Demand for social housing is increasing again. Photo / Michael Cunningham
The number of households that have lived in emergency housing for more than two years has doubled since this time last year, as demand for social housing starts to increase again.
At the end of last year, the number of people seeking support for social housing declined for the first time since 2015. It came after demand skyrocketed from 3352 applicants in June 2015 to a peak of 27,234 in April.
In December, it dropped to 23,129, but experts at the time warned it could be shortlived with immigration on the rise again - increasing demand for housing while building consents declined and cost of living pressures continued to bite.
The latest figures for March show demand has indeed increased again to 24,081 applicants and comes as the latest migration figures show a record number of non-New Zealand arrivals in February and a net gain overall of 52,000 people in the year to February.
The pressures on social housing also appear to be filtering through to emergency accommodation, with the number of households starting to increase again after hitting a low point in January. There are now 3417 households in emergency accommodation, such as motels, including 3357 children, with just under $30m paid out in grants.
This is up from 3276 households in January, but down from a peak of 4911 in December 2021, when just over $41m was paid out in grants.
Meanwhile, the time spent in emergency accommodation continues to increase, with the average stay up to 26 weeks - up from 21 weeks a year ago, and three weeks back in 2018.
Emergency housing was designed as a short-term option for those most in need, but a growing number of residents have now lived in motels for two years or longer.
As of March there were 132 households that had been in emergency accommodation for more than two years - up from 63 a year ago and 18 the year before that.
While it means New Zealand’s most vulnerable residents are not homeless there have been reports of violence, gang activity and intimidation, with thousands of children living in those environments. The system costs hundreds of million dollars a year, costing the Government over a billion dollars since 2017.
National Party housing spokesman Chris Bishop said it was “heartbreaking” to see that families had been in emergency accommodation over two years, and that the number kept increasing.
Bishop said he thought the pressures on social housing demand were being driven by rising rental prices, which in turn were affected by Government policies affecting landlords.
These included removing the ability of landlords to deduct interest from their earnings.
“Interest rates are rising and so landlord costs are rising and this is causing upward pressure on rents.
“The Government was warned this would add pressure to the housing waitlist but ignored that.”
The Government has not responded to specific questions from the Herald about social housing pressures.
Previously Housing Minister Megan Woods has accused National of hypocrisy over its criticism of social housing, pointing out in National’s nine years in government stock had declined by 1500 homes.
Since June 2017, 11,741 homes had been added, including just over 7000 built by community housing providers and just over 4000 by state landlord Kāinga Ora.
Woods has said it is the ongoing shortfall that is driving up rents, not Government policy relating to landlords.
On emergency housing issues, Associate Social Development and Employment Minister Priyanca Radhakrishnan said the recent increase could also be due to the severe weather events as well as emerging from a holiday period that saw Emergency Housing Special Needs Grants being provided for an extended period of time.
Overall compared to March 2022 there were 28 per cent fewer households in Emergency Housing.
Radhakrishnan said there were also implementing the emergency housing review and last month expanded the eligibility for housing support products that focuses on supporting people to stay or get into a private rental, which will reduce the need for emergency housing.
Radhakrishnan said recent increases to the social housing waitlist could also be due to the severe weather events, that displaced many families.
While the waitlist had increased another 150 households had been provided public housing support compared to last month, she said.
Stephen Hart, chief executive of Auckland-based Community of Refuge Trust, said the recent increase in demand for social housing could be due to migration increasing again alongside a dip in the building rate.
“It all points to more pressure on the housing system and inevitably rentals, with the greatest pressure on those on low incomes.”
Hart said in the bigger picture the question was if there was enough affordability across the whole housing system, including enough social houses being built along with pathways to own affordable homes.
Hart said the major problem had been decades of underinvestment in the sector, and while Labour had reversed that it would still take time to catch up.
“There has been more investment in the last few years but there needs be an unprecedented level of investment.
“There is also a very much unrealised opportunity waiting there in community housing.”