25% of households depend on some type of government assistance to maintain their housing.
Data from the Ministry of Social Development and the Ministry for Housing and Urban Development indicate that 377,193 households receive the accommodation supplement, helping with rent and mortgage payments.
A total of 107,568 individuals receive temporary extra support and special benefits.
Slightly more than 6,300 people are living in transitional housing, 86,454 individuals receive income-related rent subsidies paid by the ministry to public housing landlords, and 598 people are benefiting from the emergency housing special needs grant.
For Isaac Gunson, spokesperson for the Child Poverty Action Group, the data highlights the instability of housing for children.
“These are not just numbers; they are whānau doing everything right but still being failed by a system where incomes have not kept up with the cost of living,” Gunson said.
He stressed that many people are raising children amid the constant pressure of increasing rents, unstable housing, and the looming threat of eviction.
“Every child deserves a warm, dry, secure home, but the scale of need has long outstripped supply. Thousands of families across Aotearoa need affordable, high-quality housing, and they needed it years ago.”
Gunson emphasised the need for increased public and community housing, along with higher incomes.
“Families need a permanent fix, not temporary top-ups.”
Housing Minister Chris Bishop stated that the data demonstrates how expensive the housing crisis is for both households and the government. He said the accommodation supplement alone costs the government approximately $2 billion annually.
“It is precisely why we need this government’s Going for Housing Growth plan.”
Simplicity chief economist Shamubeel Eaqub also remarked that the current methods of supporting households were ineffective yet difficult to change.
He said there’s a need for solutions that promote affordable housing supply beyond simply providing subsidies.