Emergency housing may not be being used the way it's intended, with application rejections on the up.

Data obtained by our newsroom shows applications have dropped significantly to the end of June, but the number being declined, is rising.

Rules introduced last year allow officials to decline grants if they believe a person has caused or contributed to their immediate need for housing. 

Social housing commentator Bernie Smith told Mike Hosking that people have become too reliant on the Government to back them up. 

He says it was never set up to do that - it was to support the most vulnerable, like those kicked out of home. 

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