Motel-based emergency housing in Rotorua will drop to 'near zero” and mixed-model motels will be 'as few as three before Christmas”.

That's according to Housing Minister Megan Woods, who signed a Housing Accord with Rotorua Lakes Council Te Arawa and Ngāti Whakaue on Friday.

Woods joined the meeting at council chambers in Rotorua via Zoom after her flight into the tourism hub had to be turned back to Wellington due to bad weather.

Woods says the accord is 'an important step in building a better housing and urban future for Rotorua”.

She says there is 'no question that Rotorua is in a housing crisis”, but she says positive results are being seen and that while this time last year 372 people were in emergency accommodation in the city, by November that had fallen to 168.

Woods also acknowledges the ‘mixed model' has been a particular issue and that there will be 'as few as three before Christmas”.

The ‘mixed-model' system, which sees tourists and MSD clients under the same roof, has been highlighted by Rotorua NZ chief Andrew Wilson as one factor actively undermining efforts to attract visitors to the city.

It was also acknowledged by Woods and Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni in May 2021 as being a problem, though it has continued to be used.

The use of Rotorua's motels has also drawn criticism from former Mayor Steve Chadwick, who told both Woods and Sepuloni in letters obtained by Stuff that drug use, violent behaviour, vandalism and other anti-social behaviour on a daily basis was 'destroying our city”.

Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell says she spoke to Woods shortly after becoming mayor, and told the minister 'Rotorua faces unprecedented challenges that must be resolved”.

She says the current situation is 'not sustainable and requires urgent change”, and cited a recent report that claimed Rotorua could see losses of $92m per year to the city's tourism economy.

Tapsell says there are currently 20 fewer motels being used for emergency accommodation.

'A motel room is not a home and we need to build our way out of this,” she says.

In an earlier press statement, Woods said the accord ”spells out clearly the Government's current and ongoing commitment to Rotorua as it works with the community to deliver more public, transitional and affordable housing, and also provide safe, supported emergency accommodation”.

She said the accord would see Government, council and iwi work collaboratively to address the city's chronic housing shortage, improve emergency housing and community wellbeing.

House builds hadn't kept pace with population growth, creating 'an unacceptable rise in house prices and rental costs”, she said.

In an earlier press statement, Woods said the accord seeks to progressively reduce the use of motels for emergency housing in Rotorua to near zero, provide quality care and wrap-around support to people in emergency accommodation and build more public homes.

About 330 public and transitional homes are under construction or in planning, there's been 'huge investment in infrastructure” – including through the Infrastructure Acceleration Fund - and a partnership with Māori has led to several new housing developments, she said.

The accord is also welcomed by Rawiri Waru, the chairman of a Te Arawa Working Party responding to emergency housing.

'We agree that housing development, which is environmentally friendly and sustainable, is desperately needed in Rotorua,” he says.

'But, above all Te Arawa is driven by our inherited value of protecting the wellbeing and safety of people who reside in Rotorua and manuhiri who come to our rohe.

'This accord recognises our collaborative duty to address the chronic housing crisis and tackle the many issues that have emerged from it.

'Me whai mana nui hoki ngā mātāpono a Te Arawa ki tēnei take kīhai ki tā Te Arawa whakatau ai. Te Arawa beliefs and ideologies must be given mana and applied as directed by Te Arawa.”

-Benn Bathgate/Stuff.