The owner of a red-stickered property in Auckland is alarmed at the rate of the Government's new weekly payment for homeowners displaced by the recent North Island floods.
"They're offering about $330 for a one-person accommodation grant, which just isn't going to cut it in the Auckland area," Luci Harrison, whose Parnell property is sitting on the edge of a slip, told Newshub.
The Government's new payment, known as North Island Weather Events - Temporary Accommodation Assistance, will be available from September 4, Auckland Minister Carmel Sepuloni announced on Wednesday.
Following the Canterbury earthquakes, a similar payment was established to support displaced homeowners to meet the costs of their temporary accommodation while remediation was happening on their primary residence.
The payment will be different depending on the number of people in the household and the location. Single homeowners in Auckland will be eligible for up to $330 a week while a couple with two or more children or a sole parent with three or more children could get up to $610.
Sepuloni says the rate is set at 100 percent of the average rent declared by Accommodation Supplement recipients in each of the regions.
"We recognise the need to provide certainty to residents who are unable to return to their homes. This payment will help bridge the gap until repairs are undertaken or a decision is made on the future of their property," she said.
"The Government has prioritised setting up this payment now, as payments from insurers for temporary accommodation start to run out and the future for some people's homes remain uncertain."
But Harrison says the rate is too low and many red-stickered property owners will struggle to make ends meet.
The fine print of the announcement notes: "For some households, where their rent is higher than the maximum payment rate outlined in the table below, this means that they will only be subsidised for a proportion of their temporary accommodation costs."
A survey conducted during the first week of July of 153 households in Auckland and Hastings displaced by the January and February weather events found that 76 percent currently receive temporary accommodation support from their insurance policy. For six respondents, this fund had already run out.
One-third of respondents said that on their current financial trajectory, they will be forced to foreclose on their mortgage. Half of these will foreclose on their mortgages before Christmas this year, the remainder within 12 months.
"We've actually surveyed our red-sticker group about how much we're paying for accommodation in Auckland and the average person is $575 and that's for very humble accommodation," Harrison told Newshub.
"I'm not only paying for the accommodation I'm in, which is going to be more than what they're offering, I'm having to pay for a studio because I was working from home in Parnell. So, I've got the rent, I've also got the mortgage on my property, rates are coming off their rates relief so that'll be another fight we have to fight.
"There doesn't seem to be any kind of leadership or direction or empathy from the Government and stepping in and doing action before we have to go through all these sacrifices and real hardship."
Harrison says she just wants to be back in her home.
"I've renovated this beautiful home. I've double-glazed. I've made a beautiful kitchen. I've spent a lot money, effort and time on it over the years and I just want my house back. Many of us are going to have to go bankrupt because of this. It's a national weather event. The Government needs to step in."
Sepuloni said if a longer-term solution is needed, there is work underway on what that might look like.
"In the meantime, the interim payment will give displaced homeowners the certainty and confidence they need to plan ahead."
More than 3800 properties have been red or yellow stickered due to the recent weather events.
