Sometimes, the homeless are able to be housed in temporary shelters such as the Dunedin Night Shelter Trust in Lees St.
But there are also business owners who have tried to capitalise on the market, and one of the most high profile individuals in this regard was former Carisbrook Hotel owner Jacky Cheung.
In August, the Otago Daily Times exposed Cheung as charging residents of the hotel up to $400 per week, despite it having almost no facilities at all.
A visit to the former Carisbrook Hotel revealed people living in dilapidated rooms with no beds or heaters provided — and no access to any cooking facilities. There was a "kitchen" with a sink, but no cooker, fridge or freezer.
Mr Cheung collected about $6500 a month from tenants’ benefits, directly from Work and Income.
When Night Shelter Trust community worker Chris Edwards was made aware of the conditions at the former Carisbrook Hotel, she said it was so poor that "prison could be safer".
When researching the story, the Otago Daily Times posed as a couple who had been evicted from their flat and had nowhere to go, and rang a number scribbled on the front of the building. A man immediately asked: "You come from Work and Income? Do they pay?". When we said yes, we were told we could move in "straight away".
We were quoted $250 a week for one person, and $400 for double occupancy.
The Otago Daily Times identified themselves to then-owner Mr Cheung who said he had been renting rooms for six weeks — and had six tenants.
He said: "I don’t provide things — if they want a sleeping bag or a mattress they can go to Work and Income, or Salvation Army".
The stories caught the attention of social service agencies.
A Dunedin City Council spokesman said Mr Cheung had come under the spotlight of both the council and Tenancy Services, which is part of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
Officials "discussed concerns" with Mr Cheung — and issued him with a "notice to fix".
In response, Mr Cheung fitted smoke alarms and installed a cheap-as-chips cooking solution for occupants — a two-ring hob and microwave.
Authorities later stressed that this did not mean the former Carisbrook Hotel was fully compliant or even risk free.
Council building services manager Paul Henderson told the ODT if Mr Cheung wanted to continue having tenants sleeping in the building, the Building Act required him to notify the council of a change of use.
It was later revealed Mr Cheung had evicted tenants from the former Carisbrook Hotel.
But as a result of the stories, several tenants were moved to better emergency accommodation, with some describing their change of circumstances as "amazing".
