New Zealand Appeals to Public to Identify Rentals, Marae and Land to be Used for Homeless

Why did we select this case?

Homelessness is a major urban issue that has the potential to be resolved with the use of accommodation sharing platforms. The New Zealand government is approaching homelessness from this direction by calling for help from the public to identify and share otherwise unitilised assets to be inhabited by those seeking social housing.

About the case

New Zealand government will be putting $100m into tackling the escalating homelessness issue before the winter of 2018. There are, as of May 2018, 40,000 homeless or with insecure housing situations in New Zealand, 6,200 of which are seeking social housing, fuelled by lower interest rates and rapidly escalating rents that have resulted in many lower income individuals unable to attain home ownership.

"We can't do this alone...If you know of properties that might be available over winter, such as seasonal worker accommodation or private rental homes, we'd like to hear about those." - Housing Minister Phil Twyford

Their aims are to increase short-term and long-term housing options for the homeless and those with insecure housing and increasing social service funding. Of the $100m, $37m that had been allocated to this concern but not spent by the previous government will go toward finding 1,500 short-term emergency housing units. Property owners that identify potential properties are to be paid market rent while their asset is in use. The remaining $63m will be allocated to the Housing First programme, that, unlike most housing initiatives, has no housing readiness conditions. Any issues regarding sobriety, physical health, or mental health are to be resolved with the appropriate holistic support once the individual has a secure residence.