in 2018.
In Lower Hutt, the June statistics show a similar, worsening trend to its nearby neighbour Upper Hutt, with an average stay of 33.6 weeks.
Five years ago, the average amount of time a person or family would spend in this type of accommodation there was 4.8 weeks.
Bishop said the Government had built an “entire bureaucracy” around the issue, suggesting National’s plan to cut red tape by bringing back interest deductibility would change things.
He hinted at more policy specific to social and emergency housing being released as the election nears.
Bishop also highlighted the rental market as part of the problem, saying the public and private sectors need to work on affordability.
“In Upper Hutt, rents have gone up about $200 a week in the last five years. In Lower Hutt, they are up by $255 a week in the last six years.”
Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment, Priyanca Radhakrishnan, also blamed the situation on a lack of affordable housing - and the last National government.
”Demand for emergency housing is a symptom of the wider issue of a lack of affordable housing across Aotearoa. Ultimately, the only way that we can get out of the housing crisis that we inherited from National is by building public housing, and that’s what we are doing.”
In a statement, the minister said the current Labour Government had delivered 13,229 public homes. She said the current issues around emergency housing would’ve been lessened, had National intervened more.
”If the previous government had built public housing at the same rate we are, there would be over 21,000 new state houses, accounting for 85 per cent of those on the current waiting list.”
Upper Hutt Mayor Wayne Guppy called it “a disgrace and totally unacceptable” that people in his city were spending the longest time in emergency housing in the region.
“The organisations that are responsible have taken their eye off the ball [...] They concentrated on the bigger metropolitan areas and the smaller areas have been neglected.”
Guppy said the situation in Wellington City had previously been eye-watering, as the capital’s rent prices soared past Auckland a number of years ago.
“Some of the issues arose, particularly in the city and bigger areas. They were at capacity; some of those people got pushed out into the areas like Upper Hutt.”
Five years ago, the average stay in emergency housing in Wellington City was 3.1 weeks. This year that soared to 31 weeks.
Wellington City Council’s Connected Communities manager David Ensor said the numbers were “extremely concerning” for the city, and across the board.
Ensor said despite an increase in the provision of traditional housing, there is still a cohort of people “who are unable to access and sustain housing”.
“The challenges experienced are complex and difficult to resolve and require commitment from central government agencies, local government and social service providers along with a willingness from individuals to participate,” Ensor said in a statement to NZME.
These challenges can include housing affordability, mental and physical health issues, and difficulties during transitional periods, sometimes from care, prison, hospital, or relationship splits.
The MSD, which oversees emergency housing across the country, believes a lack of affordable housing supply is to blame for people having to spend exponentially more time being housed in motels.
In a statement, MSD acting housing general manager Paula McManus said “some people may struggle to access suitable housing due to a lack of available supply.
“Others may not be able to meet the high cost of housing, which can result in them receiving emergency housing support for an extended period.”
She said navigating the market, which has a “lack of affordable housing across Aotearoa”, can be “especially challenging” for people and families with complex needs.
McManus does not agree with comments authorities had dropped the ball on the matter.
“There is a major programme of work under way across government, aimed at increasing the supply of public housing and improving housing affordability and supply.”
Ensor said some “innovative housing solutions” are being delivered for Wellington City this year.
“We will see the opening of a supported housing development on Rolleston St,” delivered by Kāinga Ora, he said.
“It will provide wraparound care and support to people who are moving out of homelessness.”
The Wellington City Mission’s Te Pā Maru “wet house” facility is also due to open soon. The first-of-its-kind development will not require sobriety as a means to access housing.
City Missioner Murray Edridge previously told NZME this development would mean people can get housing support whilst working through alcohol addiction.
Upper Hutt City Council adopted an affordable housing strategy in 2020, which aimed to invest in a more affordable market.
The strategy noted a “lack of sufficient suitable accommodation for emergency/transitional housing in Upper Hutt” as a main concern.
Quinovic acknowledged the breaches and confirmed exemplary damages were paid.