The public housing waiting list has hit a record high, with 12,644 applicants waiting for a state home in July this year.
There are now more than 12,000 people in need of social housing.
At the end of June, there were 12,311 people waiting for a social house , with the July figure rising 333 in a month.
That compares to 11,655 at the end of May.
In July 2018, the applicant list was 8,950.
The Wellington region saw the highest rise of wait list applicants, increasing by 94 up to 1427. The East Coast rose by 84 up to 1043 and Auckland increased by 64 to 4910.
The number of people housed over July, 2019 was 768, up from 622 in June, 2019.
The median time it took to house the applicants was 126 days.
"It will take time to match the supply of public housing with the demand," Associate Housing Minister Kris Faafoi said.
"We have implemented the biggest state housing building programme ever, with funding committed to deliver an additional 6,400 public housing places by 2022."
He said the figures partly reflected people coming forward and asking for help.
"The imperative for this Government will always be to provide immediate support to vulnerable whānau and individuals who find themselves without a home."
However, National have labelled the waiting list rise "disappointing, but unsurprising".
Social housing spokesperson Simon O’Connor said the Government’s policies has created a "perfect storm".
"The Government has spent $2 billion on a failed KiwiBuild project while Kiwis are being slammed with rapidly rising rents and a pile-on of petrol taxes as a result of its policies.
"Increasing numbers of New Zealanders are struggling to put a roof over their heads, and the Government’s policies are only making it harder for them to make ends meet."
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