Government Launches 5 Actions to Support Rough Sleepers into Social Homes

The Government has announced five immediate actions to expand the support available for people sleeping rough and help them into social homes, Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka say.

Homelessness has been a problem in New Zealand for decades. It is rooted in our broken housing system, and becomes more severe during challenging economic times, Mr Bishop says.

It’s very difficult to get accurate numbers of people living without shelter because people in these circumstances often move around and avoid engaging with government services, but it’s clear that rough sleeping is a genuine problem.

The Government already spends more than half a billion dollars annually on a range of homelessness support programmes, including transitional housing, Housing First, Rapid Rehousing and emergency housing, among others. When added to social housing, the Accommodation Supplement and Temporary Additional Support, we spend more than $5 billion annually on housing support. But we can and will do more for rough sleepers.

The Government will take five immediate actions aimed at supporting rough sleepers into stable housing.

The first is to expand the Housing First programme. Housing First is a successful programme, started under the previous National-led government, which supports people experiencing chronic homelessness into permanent housing. It also provides tailored support to help people live in the home and build a better life.

Housing First delivers results – but it there are still a lot of people identified within the Housing First programme in need of stable housing. So today we can announce that the Government will fund an additional 300 social homes for Housing First, effective immediately. The focus for these additional social homes will be rough sleepers.

These additional social homes, likely to be mostly one-bedroom homes, will be leased from the private rental market in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington and Christchurch rather than built new. Leasing existing homes is a deliberate choice – it means Housing First providers can immediately begin contracting the homes and supporting people into them without the time lag caused by consenting and building.

Minister Potaka says the second action is to provide $10 million additional funding for support services for people sleeping rough. The intention here is to provide additional funding for services that are already established and have proven success. These services are likely to be specific to certain locations – because what works in Christchurch may not work in Hamilton and vice versa. Officials will work with trusted frontline experts to identify the services this funding should go towards.

The third action, which is already underway, is work to increase the efficiency of transitional housing. This means making sure that we have the right transitional housing properties in the right locations and with the right providers to ensure we can better support demand. There could be some rebalancing of places towards providers who have demonstrated an ability and willingness to work with rough sleepers.

Ministers have directed officials to significantly increase this occupancy rate by ensuring transitional housing places are located in the areas with the greatest demand, reducing turnaround time between tenants, and speeding up the time it takes to move a new client into transitional housing. This will mean fewer units sitting vacant and more homeless people being housed.

The fourth action is I expect that MSD assess all beneficiaries going into these social homes for good cause to redirect their benefit to contribute to accommodation costs.

Most people in social housing pay a contribution of 25 per cent of their income. Beneficiaries in social housing can choose to pay this through a direct deduction from their benefit – but many choose not to. Non-payment of rent over a sustained period can eventually result in tenancy termination and homelessness. Implementing a redirection where good cause exists was a recommendation from a frontline homelessness provider.

And the fifth action is to encourage Ministry of Social Development (MSD) staff to use greater discretion when assessing emergency housing applications.

We are not changing the requirements people need to meet to qualify for emergency housing. Those requirements are firm but fair, and to relax them risks going back to the emergency housing motel catastrophe under the previous government when thousands of families and children were consigned to live in dank motel rooms for months or even years on end.

But MSD staff can and do use their discretion when assessing emergency housing applications. Together with Social Development Minister Louise Upston, we are making it clearer to those staff that they should feel empowered to use their good judgement and common sense when determining whether someone should qualify.

The Government is committed to delivering the right homes, in the right places, with the right supports for rough sleepers. These five actions will help to deliver on this commitment, Mr Potaka says.

Notes to editor: Housing First Housing First is a programme that helps people who have been homeless for at least a year move into permanent housing. It’s designed for those sleeping rough or in places not meant for living, like cars or garages, and who have complex needs such as mental health or addiction issues.

Once housed, people get tailored support for as long as needed. People can access Housing First through referrals from health, mental health, income support, police, education, probation, iwi and community services. It’s available in regions like Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton, Rotorua, Tauranga, Whangārei, Nelson, Blenheim, Hawke’s Bay and the Far North.

Read more about Housing First Transitional housing programme Transitional housing provides short-term accommodation for people and whānau who urgently need a place to stay. It’s designed to help those who’ve lost their rental, can’t stay with family, or are moving out of emergency housing. It includes new builds, repurposed homes and leased properties.

Read more about transitional housing Explanation of Accommodation Supplement The Accommodation Supplement is a weekly payment to help people with their rent, board or the cost of owning a home.

Read more about the Accommodation Supplement