New Zealand's housing crisis and Afghanistan's refugee crisis have intersected, with one government ministry asking staff to get in touch if they have a spare rental property for evacuees
Employees at one of the Government's super-ministries have been invited to offer up any rental properties they own to evacuees from Afghanistan, with a message warning that many will "struggle to find their own homes" given the country's housing crisis.
New Zealand has taken in hundreds of evacuees from Afghanistan following the country's collapse to the Taliban, but the Government now faces a challenge in finding them a place to live.
In a message shared with staff on the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s [MBIE] internal network, headlined ‘Afghan evacuees need a home - can you help?’, the ministry invited anyone with a house available to rent in one of the country’s major centres to contact Immigration NZ’s refugee housing team.
“They [evacuees] had no choice but to flee their homes and we have taken them into New Zealand to offer them a new start. One of the key first steps is helping them find a new home.”
The ministry said officials were looking for homes in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Palmerston North, Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargill which were safe, affordable, appropriate and healthy.
“Given the current housing crisis and highly competitive market, they will struggle to find their own homes,” the message said.
“Landlords will likely dismiss their applications unless they have already had the opportunity to hear about their situation and the advantages of choosing them as tenants.”
“It’s just a matter of, public or private, just getting warm, safe, dry housing for people – that’s the key.”
Asylum Seekers Support Trust general manager Tim Maurice told Newsroom the ministry’s internal message was likely a symptom of how swiftly officials had to move in the wake of Kabul’s swift fall and the surprise evacuation.
"They wouldn’t have had any housing in the pipeline,” Maurice said.
Maurice said racism in the housing market was an unfortunate but common problem for refugees, with particular difficulties for those who did not speak English.
Their lack of history in the country was an issue, while securing the money for a bond required going through Work and Income, whose staff were not always familiar with the entitlements of different refugee categories and would sometimes erroneously decline applications for support.
With many needy New Zealanders already on the public housing waitlist, the best solution was not necessarily to prioritise refugees but for the Government to provide more housing across the board.
“It’s just a matter of, public or private, just getting warm, safe, dry housing for people – that’s the key.”
Green Party refugees spokeswoman Golriz Ghahraman told Newsroom it was “alarming” if such an ad-hoc request was necessary to find houses for the evacuees.
“It shows the way that the most vulnerable communities have been forgotten as we sink deeper and deeper into the housing crisis.”
Ghahraman had spoken to church organisations and other social groups who had had little if any contact from the Government about offering up accommodation.
The Government’s rationale for not accepting more Afghan evacuees had shifted from its inability to get them out of the country – less of a factor when many were now in Pakistan – to Covid protocols and then to the housing market.
There was “massive prejudice” in the housing market which affected many, and refugees would be among those worst affected, she said.
MBIE’s refugee and migrant services general manager Fiona Whiteridge told Newsroom the ministry had provided the housing information to its staff to better manage offers of support, after Immigration NZ had received a number of enquiries “both internally and externally” offering assistance for Afghan evacuees.
Whiteridge said Immigration NZ handled the process of securing housing for refugees, whether in public stock or the private market, while the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) was responsible for assessing refugees’ eligibility and need for public housing and placing them on the housing register.
“We know that a competitive rental market often means it is important for potential tenants to be able to provide additional information such as references to secure a house. Unfortunately it is unlikely that Afghan evacuees will be able to provide this information."
As priority status for social housing was not being allocated to Afghan evacuees, the ministries were working to find homes for them through the private market as was the case for refugees from New Zealand’s quota programme.
“We know from experience that it can be difficult to find suitable housing for newly arrived refugees, particularly when they arrive as a large group.”
Regarding the potential for landlords to discriminate against Afghan refugees, Whiteridge said she “acknowledge[d] the implication that can be made from the language in the information shared internally” but added: “This was not the writer’s intent and I apologise for any offence caused as a result.”
“We know that a competitive rental market often means it is important for potential tenants to be able to provide additional information such as references to secure a house.
“Unfortunately it is unlikely that Afghan evacuees will be able to provide this information as they have not been in New Zealand long and therefore don’t have a rental history that other potential tenants may have.”
Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi told Newsroom he had raised the matter with Immigration New Zealand officials and was confident it had handled the situation appropriately.
