Social housing cost $16.4b
AUCKLAND: The Government has put the cost of housing New Zealand’s vulnerable populations for life at about $16.4 billion — mostly in Auckland — a cost likely to rise along with the cost of housing.
The figure, which has been released as part of the Ministry of Social Development’s first social housing valuation report, is expected to rise.
The current housing market has not only made it harder for people to get into a home on their own, but is set to increase the amount the Government needs to spend on those in need.
The report showed over the past 15 years the chance of someone getting out of social housing had dropped 30%, and tenants were older and had been in the system receiving financial support for longer.
About 85% of the projected lifetime cost of $16.4 billion related to future incomerelated rent subsidy payments for social housing tenants; and the rest was made up of the accommodation supplement, temporary additional support and other related costs.
A higher share of this cost was spent in Auckland, the report found.
‘‘Despite comprising only 35% of the population, [Auckland] represents 61% of the total liability.’’
Social housing minister Amy Adams said the report set a benchmark to measure the country’s progress and how the Government’s initiatives were working to help those in need.
‘‘The valuation lets us measure success by how we change people’s lives. It is part of our broader social investment approach — where we’re building a better understanding of what works and for who and where to invest funds,’’ she said.
The report also found those households in social housing at the time the report was compiled were expected to spend, on average, a further 17 years in social housing.
The main factors contributing to people being in social housing were the cost of the rental market, the number of family members, the age of the primary householder and welfare and benefit history.
‘‘People on jobseeker or soleparent support are about 70 times more likely to apply for social housing than those not on benefits in the last five years.’’
Pacific and Maori people remained overrepresented in the social housing system, with Maori five times more likely to be in social housing and Pacific people seven times more likely than those of other ethnicities.
Maori were more likely to exit the system as a result of ‘‘poor social outcomes’’ such as being evicted, safety concerns, prison or issues of overcrowding.
The report was based on data on people in a social house, or on the MSD register from July 2014 to June 2015.
Mrs Adams said every evaluation of the system gave a picture of what was needed to improve outcomes.
‘‘We’ll gain more evidence to invest earlier in the people who need it most, with the support that will make the most difference.’’