Experts warn homelessness in Auckland will be worse this winter

Wednesday, 2 May 2018

Monte Cecilia Housing Trust chief executive Bernie Smith says he expects homelessness in Auckland will be worse this winter than in previous years.

Auckland's homeless crisis is set to spike to worse levels this winter than any previous year, housing experts say.

Part of the blame is being put on a Housing NZ policy of boarding up state homes months in advance of plans to redevelop sections.

As a result 'there are people sleeping in cars tonight who didn't have to,' said Salvation Army social policy analyst Alan Johnson.

Housing Minister Phil Twyford acknowledged the dire predictions for this winter's homelessness are probably right: 'It's very likely homelessness will get worse before it gets better.'

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Housing and Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford said it will take time to stop the increase in homelessness and then reduce the number of Aucklanders who have nowhere to live.

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Though he sought to put a political spin on the issue, saying: 'There are indications there's been a high level of hidden homeless with large numbers of people only coming forward now there's a government committed to providing more state houses and emergency housing.'

Bernie Smith said families are spending longer periods living in emergency accommodation because 'there's no housing at the other end'.

Monte Cecilia Housing Trust chief executive Bernie Smith is blunt in his assessment that homelessness will be worse this winter.

'What has the previous government or the new one done to alleviate it for people this winter?' Smith asks.

'Nothing, in my opinion.'

Monte Cecilia, which is based in Māngere, south Auckland, supports low-income families to find affordable housing. It helped 545 families in need in 2017.

Smith said the previous National government increased the stock of emergency or transitional housing, but 'never did anything around affordable rentals or home ownership' to help families find a lasting solution to their housing woes.

'Families who would normally spend eight to 12 weeks in emergency housing are now spending double that time there because there's no housing at the other end.'

Housing NZ should have built a 'couple of thousand' new state houses in Auckland in 2017 to help alleviate the problem, Smith said.

Salvation Army social policy analyst Alan Johnson said he expects homelessness in Auckland 'will get worse before it gets better'.

He said he supports HNZ's policy of replacing single homes on large sections with higher-density housing, but said the way HNZ was going about it was worsening problems.

It should stop demolishing homes until it was ready to build replacements for the old ones, he said.

'There's no point having sites all over Auckland where houses have been demolished or shut-up. It only creates further homelessness.

'Nothing irks the public more than seeing Housing NZ shutting houses without a month or two down the track seeing new builds going up.'

Smith also said Twyford 'over promised' with the Government's KiwiBuild policy, which aims to construct 100,000 affordable homes over 10 years, with half of those new properties in Auckland.

He doubts the houses built will end up being at affordable prices and says 'even if they can do it, it's 18 months away, and that's why we're going to end up with a huge homelessness issue [this winter] that's even worse than last year.'

DEMOLISHING HOMES 'HOPELESS'

Alan Johnson is one of three people commissioned to create a report on the state of New Zealand's housing sector earlier this year.

He agreed with Smith's criticism of Housing NZ.

'One thing I would note is just how poor Housing NZ has been when it comes to demolishing properties and leaving its sites empty. It's hopeless,' Johnson said.

'We wouldn't have the housing crisis we've got if they [Housing NZ] stopped demolishing them.

Housing NZ is developing a large site in Wordsworth Rd, Manurewa.

'There are many hundreds of houses that would otherwise have been occupied by people [but have been demolished].

'There are people sleeping in cars tonight who didn't have to.'

Johnson said he also expected homelessness will get worse before it gets better.

But he expected to see progress being made with housing and homelessness in the second half of 2018.

'The problem is we've got population growth that exceeds our house-building, so people will have trouble finding housing.

'I think the Government is doing everything it can. The task is massive.'

As the new Government had only been in office for six months it could not be held responsible for issues with the housing sector that arose between the last general election and now, Johnson said.

MAJOR BUILDING PROGRAMME

Housing NZ asset development group general manager Patrick Dougherty said the agency has an 'extensive' programme to build new houses across Auckland.

In the 2016-2017 financial year it delivered, by building, buying or leasing, 856 houses in the city and demolished 369 homes no longer fit for purpose, he said.

Whole families are living in cars because they cannot find accommodation.

'In the [current] financial year to date, we have delivered 601 houses and demolished 176.'

Dougherty said the agency's construction of new homes is part of a major programme that will see it increase the pace and scale of housing supply in Auckland, as well as the supply of affordable, market, and public housing, and reduce the cost of development and construction.

Housing NZ plans to deliver about 5000 new state houses, of which 4300 are being built, up to 2019-2020, Dougherty said.

It's also releasing land to enable thousands of additional affordable and market homes to be built in Auckland.

He said there are various reasons why the agency's developments would take longer than first planned, such as redesigns, further information requests and updates, and granting of consents.

'Then there are the building stages involving the shutting off of utilities to, and safe demolition of, old buildings which can be further impacted by events beyond the control of developers, such as bad weather or the discovery of materials that need special processes such as asbestos removal.

'These are all events that are typical of any building process, from a single dwelling to multiple dwellings on a large scale.

'When it comes to Housing NZ projects, especially redevelopments on existing sites, there is the added complexity of moving tenants at the right time.'

SOLUTION WILL TAKE TIME

Twyford said it would take time to stop the increase in homelessness and then reduce the number of Aucklanders who have nowhere to live.

The Government inherited a 'massive' housing crisis with a shortfall of 45,000 homes in Auckland alone, he said.

'The state house waiting list has been rising steadily.'

Twyford said the Government was 'pulling out all the stops' to get more houses built faster, but 'they don't go up overnight and it will take time to ramp-up our building programme'.

'We're also working on other measures to get a roof over people's heads in winter and we'll be making announcements on those soon.

'Building houses is a huge part of the long-term solution to fixing the housing crisis.

'That includes our KiwiBuild programme of affordable starter homes … and more state houses for families who can't afford rents in the private market.'

Twyford said he recognises there will always be families who cannot afford to buy a KiwiBuild home.

To help such people the Government was working on a shared equity programme, which would 'open the door to homeownership' for more families, he said.

'More state houses, more community housing, and stronger renters' rights are also important parts of our housing programme.'

'DEMAND EXCEEDS SUPPLY'

Ministry of Social Development deputy chief executive for housing Scott Gallacher said there was an issue of housing demand exceeding supply nationally and the ministry knew there was a problem.

It was not something it can tackle on its own, he said.

'It's vital we partner with other agencies, organisations and providers, like Housing NZ, who are skilled and resourced to help us end homelessness.

'A key aspect in doing this is making sure we're covering all the different types of households.

'We're working alongside a range of community providers and others in the housing sector to increase the number of public housing and transitional housing places to help support the most vulnerable people in our community to build more independent lives.'

Gallacher said the ministry also addressed homelessness by offering people financial assistance with accommodation costs, and through transitional housing.

In the past year it had launched initiatives to help people who are homeless or at risk of being homelessness to retain a tenancy, be housed and access the social support they need, he said.