Fifteen Rotorua motels were each paid more than $1 million for emergency housing over two years.
Figures released by the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) under the Official Information Act show $62.9m was spent on emergency housing in the Bay of Plenty between July 2019 and June this year.
Thisincluded suppliers from outside of the region and payments in arrears for previous or future accommodation for clients who have moved but not yet updated their addresses.
Fifteen Rotorua motels accounted for more than $24.7m of the total.
The rooms were rented at market rate - between $60 and $150 per night.
He felt for accommodation providers that didn't have the option of emergency housing while the borders were shut and domestic tourism was slow.
"We feel lucky enough to have emergency housing [even though] it gives us headaches."
Gao said it was common for rooms to be out of use for a week after a client left because of smoke odour or other bad smells and "all the damage".
Rotovegas Motel. Photo / File
On one occasion clients triggered the fire sprinklers, flooding rooms.
Three rooms needed carpets replaced at a total cost of $10,000, taking them off the market for six months.
Ongoing costs included replacing stolen items and fixing regularly broken door frames and holes in walls.
In a year, the motel also paid more than $100,000 in rent, $10,800 in power, and spent $6000 on cleaning products, and $4800 on cleaners.
Gao said the motel sacrificed its reputation and Booking.com ratings had dropped from eight to six since taking on clients in half of their rooms.
Astray Motel. Photo / Andrew Warner
The other 12 motels that earned more than $1m in the timeframe were Manhattan Motel ($1.71m), Kuirau Park Motor Lodge ($1.69m), Union Victoria Motel ($1.64m), Fenton Court Motel ($1.59m), Geneva Motor Lodge ($1.4m), Rotovegas Motel ($1.4m), Golden Glow Motel ($1.3m), Cactus Jacks ($1.56m), Brylin Motel ($1.18m), Pure Motel & Guest House ($1.13m) and Ashleigh Court Motel ($1.07m).
The motels were approached for comment. Union Victoria Motel, Cactus Jacks, Brylin Motel, Pure Motel & Guest House and Ashleigh Court Motel could not be reached.
Geneva Motor Lodge. Photo / File
Restore Rotorua chairman Trevor Newbrook said many residents were concerned about the emergency housing crisis and the safety issues around it.
He said the payment figures "shocked" him and seemed, in his view, like a "huge waste of resources".
Golden Glow Motel. Photo / Andrew Warner
"People, especially families, deserve a proper house and not a one-room motel [unit]."
Waiariki MP Rawiri Waititi said, in his view, the money spent was not justified if it continued to keep people on a "never-ending hamster wheel" at the "bottom of the heap".
Cactus Jacks. Photo / File
Rotorua National MP Todd McClay said he believed it was "irresponsible spending" of a "huge" amount of money and the Government needed to start building houses.
In his view: "It's obvious that the problem is getting worse and it's obvious the Government doesn't actually have a solution."
Brylin Motel. Photo / Andrew Warner
"They could build hundreds and hundreds of houses instead of leaving people in motels."
McClay said increasing houses would be fairer to those left to "languish" in motels as well as the Rotorua residents who he believed were "sick and tired of excuses".
Pure Motel. Photo / Andrew Warner
In the OIA response, the Ministry of Social Development said special needs grants were paid for commercial accommodation for those in urgent need.
It was initially intended to be for seven days, but, given the high level of need, subsequent grants could be paid for up to 21 days at a time, it said.
Ashleigh Court Motel. Photo / Andrew Warner
Under the grant model, accommodation suppliers were not contracted by MSD and could stop providing emergency housing services. Any agreements or conditions of stay were between supplier and client.
MSD acting regional commissioner Brent MacDonald said while the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (MHUD) and Kāinga Ora worked to increase housing stock, it was focused on giving people in urgent need somewhere to stay.
Clients were expected to get the same quality of service as a guest and MSD talked to clients regularly about their accommodation options and raised concerns directly with suppliers.
Waiariki MP Rawiri Waititi. Photo / File
When those could not be suitably resolved, the ministry tried to find alternative accommodation. Clients could reject a suggested accommodation option.
He said clients agreed to pay for damages they were responsible for and the ministry provided one week's worth of accommodation as a safeguard for owners.
Rotorua MP Todd McClay. Photo / File
MHUD external engagement and communications manager Dennis de Reus said it worked closely with Kāinga Ora, which was working to deliver at least 190 public homes in Rotorua by 2024 under the Public Housing Plan.
Kāinga Ora has delivered 63 public homes in Rotorua in the past three years, 35 more are under way and planned.
Kuirau Park Motor Lodge. Photo / File
Thirty-seven public homes are planned for the site on the corner of Ranolf St and Malfroy Rd.
Last week Kainga Ora announced it had bought land on Collie Drive in Pukehangi and planned to build 60 homes for people on the housing register by the end of next year.
Fenton Court Motel. Photo / File
A Fenton St property was being upgraded to create transitional housing for more than 80 people by mid-next year. It may later be used for mixed housing.
He said the high housing deprivation was a result of generations of under-investment in housing, a shortage of available land, rising rents and house prices and growing population that added to the demand for emergency housing.
"It won't be fixed overnight."
The Government committed a $55m shovel-ready investment in stormwater and transport infrastructure to enable future development by Ngāti Whakaue, he said, along with other funding for Māori-led housing initiatives.
Union Victoria Motel. Photo / File
"The Government has a duty to ensure vulnerable people have a roof over their heads tonight while also investing in and supporting new housing. This isn't an either/or thing."
Comments