Emergency Housing

The growing demand for emergency housing in Rotorua is a complex and multi-faceted issue that has not developed overnight. Council has always said that these challenges are not something that will be solved by one single organisation. By bringing key local and central government agencies and Te Arawa partners together, we’re creating a collaborative framework to facilitate effective, permanent solutions to housing issues in Rotorua.

Rotorua Lakes Council, Ministry of Social Development, Te Tūāpapa Kura Kāinga – Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities, and Te Puni Kokiri, in partnership with Te Arawa and supported by local agencies and social service providers

In the short-term, the objective is to provide safe, appropriate temporary accommodation for whānau in need. That work includes contracting motels for emergency housing for whanau with children, as well as improved support and placement for individuals and whanau in other motels. This will allow whānau with children to be placed in safe, fit-for-purpose accommodation while also giving them better access to wrap-around support services.

The medium-term aim is to increase the pool of transitional and public housing available in Rotorua, so people have suitable, secure homes where they’re able to continue accessing wrap-around support and services while working towards gaining permanent housing.

In the long-term, agencies are working together to increase public, affordable and general housing supplies across Rotorua. This includes capacity improvements to the city’s stormwater system and wider infrastructure in order to support additional development.

Much of this work has already begun and will not only improve the immediate situation, but also lay the foundation to achieve our long-term vision.

Te Tūāpapa Kura Kāinga – Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has contracted 13 motels to provide emergency housing for families with children. This ensures that they are suitable and safe for families while providing accountability from the motelier to provide an agreed standard of accommodation. Additional wrap-around support is provided to help support families.

This approach will help to reduce the number of motels used for emergency housing and distribute this housing more evenly across the city.

At contracted motels there will be additional on-site management and support through a contracted service provider.

No, people are not being brought in from outside the region. Rotorua was already facing significant housing and homelessness issues due to fast population growth and a lack of new housing builds. The need to rapidly house people during the COVID-19 lockdown added to that pressure. The majority of people living in emergency housing in Rotorua are from Rotorua. The small percentage of those who have recently come to Rotorua have done so to be closer to family and family support, to find new employment, or to remove themselves from unsafe living situations. Likewise, some people are leaving Rotorua going to other regions for the same reasons.

Te Pokapū is a community-led housing hub where people in need of housing can be holistically supported and placed into suitable accommodation. It is hosted by Te Taumata o Ngāti Whakaue, supported by the Ministry of Social Development and involves a collective of local providers.

Public housing includes State Housing, which is housing managed by Kāinga Ora (Housing New Zealand) and Community Housing, managed by Community Housing Providers (CHPs). It gives people on low incomes a stable, long-term place to call home. People in public housing have their rent subsided by the government so they pay 25% of their income in rent.

Transitional housing is managed by contracted providers to give temporary accommodation with social support for individuals or families in urgent housing need, while they find longer-term housing. People living in transitional housing pay around 25% of their income toward the cost of accommodation, in line with income-related rents for public housing.

When people have nowhere to live and there are no public, transitional or private housing options available, MSD will help people pay for emergency accommodation, often a motel, with an Emergency Housing Special Needs Grant. People in this situation for more than seven days will contribute 25% of their income each week towards the cost of their accommodation. They also need to re-apply for a grant every few weeks.

The 12 contracted motels in Rotorua provide whānau with children a stable place to stay and extra support until they can find and sustain a longer-term home. They also pay around 25% of their income each week towards the cost of their accommodation, but they don’t need to re-apply for emergency housing grants from MSD.

More supply of housing is critical. Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities is working hard to deliver more urgently needed warm, dry and healthy homes.

It has intensified its involvement in Rotorua to identify transitional housing and public housing opportunities to ensure a pathway to more permanent housing solutions, beyond motel use. These include transitional housing opportunities, affordable and market housing and public housing opportunities. Kāinga Ora is investigating a large number of potential sites that could be used for public housing and transitional housing. These sites are at differing stages of assessment and negotiation.

It has plans for 37 new permanent homes on most of the recently purchased 2 hectare vacant land on the corner of Ranolf Street and Malfroy Road, with these expected to be ready in 2022. It is exploring other development options for the rest of the site.

Over 80 people and families will have warm and dry transitional housing, alongside wraparound support, following the recent purchase by Kāinga Ora of the Boulevard Motel. Following upgrade work, people will start to move in from late September 2021. Longer term, the site offers redevelopment potential for housing.

Redevelopment is also underway at a number of existing Kāinga Ora sites in Rotorua, where older public houses will be replaced with a larger number of new warm and dry permanent homes for people, with the first of these expected to be completed in mid-2022.

Around 190 homes are expected to be delivered in Rotorua by 2024 under the Public Housing Plan.

• Development of the Homes and Thriving Communities Strategic Framework alongside Te Arawa partners and Government agencies.
• Long-term infrastructure planning and investment in infrastructure upgrades to help unlock land and support development.
• Working with Government to identify new opportunities for land development.
• District Plan changes to facilitate more housing at Pukehangi.
• Council and Waka Kotahi received Government funding for roading and stormwater upgrades to support residential development in Eastside.
• Development of locality plans to better understand community aspirations for future growth in Rotorua.
• Inner city strategy development which includes a policy to encourage accommodation and residential development in the CBD.

Yes. Motels used for emergency accommodation will need to be fully assessed against the district plan and council will assess what, if any, consent changes are required. Council will help to ensure any applications for changes to consents are processed efficiently.

The type of consent that may be required will depend on circumstances such as the type of facility, location of the facility, and what it will be exactly used for.