A yellow sticker found on some storm-damaged homes. Photo: Supplied / Madison Valmont
Flood- and storm-displaced homeowners who missed out on the government's accommodation support, but need it, are frustrated at delays to include them.
The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) planned to release the extended eligibility criteria for its Temporary Accommodation Assistance programme last month, but this has been pushed out till later this month.
Homeowners with properties held in trusts, or those uninsured due to previous storms are among those who expect to be included in the changes.
MSD's general manager of housing Hayley Hamilton said the changes were taking time to work through.
"We have been working through possible changes to the programme to support additional displaced homeowners experiencing significant hardship. This includes those that have been previously declined Temporary Accommodation Assistance."
The support is targeted for specific homeowners who cannot live in their home due to a severe weather event.
"Changes to specific eligibility criteria can be complex to amend and administer. Details of the potential changes have taken time to work through," Hamilton said. "We expect further information will be announced in the coming weeks."
An Auckland woman whose house was deemed unlivable after last January's floods said it was costing her $2000 for both the mortgage on the damaged house and rent on another she and her husband were living in. She spoke to RNZ on condition of anonymity.
Their house was temporarily uninsured when it flooded, because they were part-way through repairing it after a previous storm.
She expected to receive the accommodation support when it was extended, and said the delay was disappointing.
"It's just disappointing because we were so excited when we heard the government announce [the extension] just before Christmas. It's going to take so much pressure off us. We've been holding out because the website kept saying they'd be updating it at the end of February."
That website was recently changed to say it would be mid-late March.
"We just feel like it's kicking the can down the road and we've just had so much of that in the last year-and-a-half. There's a lot of people that are really struggling that haven't been able to access that accommodation support and they're just delaying it further.
Louise Upston. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
"It's just really frustrating when the issues that we're facing are happening now and we've been dealing with them for over a year."
Meanwhile, the homeowner was waiting on a valuation for their storm-damaged house, which will be bought out.
She would like any accommodation support to be backdated - a move she said would be a game-changer given their financial hardship.
In December, the government said it would extend financial support to more displaced homeowners affected by the storms in late 2022 and early 2023.
Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston said the extension would focus on people who were in genuine need and not currently receiving Temporary Accommodation Assistance. This would include homeowners displaced in the August 2022 flooding in Nelson, Marlborough and Tasman; Auckland homeowners displaced in the January 2023 flooding; and those displaced due to Cyclone Gabrielle.
"There is funding set aside to help homeowners impacted by these weather events and we want to make sure that gets to those who are facing significant hardship," Upston said at the time.
"Some people have been declined for this financial support because of circumstances beyond their control."
She said examples could include homes that have not been red- or yellow-stickered, but councils have acknowledged they were not safe to live in, or people who could not get insurance cover for their house due to damage caused by earlier weather events.
Upston also said there could be greater discretion for complex home ownership structures, such as those held in a trust, but that would take longer to address.
