Emergency housing spend drops nearly a third in a month

By Lauren Crimp of RNZ

The amount of cash the government pays to cover people's emergency housing costs has dropped by nearly a third in a month, government figures show.

The Ministry of Social Development's latest monthly housing report showed it paid $10.7 million for emergency housing grants in August - down from $15.6 million in July.

The number of households living in emergency housing dropped 22 percent in the same period, from 1548 to 1215.

"This is a significant drop from the same time last year, when the number of households in emergency housing stood at 3,396, marking a 64 percent decrease," the report said.

Auckland recorded the most significant proportional decrease, with 42 percent fewer households, followed by Central's 39 percent and Canterbury's 30 percent reduction, it said.

The number of whānau living in emergency housing has been in steady decline in the past year - more rapidly since April.

In March, the government announced big changes as part of its effort to end the use of such accommodation, including a tougher approach to allowing people into it in the first place - despite being warned that risked making more people homeless.

Those new rules came into force in late August.

The government has been celebrating the decline in the number of people living in emergency housing, saying it is not a safe, secure place for people to live long-term.

"We're pretty dedicated to making sure that we do whatever we can to accelerate tamariki and their whānau, to come out of hotels and motels," Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka said in August.

But critics worried people who desperately needed emergency housing would not be able to access it.