Motels are pushing back against allegations they're creaming it thanks to the housing crisis.

3000 households are still living in motels - through the Government's temporary housing scheme - at a cost of more than $100 million a year. 

Auckland Action Against Poverty coordinator Ricardo Menendez March this morning told Mike Hosking they're reaching crisis point.

He said it was "unacceptable" that these families were leaving there, and that some of the motels were charging up to $2000 a week for unsuitable room.

Accommodation Advisory Council chairperson Nigel Humphries told Heather du Plessis-Allan that that is not the case and it is just another strand of business for them. 

He says that the cost depends on what sort of room people are staying in. 

"There's enough tourists to fill these rooms anyway, so all it is is replacing a short-term stay with a long-term stay."

The only cost difference would be small matters such as not having to service the rooms as much. 

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