Napier's Bluewater Hotel is one of the region's biggest emergency and transitional housing providers. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
New rules came into force on Monday making emergency housing harder to get into - and harder to stay in.
Ministers signalled in March changes were on the way as part of their goal to largely get rid of emergency housing.
A report from government officials to ministers obtained by RNZ has revealed exactly what has changed. It's titled "Tightening the gateway into emergency housing" and details how the government is slashing the number of people living in emergency housing.
Here's what you need to know.
Who is emergency housing for?
Emergency housing is for people who have nowhere else to go.
They can apply to the Ministry of Social Development to be put up in emergency housing. Once an application has been accepted, MSD pays for someone to stay in emergency housing through an "Emergency Housing Special Needs Grant", or EH SNG.
Getting in has got harder
To be eligible for emergency housing, a person must:
- have an immediate housing need, which means they cannot stay where they are, and they do not have access to other adequate accommodation (MSD decides what is considered adequate)
- earn below the weekly income threshold, which varies: for example, it is $1,020.90 for a couple with or without children, or $898.56 for a solo parent with two or more children
- have no more than $1,338.90 in the bank (for someone who is single without children), or $2,230.96 (for couples or sole parents)
- be a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident
None of these are new. But here's what is: people now have to prove they meet that criteria with "supporting evidence". If they cannot, their application could be declined.
MSD can also consider whether the applicant has caused or contributed to their need - for example, if they cannot stay where they are due to bad behaviour. It is not a compulsory consideration, though, because assessing whether someone is at fault is subjective and "risks excluding people with genuine need," MSD said.
Harsher consequences for not following the rules
People in emergency housing have to meet certain obligations, which kick in after an their eighth night - to give them a bit of time to get sorted.
An applicant must:
- engage with support services if they have been referred to any
- make "reasonable efforts" to find somewhere else to stay
- pay a contribution towards the emergency housing - 25 percent of either their income or the Jobseeker Support benefit they would qualify for - whichever is higher.
Again, these already existed - but MSD was rarely able to enforce them, because of a rule that said they could not decline someone emergency housing if it worsened their situation, caused them hardship, or risked their life. "A decline will almost always worsen an applicant's position in the short term," MSD officials advised ministers.
That rule is now gone, so MSD can be stricter about declining people emergency housing if they do not meet their obligations.
However, MSD will consider whether there are "good and sufficient reasons" for someone not meeting those responsibilities - for example, if someone is escaping a violent or unsafe situation, was physically or mentally ill, or had childcare or transport arrangements fall through.
A new warning system
If those obligations are not met, a new warning system will now kick in. It's two strikes, and you're out.
If someone applies for a stay in emergency housing, and they did not met their obligations last time around, they will get a first warning. If that happens again, they are given a final warning. Next time, they will be declined emergency housing, and will not be allowed to apply again for 13 weeks. Those warnings will not be held against them in their next application, though.
Being declined
If someone is declined emergency housing for failing to meeting their obligations, MSD will connect them with government and community support services, and help them find other options - including the accommodation supplement, which covers a portion of someone's rent.
Applicants can seek a formal review, and if it's found they should not have been declined, the "failure" is not counted.
Why are the changes being made?
Housing minister Chris Bishop labelled emergency housing one of the biggest public policy failures in the country's history, leaving thousands of children effectively growing up in motels. And he's committed to ending the "motel generation".
The number of people living in emergency housing spiked during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the government shuffled those with nowhere else to go into motels amid nationwide lockdowns.
It's worth noting they've been dropping since then - more rapidly in the last few months. They've more than halved in the last year: in July 2024 there were 3,330 people in emergency housing, down from 7,554 in July 2023.
But it's still expensive - as at March the government was spending about $340 million each year for emergency housing places. And the government and housing advocates alike are adamant no-one should be living in motels long-term.
But opposition parties criticised proposed changes to the emergency housing system, saying it would leave people sleeping on the street.
Indeed, RNZ reported last week that MSD officials warned ministers making these changes now - before there are enough other housing options - risked making more people homeless. And one Wellington charity said that was already happening
But associate housing minister Tama Potaka said the government had mitigated that risk, and maintained those who needed support would get it.
"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."