Hamilton NZ’s emergency housing epicentre

Monday, 19 May 2025

Hamilton has topped the country for emergency housing funding - even as a dramatic nationwide decline in grant numbers signals the end of an era.

The city received more than $3.1 million in emergency housing grants - nearly a third of the total $10.2 million allocated nationwide and the highest allocation of any city, including Auckland.

New figures from the Ministry of Social Development show 813 grants were issued in Hamilton, placing it well ahead of Auckland (537 grants, $1.03 million) and Christchurch (375 grants, $737,315).

While the overall spend has decreased sharply from previous years, Hamilton’s share remains significant, making it the country’s emergency housing epicentre.

The city’s dominance in emergency housing support follows a four-year trend. In March 2022, Hamilton received $19.1 million in grants - second only to Auckland. By 2024, it overtook all other districts, receiving $16.9 million in the March quarter.

The 2025 figure reflects policy changes that tightened eligibility and funding distribution, but Hamilton still tops the list.

In just 12 months, the number of Waikato households in emergency housing fell from 510 to 126 - a drop of 384. Nationally, the fall was even steeper, from 2625 households to just 459.

“This is a huge drop,” said Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka, who leads the government’s emergency housing response. “It’s absolutely astonishing to me that Hamilton had a higher number of emergency housing households than Auckland, which is 10 times bigger.”

The grants - introduced in 2016 - were meant to be temporary support for vulnerable New Zealanders.

“When we came into government, [emergency housing] was an absolute moral, fiscal and social catastrophe. It was an absolute disaster and debacle,” Potaka said.

The current government set a target to reduce emergency housing by 75% within six years. Potaka said that goal was met in just over 12 months. “We’ve gone from over 3000 to between 500 and 600,” he said.

Potaka attributed Hamilton’s high numbers to its rapid growth and lack of housing alternatives.

“Hamilton has had a severe growth in population and with that growth comes pressure on the housing that is available,” he said. “We’re the fastest growing city and the youngest city in the country and so affordability is absolutely top of mind and a necessity for a place like Hamilton.”

He also noted that emergency housing was more accessible in Hamilton than in neighbouring areas like Thames or Coromandel. “Sometimes people do move and take up emergency housing to be close to family and friends or to be close to where accommodation is a little bit more affordable,” he said.

Potaka pointed to nationwide rent increases under the previous government. “Rents had shot up over the course of the Labour Government between 2017 and 2023 shot up massively by about $180 nationwide, and Hamilton was not immune to that,” he said. “It’s good to see that rents have stabilised over the last 12 to 15 months as well.”

While emergency housing remains available for those in genuine need, Potaka said the focus must be on ensuring it never becomes a long-term solution. “It should never be allowed to get away on us like it did,” he said.

He credited the drop to Government changes. “We've done that through asking the right questions and having the right systems in place and particularly prioritizing children to come out of Hamilton motels that have accommodated them as emergency housing,” he said.

“Most of the people that have left emergency house have gone into some form of dry and warm homes, whether or not that's a social transitional housing or private housing actually through the support that is given to them under accommodation supplement.”

On the ground in Hamilton, the impact of those policy shifts is visible. For years, the city’s Ulster Street was the heart of emergency housing, as motels were funded by MSD to house hundreds of displaced individuals and families. That business is gone now, and moteliers are left picking up the pieces.

“We were more than pulling our weight, as far as looking after social housing throughout New Zealand,” said Waikato Motel Association president and Ulster Lodge Motel owner Narinder Sagoo. “The occupancy rate now is very low. At present, many motel rooms are coming back online, and there's an oversupply of accommodation.”

Room rates have dropped dramatically. Moteliers who charged up to $250 a night in 2022 now struggle to sell rooms at $150, competing with others pricing as low as $100.

“The prices have gone backwards eight years. But our costs - council rates, insurance, rent - have gone up,” said one operator, who asked not to be named. “This year is not good as last year because the economy is not that good. So a lot of corporate companies, factories, they're closing down or restructuring.”

At Hygate Motel, staff say the effects of emergency housing will linger.

“We had a very good rating and were always booked out before Covid-19, but after obviously taking on emergency housing, the ratings and the reviews have definitely gone down.

“We're trying to improve on that, but it's gonna take a while. It's just not going to change overnight,” said receptionist Rian, who added the business spent more than $100,000 on renovations, including meth decontamination.

MSD’s Tracey Smith said work was continuing to move people out of motels and into stable housing. A pilot programme in Hamilton and Wellington was targeting singles and couples without children. In September 2024, 29% of emergency housing exits went into social housing, 27% into accommodation supplement-supported private rentals, and 26% into transitional housing.

Potaka said the challenge was not over, but the course was set. “We're going the right way, we've still got work to do and we've also got to make sure that we enable affordable living for everyone.”