39345 (2025). Hon Kieran McAnulty to the Associate Minister of Housing

39345 (2025). Hon Kieran McAnulty to the Associate Minister of Housing: How many, if any, households on the Housing Register indicated they were living in a car at the time of application between July 2023 and July 2025, broken down by month?

Hon Tama Potaka: I refer the Member to the attached table, which provides the number of primary applicants on the Social Housing Register indicated as living in car as at month end from 1 July 2023 to 31 July 2025 by register type. The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) data reflects how many primary applicants were recorded as living in a car based on the information as at the last point their application was updated. The tracking of Public Housing Register applications over time is complex in that published data reflects the information held by MSD at a point in time, but less adequately demonstrates the flow of applications on / off the register and changes in circumstances over time. Applicants may tell MSD they are 'living in a car' in their initial application but will continue to be counted as living in a car subsequently if they have not provided updated information to MSD. As a result, the Public Housing Register may show 100 people living in cars for June 2023, it does not necessarily mean 100 people are living in cars as at June 2023. Rather, that there are 100 applications 'live' on the register as at June 2023 that have either initially or subsequently said they are living in a car. If a client does not notify MSD of a change in circumstances, their last recorded status will continue to be reported, which leads to an element of accumulation.