Court action filed against 9 emergency housing operators
Action filed against 9 emergency housing operators
25 May 2022
Council has filed court applications seeking enforcement orders against 9 tourist accommodation operators providing emergency housing to require compliance with the Rotorua District Plan.
The applications were lodged with the Environment Court on 16 May.
This follows previous attempts to request that these operators engage with Rotorua Lakes Council to ensure that if they want to continue providing emergency housing they are compliant with the relevant regulations and requirements.
The action is part of a compliance process to ensure the safety and appropriateness of any facilities providing emergency accommodation.
Across the next two weeks about 30 other operators providing non-contracted emergency housing will receive an initial invitation to engage with Council in order to ensure that if they want to continue providing emergency housing they are compliant with the relevant regulations and requirements.
Additional operators may also receive requests if Council becomes aware of others.
See background regarding Council's compliance approach to tourist accommodation operators providing emergency housing below.
Compliance approach outlined
28 April 2022
Tourist accommodation operators providing emergency housing are being required to engage with Rotorua Lakes Council regarding regulatory compliance to avoid enforcement action.
Compliance in relation to emergency housing as opposed to accommodating visitors has different requirements under the Building Act and regulations, the Resource Management Act and Rotorua District Plan.
The Building Act is primarily concerned with the safety of the occupants of a building while the Resource Management Act provides for wider considerations including off-site effects and the wellbeing of the neighbourhood. The District Plan sets out policies and rules used to manage the use of land in the district and takes national policy and legislation into account.
Operators who do not respond to Rotorua Lakes Council’s request to engage could face legal action as part of a compliance process to ensure the safety and appropriateness of any facilities providing emergency accommodation.
The enforcement approach was shared at today’s Full Council meeting at the request of Mayor Steve Chadwick, as chair. She asked that a presentation given in the confidential section of last month’s Full Council meeting be repeated in the public section of today’s meeting to provide the community with an understanding of what was happening, given the high public interest in emergency housing.
Council staff have already attempted to engage with nine operators, some of whom have now responded after receiving their final invitation to engage with Council. Other operators will receive correspondence next week inviting them to discuss their situation to understand any consenting requirements if they wish to continue providing emergency housing.
“This is a natural progression from the work undertaken by the Housing Taskforce established with Government agencies and focussed on providing better support and outcomes for people living in emergency housing or at risk of homelessness,” Council’s Deputy Chief Executive District Development, Jean-Paul Gaston, said outside of the meeting.
“Also, with changes to how COVID is being managed now and with international visitors expected to start returning, now is an appropriate time for operators to decide which business they want to be.
“Use of tourist accommodation such as motels and backpackers for emergency housing is not considered a long-term solution. It is acknowledged that an appropriate interim system is needed while more homes are built but we’ve always said that any interim system needs to be safe and appropriate.”
Mr Gaston said Council was restricted in terms of being able to limit the number of accommodation providers who could seek consent to operate as emergency housing providers. However, cumulative impacts on the community would be assessed through the consenting process and decision-making.
Thirteen operators who are contracted by the Ministry for Housing and Urban Development to provide emergency accommodation for families, with management systems and support services in place, are already going through a consenting process.
Attempts to engage with nine other operators able to be identified earlier on as providing emergency housing had to date been unsuccessful and they were now on their final invitation, Mr Gaston said.
Letters would be sent to the remaining tourist accommodation operators known to be providing emergency housing next week with their first invitation to engage with council to ensure regulatory compliance.
“Council now has a clearer understanding of the extent of emergency housing being provided in the wider tourist accommodation sector. These operators are being asked to engage with Council to ensure they are complying with their statutory obligations under both the Building Act and the Resource Management Act.
“Some operators may need to make changes and undertake work if they decide to continue providing emergency accommodation to comply with regulations to ensure safe and appropriate facilities.”
Mr Gaston said a staged approach was being taken to mitigate any adverse impacts on both those in emergency accommodation and the wider community.
“We don’t want to displace people and see them sleeping in cars and parks or CBD doorways again – that would just create new problems. There are a lot of risks, concerns and potential impacts to manage and balance as we work through this regulatory approach.”
If required, Council would pursue legal action through the courts if operators refuse to engage on compliance, he said.
Steps taken to date:
The work of the housing taskforce has to date resulted in MHUD contracting 13 motels to exclusively provide emergency housing with access to support services. All 13 providers are currently going through a resource consent process to ensure compliance with the District Plan (see Emergency Housing - Resource Consent Applications - Rotorua Lakes Council. Building Act compliance for these 13 motels is to be addressed separately.
A housing hub, Te Pokapū, has been established to manage the placement of people into safe and appropriate emergency accommodation while Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities works to urgently deliver more public housing in Rotorua.
Council is now engaging with uncontracted emergency housing operators to discuss regulatory compliance in relation to this use as opposed to accommodating visitors which has different requirements under the Building Act and regulations, the Resource Management Act and Council’s District Plan.
All taskforce partners continue to work on medium and long-term housing solutions for Rotorua that do not require the use of tourist accommodation.
To view today's presentation about this matter at the meeting THIS LINK will take you directly to this portion of the recording of the meeting which was livestreamed.
The presentation slides can be viewed HERE on Council’s website.