Rotorua's Mayor is asking for her city back.

Steve Chadwick wrote to the Minister of Social Development and Employment in November about the city's emergency housing motels.

It's feared the high use of motels as emergency housing has seen homeless people from outside Rotorua brought into the city to live.

Chadwick says there's been an increase in anti-social behaviour including drug use and violence.

She told Andrew Dickens they were always told it would be a short term measure, and they believed it.

“The motels that have a contract around them to manage those in the motels are doing a very good job, but there is a bit of creep into other motels.”

LISTEN ABOVE