Auckland Council says homelessness is a national issue, and it's not going to get in the way of a government fix.

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The Ministry for Social Development has committed to helping out the Te Puea Marae - which has opened its doors to house the homeless in South Auckland over winter.

Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett met with the Marae's Chairman over coffee yesterday, and gave reassurances social workers would work with families at the Marae to find them more permanent accommodation.

Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse said the social needs of the community sits fairly and squarely with government.

"We don't want to step on their toes nor do their work for them - we are quietly talking to the marae about how we can help."

Hulse said while they can't pledge ratepayer dollars to the cause, council can help as a service provider with things like water bills.

"We need to get stuck in, see how we can help, but also make sure that the right social services that should be picking up the challenge are doing so."

The homeless population of central Auckland is two and a half times higher than it was three years ago, according to a report released earlier this week.

The Auckland City Street Count of Central Auckland found 177 people were sleeping rough within three kilometres of the Sky Tower on a single night this year.

That's the most recorded since the count began in 2004, and is significantly higher than the 68 people counted in the same area in 2013.

At least 51 people weren't included in the count, because they had found temporary accommodation or were in hospital that night.

And yet more than 33,000 Auckland dwellings are officially classified empty as the city grapples with a crisis of affordable housing and homelessness.

Auckland's 6.6 per cent vacancy rate is higher than either Sydney (5.2 per cent) or Melbourne (4.8 per cent), where there has been an uproar over "ghost houses" deliberately left empty by speculators trading on a soaring market.