In the last few years, the number of elderly homeless people has been escalating in Ōtautahi.
Age Concern Canterbury has noticed the change, and are calling for action.
"It may be a hidden pandemic of older persons' homelessness" says Age Concern Canterbury CEO, Greta Bond.
The Methodist Mission Director, Jill Hawkey, says one of the leading factors in this increase is the rise of renters who are above 65.
"When you look at the research, you see the number of older people who are renting is going to increase significantly because of the decline in home ownership."
The average price of rent in Christchurch is now over $500 per week, says Jill. Therefore, relying solely on superannuation means people often do not have enough money to rent the houses available.
"We are seeing more and more older people who have rented all their lives, and are reaching retirement age, reliant on superannuation, and just can't afford the market rent being charged by landlords," said Greta.
"We know 40% of New Zealanders over the age of 65 are only living on the government superannuation, and there's probably another 20% that are living on that or a little bit more, that's 60 percent of New Zealanders over 65 that are really living in poverty."
Both Methodist Mission and Age Concern Canterbury are calling for more one-bedroom houses to be built for this demographic, as the current houses being built are unequipped for elderly people.
"The kind of houses being built in Christchurch are predominantly two bedrooms, with the two bedrooms being upstairs. This is totally unsuitable for older people." Jill explained.
Greta said 'supply isn't keeping up with demand.'
"We simply don't have enough accessible, affordable rental dwellings. In New Zealand, 13% of 65+ are renters. Around 2047 we will be looking at 40%, so there is a real increase in renters that are older."
Despite the number of homeless elders being lower than that of other demographics, the percentage increase has been more extreme, and continues to rise.
People are being called to help in any way they can, by donating or simply being more accepting of the needs of elderly people.
"What people can do right now is just address their ageist attitudes towards things. Aging, if we are lucky, comes to all of us, and think about how we want our life to look and how we would want to be treated, and start extending that towards people that are here now," says Greta.
Neither organisation could provide exact numbers of homeless elderly people in Christchurch.
In a government statement released in July of 2025, they said "accurate numbers are difficult to pin down - people without shelter often move around and may avoid engaging with government services."
These organisations are calling for the government to stop 'kicking the can down the road' and realise that having an aging population isn't a bad thing, if we are equipped to help.
