Many homeless spent Friday braving the cold in Rotorua's streets as the council won't let them sleep at a local shelter because it doesn't comply with regulations.
Rotorua Lake Council says it's helping to get the building signed off, but the landlord is worried the council will be so tough the shelter will have to close altogether.
Up to 50 people - who call themselves streeties - have been sleeping at the shelter each night since it opened in central Rotorua a month ago. But they're worried consent issues mean it will be shut down.
"They don't want us to live in it so they're going to put us back out on the streets again," says shelter client Jason Carlson.
They can relax at the shelter overnight but they can't doze off because it doesn't have consent to be used as accommodation.
The Rotorua Lake Council says it may be unsafe and a fire safety and structural report need to be signed off.
Streeties say authorities have pushed them further and further out of the city over the past year, until the shelter offered them new hope.
"This chance is different, this is another level because this is a building - it's our comfort zone," says shelter client Shalom Heta.
People say being able to wash themselves and their clothes and, until a few days ago, get a good night's sleep gives them confidence.
"We can be work presentable. This is a lot easier because you know you can get up and put ourselves out there without feeling rat shit about our dress code," Mr Heta says.
Mr Carlson was sleeping in his car. It got stolen so ended on the streets.
"When you're out on the streets you're always waking up to every noise that comes around you," he says.
He is one of eight streeties who have found work with the help of volunteers at the shelter. He's now doing a building apprenticeship of 30 hours a week.
"Yeah I'm loving my job. It's creativity, it expands the mind," he says.
He's had encouraging feedback from his boss.
"Yeah he reckons I'm a good guy and I work hard," he says.
Only about a third of the people who normally use the shelter did so when Newshub visited - apparently due to the council telling them they aren't allowed to sleep there.
Night temperatures are expected to drop to just 3degC. It's likely many are trying to keep themselves warm on the streets.
Former truckie Tiny Deane says he opened the shelter before consent was granted because it's mid-winter and no one else was taking action. The council says it warned Mr Deane from the start about the consent process and it is helping him to get the building checked.
But the landlord tells Newshub the building may never reach the high standard set by the council, which means it could be some time before these streeties get another good night's rest.
Newshub.
