A neighbour of an emergency housing motel in Rotorua says he might move if problems persist. Photo / 123rf
A “crackhead” on a mailbox vandalism “rampage”, screaming and yelling, and “domestic disputes” in front of kids.
This is what a Rotorua resident says he has experienced living near a contracted emergency housing motel, saying he plans to move if it gets consent to continue operating for a further year.
A Government ministry has lodged resource consent applications with the Rotorua Lakes Council to extend contracted emergency housing for seven of the current 10 motels.
Public submissions on the applications close in about three weeks, with hearings set for November.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (Hud) said it intended to stop referring people to contracted emergency housing from July 1 next year as it wound down to ending use of motels for emergency housing by the end of 2025.
The neighbour, who spoke to the Rotorua Daily Post on the condition of anonymity, said he had lived near Lake Rotorua Motel on Lake Rd for two years.
He said it was “incredibly difficult” living near the motel and he wanted to move elsewhere with his partner and their 18-month-old child if it continued to be used for emergency housing.
The screaming, yelling, fighting and “domestic disputes” from those he assumed were drunk or using drugs were bad but what upset him most was seeing lots of children there.
“The kids that live over there listening to all that bullshit, that’s not fair on them.”
He said their flat had a fenced-off yard but given the proximity to the motel, they would not let their toddler play outside unless they were watching constantly.
“We’ve had a crackhead walking past here on the way there on a rampage ripping off people’s mailboxes. The cops picked her up from [the motel].”
He said he often came across people from the motel late at night or early in the morning holding up queues at nearby shops trying to argue the prices of vapes and cigarettes.
The man had full-time work but was considering moving his family to Taupō because he believed they could get a better-quality home for a cheaper price as Rotorua lacked good-quality rentals.
Restore Rotorua lobby group member Carolyne Hall was also concerned about the applications, and questioned if the Government was seeking consent to house more homeless than were currently in motels.
The resource consent applications are for seven motels for up to 549 people staying in 186 units:
The housing ministry’s latest figures for June showed 174 households, made up of 492 adults and children, lived in the 10 motels.
Hall said if there was a “sinking lid” policy, fewer motels would need consent now as they did not appear to be operating at capacity. She was concerned there was “potential to keep filling them up” until the consents expired.
The Rotorua Daily Post asked the ministry to provide the current occupancy rates for the seven motels but a spokesperson said it was unable to provide the information and the request should be submitted under the Official Information Act.
In a statement responding to Hall’s comments, the ministry said it was managing a staged exit strategy from contracted emergency housing.
It said this would ensure the reduction of motels was balanced with “whānau housing needs”.
“Hud [the ministry] considered several factors when determining the number of motels to seek resource consent for. Our key considerations were ensuring whānau experienced minimum disruption and are adequately accommodated while appropriate long-term housing solutions are delivered.”
Different unit types were needed to ensure it had flexibility to accommodate different family arrangements.
“Motel unit configuration and whānau size vary and some households may require more than one unit. We also need to allow some capacity for incoming referrals.”
Contracted emergency housing played a key role in shrinking the number of households in non-contracted emergency housing from 105 to 30 in the year to June, it said.
The ministry would continually review the need for motels until December next year, balanced with the supply of affordable housing options.
“We plan on taking a staged approach to exiting motels as they are no longer required.
“As further housing supply options become available and whānau transition to more sustainable housing, we will stop new referrals into the motels being vacated.
“Hud plans to stop all new referrals into CEH [contracted emergency housing] on 1 July 2025. This staged approach will ensure the progressive return of the motels to the tourism market.”
In December 2022, an independent panel granted resource consent for 13 motels in Rotorua to provide Government-contracted emergency housing for two years. No other guests can stay at contracted emergency housing motels.
Resource consent was needed after it was discovered motels were operating outside of the District Plan by allowing people to stay long-term with only short-term visits consented.
Those 13 motels were reduced to 10 motels by December 2022 as demand for emergency housing dropped.
Originally the ministry said this year it wanted to renew resource consents for 10 motels for two years.
Following a public outcry, and shock from Rotorua MP Todd McClay and Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell – who said they were not aware of the ministry’s plan – Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka announced the ministry would apply for one-year resource consent extensions for seven contracted motels.
Potaka has previously said it was anticipated there would be enough social houses built by the end of 2025 to end contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua.
The Government expected to phase out three of the seven motels by mid-2025, leaving four operating until the end of next year.
The contracted motels are managed by social service agencies that provide security and wrap-around services for those staying there.
Visions of a Helping Hand has the contracts for Alpin Motel, Pohutu Motor Lodge and Lake Rotorua Motel, Wera has the contracts for RotoVegas Motel, Apollo Hotel and Ascot on Fenton and Emerge Aotearoa has the contract for Geneva Motel.
The submission period during the coming month is followed by a series of statutorily required steps before public hearings and a final decision from independent commissioner David Hill. Hill was the three-person panel’s chairman in 2022.
The consent applications were publicly notified in Saturday’s Rotorua Daily Post Weekend and details can be found on the Rotorua Lakes Council’s website.
More than 400 letters will be sent to adjoining owners and occupiers and statutory bodies.
Submissions close on August 16 at 5pm.
Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.
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