The Government has extended accommodation assistance for households displaced by Cyclone Gabrielle and the January 2023 Auckland floods.
Auckland Council has been advocating for an extension of these services to support affected whānau through the long tail of recovery. Support extended to June 2025 includes:
- An extension to the Temporary Accommodation Service (TAS) was announced as part of Budget 2025, with $28 million of extra funding. TAS can help households with finding temporary accommodation if their home has been damaged by a natural disaster. This is a service of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).
- An extension to the Temporary Accommodation Assistance (TAA) has also been announced by the Social Development and Employment Minister. TAA is a Ministry of Social Development payment to help homeowners who can't live in their home due to specific severe weather events. While the criteria was expanded earlier this year, it will not be updated to include properties held in trusts.
“Extension of this critical support will be a huge relief for whānau in all affected regions as they move through the stages of recovery. And particularly in Auckland where we will have more joining our programme to the end of September 2024,” says Linda Greenalgh, Group community and Social Recovery lead for the Tāmaki Makaurau Recovery Office.
“Recovery has a long tail. Even after receiving a category, whānau need to be supported through considering and finalising their buy-outs, or through major construction work at their property.”
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Categorisation timelines
As at 10 June, over 1600 properties had been categorised in Auckland, with over 500 eligible for buy-outs, around 300 buy-out offers made, and 100 buy-outs completed.
“Any categorisations continuing into next year will be for later registrations - not those who are already waiting,” Ms Greenalgh explains.
“Homeowners already registered and waiting should have their categories well before the end of the year. Those who registered last year have been given a forecast date for their categorisation - with most expected to be completed in the next few months.”
September registration deadline
Affected homeowners have until 30 September 2024 to register for the categorisation programme. While registrations are still coming in every week, Ms Greenalgh says some at-risk homeowners have not been in the head space to consider their options, and others have had reservations about signing up.
“For many living in flood plains and repeat flooding areas, this might be the best option they have going forward to move somewhere safer,” says Ms Greenalgh.
“A common concern is that getting a category will affect their property value and insurance premiums. But insurance providers, banks, tenants, councils and the property market will make their own decisions about risk with publicly available information. So – it’s about making sure everyone understands the benefits and risks, and can make an informed decision.”
Recent research by IAG found 90% of buyers want flood info when buying a house, and that natural hazard risks are now the second consideration for house buyers after price. LIMs, public hazard maps and previous claim history all contain flooding and landslip hazard information regardless of whether a property has a category.
