Housing homeless in Rotorua motels has cost millions in three months

Motels on Fenton St are among those getting emergency housing payments. Photo / File

Nearly $4.7 million has been spent on emergency housing and special needs grants in Rotorua during the past three months and new figures reveal the number of people getting help is growing.

The cost for the quarter covering July to September is just over $300,000 less than the three months before and critics say the numbers should have dropped as alert levels eased and all homeless were no longer forced to stay in emergency housing.

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Despite the slight drop in cost, the number of people getting accommodation in places like motels and grants to help pay for necessities has gone up significantly from 2088 grants in the quarter ending June 2020 to 3114 for the quarter ending September 2020.

Rotorua still continues to outstrip any other Bay of Plenty area when it comes to a total spend on emergency housing and special needs grants, with Tauranga's homeless costing $2.6m over three months to the end of September 2020.

Emergency housing and special needs grants for the entire Bay of Plenty for the quarter ending September 2020, which also covered the Eastern and Western Bay areas, came to nearly $8.2m.

Rotorua MP Todd McClay. Photo / File

Rotorua MP Todd McClay has described the situation as a "disaster" that needs urgent action from the Government.

He said the number of people getting help and the amount of money being spent should have fallen "considerably" with lockdown being over, as there was no legal requirement for homeless people to be forced to live in motels.

"This suggests that people continue to move to Rotorua because they've realised if you turn up and say you're homeless you get put in a motel."

He said it showed a lack of action in the Government's housing promises and it had pushed up rents, meaning people had less money to make ends meet.

"Rotorua also continues to be a dumping ground for the Government's homelessness problem and that's unfair to local residents who bear the brunt of this failure."

McClay said homes needed to be built, "not more talk or more hangouts".

He said the money spent in the past six months on emergency housing - equating to more than $9m, would have built a lot of houses.

The Ministry of Social Development has always said Rotorua was not being used to house out-of-town homeless.

The ministry had repeatedly said it did not actively move people to Rotorua and their figures showed less than 7 per cent of those who got emergency housing grants came from outside Rotorua.

Ministry of Social Development regional commissioner Mike Bryant. Photo / Supplied

Ministry regional commissioner Mike Bryant said the rise in the number of grants was both a reflection of the need and the length of time each grant was for.

He said grants were generally made for a longer period of up to 21 nights during lockdown as clients were unlikely to move during that time. This reduced the number of grants for the June quarter.

He said there was an increase through lockdown but it had remained consistent in the months since.

The cost of emergency housing depended on the per-night rate set by accommodation suppliers, the number and size of households and the length of time the household needs to stay, he said.

"The reduction in cost between the last two quarters could be due to a range of factors including a shift in market rates, relating to demand and border closures, as well as the different circumstances of the households who needed emergency housing during each quarter."

When asked when it would end, Bryant said the role of the ministry was to ensure people with an immediate housing need got access to emergency housing.

"We are here to help. We will continue to respond to those in need of housing while that need exists. We encourage anyone who needs help with emergency housing to get in touch with us."

Labour List MP Tāmati Coffey. Photo / File

Labour list MP Tāmati Coffey from Rotorua was asked if he was concerned about the emergency housing situation and said: "I'm always concerned that there are whānau living rough, especially with children."

He said increasing public housing stock was a key focus for the Government with more than 18,000 public and transitional homes to be delivered by 2024.

"Right now we have families living in motels, which is far from ideal. However, shelter is better than no shelter at all, especially at Christmas."

He said it was the long-term plan to withdraw from the motels into homes that were healthier and more secure.

He said the Government would hit housing harder still in 2021, with new options that would help more people into homes.

"The initiatives we've already put in place may have satisfied other governments, but under Jacinda Ardern's leadership, we are just getting started."

He said the Government had made change in the right direction and that was proven with the landslide vote for Labour.

"New Zealanders can see more houses being built in their communities and more support for families too."

He said no one would be surprised housing support was high in Rotorua and Tauranga but he was confident the community could see change was moving in the right direction.

"Change that revolves around building, building and building all at record speed – and we are increasing the trade skills of New Zealanders and supporting developers and iwi, so that we can build even faster."

He said the latest emergency housing figures showed that unlike previous governments that "made struggling whānau jump through hoops in order to get support", Labour was putting more help in better reach.

"So they can get off the streets with stronger opportunities for their future, and keep more of their mana intact."