They've been labelled the Motel Generation because of living conditions that critics have called inhumane.
National housing spokesperson Nicola Willis says government policy is making life hard for the more than 4000 children living in emergency accommodation.
A place to call home - it's the Kiwi dream and Willis says New Zealanders want to know that if they work hard, and save hard they can get on the ladder to owning their own piece of New Zealand, their own home but it's not the reality for those living in emergency housing.
"We've heard of cockroach infestations, people living next door to violent gang members, drug dealers, people witnessing horrendous violence."
Ministry of Social Development data shows that as of March this year 4368 children were living in emergency housing.
We asked Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni what she's doing about it and she said: "We are on track to deliver 18,000 new Kainga Ora homes by 2024, which will help alleviate the need for emergency housing. However, until these come online, we must find a place to stay for people who need them. Emergency housing in motels is not a long-term solution but it's better than asking people to sleep in cars or in tents."
But Willis says it's simply not working. She notes the government promised 16,000 Kiwibuild homes but there are just over a thousand. Figures also show that, of the 8000 public houses the government has talked about, only 4000 are new builds.
A housing broker role and new funds have been established for those struggling with housing. But Willis says the answer to bridging the gap is to "take the pressure off the private rental market, so people can afford the rent."
No one wants to line up to the government for a motel room, she says.
Desperate homeless skyrocket
As of March this year 23,688 people were on the housing register, a 45.3 per cent increase in a year. It was reported by Newshub that the category for those most at risk on the housing priority list sat at zero in March 2018. Only five months after the Labour and NZ First coalition was elected. that number rose to 21 in 2019, and in 2020 it climbed again to 87. And as of March, the number of people needing housing the most has skyrocketed to 198.
Using motels as accommodation started under a National government and Willis is defending her team, saying $59,000 a day was used to house people in emergency accommodation under the last National government to help people into motels. She said today that number is $1 million a day so things have got astronomically worst and it's creating a motel generation.
Te Ao Māori News asked the minister what is being done for these families. In a statement, she said: "We are trialling a new way of working in Rotorua where we are contracting motels and providing more coordinated support for the people in emergency housing. This new service prioritises whānau living in motels with mokopuna, tamariki, and rangatahi."
The new Rotorua emergency housing update "will directly contract motels in Rotorua to deliver emergency housing, making it easier for wraparound support services to be delivered to whanau and tamariki living in motels."
Families and tamariki would be kept separate from other groups and a one-stop housing hub would be set up for access to services and support.
Sepuloni said at the announcement the housing hub would be community-led, and would provide a place where people needing emergency housing could also have their holistic care needs assessed and addressed, with placements triaged into appropriate accommodation.