Government was warned emergency housing crackdown could increase homelessness

• The government has toughened up criteria for accessing emergency housing in a bid to slash the number of people relying on it.
• Documents reveal ministers were warned that could mean more people would be forced to sleep rough.
• An advocate says that is already playing out on the streets of Wellington.

Ministers were warned changes to emergency housing rules could increase homelessness, documents reveal - and one advocate says that is already happening.

In March, the government announced big changes as part of its effort to end the use of emergency housing, including a tougher approach to allowing people into emergency housing in the first place.

More detail of the changes came to light a fortnight ago, including the requirement for people to prove their need for emergency housing - and that they had not "contributed" to that need themselves.

RNZ can now reveal ministers were told the new rules could mean more people resorting to sleeping on the street, with nowhere else to go.

A report, penned by Ministry of Social Development staff for housing minister Chris Bishop, social development minister Louise Upston and associate housing minister Tama Potaka, contained clear warnings on "tightening the gateway" into emergency housing.

"Making these changes ahead of significant increases to the supply of affordable housing and more preventative wraparound supports does create a risk of increased levels of rough sleeping, people living in cars and overcrowding (with the potential for associated negative outcomes, and possibly more Reports of Concern to Oranga Tamariki)," it said.

There was also a risk of increasing pressure on other community and government services, including hospitals and mental health and addiction services, it said.

The changes had "implications" for the right to housing and to an adequate standard of living - and could be seen as contrary to the country's commitment to those rights under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the report said.

It also acknowledged some changes may "disproportionately negatively impact Māori" - who represent half of all emergency housing applicants - and "do not align with Te Tiriti principles of active protection and equity".

One of the changes signed off in the paper was to remove a requirement for the Ministry of Social Development to consider whether declining an emergency housing application would risk someone's life or welfare, or cause serious hardship. However, in a "very limited number of cases", if an applicant was in a violent or unsafe situation, their application could be "escalated to national office".

"Mitigations to these risks will need to be carefully considered as part of the broader [emergency housing] work programme," the document said.

Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka told RNZ those risks had been mitigated in a number of ways.

They included extending funding for support services to help people into homes, changing policy settings to boost housing supply, and funding community housing providers for 1500 additional social homes. Those homes would not be delivered until July next year.

The most vulnerable people would be supported, Potaka said.

"People who have multiple risk factors, are experiencing a crisis beyond their control and are at risk of current or near-term harm, will be able to temporarily continue to access [emergency housing] until risk to near-term harm is resolved.

"As long as people have a genuine housing need and continue to meet their responsibilities, they will continue to be eligible for emergency housing support."

More people already sleeping rough in the capital - advocate

Homelessness was already on the rise in Wellington, said Downtown Community Ministry director Stephen Turnock, who works with people experiencing homelessness.

The need for emergency housing continued to grow, but it was tougher to access, he said.

"What we're seeing now is that the line's been clearly drawn, there's no intent to increase the availability of emergency housing, yet at the same time we're seeing a definite increase in the ... numbers of people experiencing homelessness.

"Therefore, more people are remaining homeless, and rough sleeping on the streets."

In the first three months of the year, DCM knew of 52 people sleeping rough - but that leapt to 73 in the three months to the end of June, Turnock said.

Potaka said there was space available in Wellington "for people who have a genuine housing need and meet the criteria".

But Turnock said people sleeping rough had a genuine housing need, and questioned what those who did not meet the criteria were meant to do.

"People must explore all other options before they are eligible for emergency housing. For example, applying for private rentals or asking friends or family if they can stay with them," Potaka said.

Turnock agreed with the government's position that emergency housing was not a long-term solution.

But until other options were available, emergency housing was still needed, he said.

"We're really hoping that will alleviate the need for emergency housing, but our experience is at this time, that's not the case."