Sustaining Tenancies
Sustaining Tenancies is a vital preventative service that helps whānau remain safely housed before their situation escalates into housing instability or homelessness.
Over the past year, demand for the service has remained high across both Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland and Ōtautahi Christchurch with referral rates and levels of need consistently sitting above contracted volumes. Despite this, there have been no new contractual or staffing increases, meaning the team has continued to work within limited capacity while supporting whānau whose situations are often increasingly complex.
The need outweighs contracted volumes, and team capacity is limited.
The service supports people whose tenancies are at risk of breaking down, including whānau in both Kāinga Ora and private housing. The issues being addressed are wide-ranging and often interconnected. These include hoarding, accessibility needs related to disability, cleaning and maintenance concerns, escalating tenant debt, budgeting challenges, property-related problems, and the need for advocacy with statutory agencies. In many cases, whānau are also experiencing broader pressures linked to trauma, financial hardship, the high cost of living, and other systemic and psycho-social factors.
Although Sustaining Tenancies continues to meet its contracted numbers and succeeds in helping many whānau address the issues that initially placed their tenancies at risk, the level of demand is greater than current capacity allows. In Ōtautahi, referrals have at times needed to be held on a waitlist because the team had reached contracted volumes and staffing limits. Similar pressures have been experienced in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland. This has meant some whānau have had to wait for support, or in some cases be turned away, which is especially difficult given the risk that unresolved tenancy issues may lead to homelessness.
Where whānau present with needs beyond the scope of Sustaining Tenancies, the team works to connect them with other Visionwest services, advocate for appropriate support, or refer them to external agencies. This reflects the service’s wider role as part of a broader supportive housing response.
The impact of the programme is seen in everyday outcomes: whānau reducing debt, gaining access to practical resources such as lawnmowers or skip bins, resolving hoarding-related issues, improving living conditions, accessing counselling, and ultimately staying in their homes. Sustaining Tenancies remains one of Visionwest’s most effective preventative services, making a significant difference in the lives of whānau while highlighting the urgent need for increased funding and capacity.