Dunedin South Labour MP Clare Curran said government agencies dealing with the resettlement of refugees were yet to provide reassurance over the issue of Dunedin's "substandard'' housing.
This was despite the issue being raised at public forums and flagged as a potential risk in a Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment report which assessed the city's suitability as a resettlement location.
"I have heard a lot of concern and I think people are waiting [for reassurance], but we are getting closer and closer to the time and I am not quite sure how that issue is going to be solved,'' Ms Curran said.
The Ministry of Social Development (MSD), which is responsible for helping refugees find housing, did not respond to most of the questions from the Otago Daily Times about the issue.
Its media adviser Dominic McGurk said "we aren't able to respond to speculation''.
Instead, he referred questions to Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett, who said the Government's focus was on ensuring refugees had access to social housing and services.
That contrasted with the Labour Party, which had been "very vocal about New Zealand needing to simply take more refugees'', she said.
"It seems Ms Curran is keen for New Zealand to welcome more refugees, just not in her backyard.''
Ms Curran said her concern did not mean she was against refugees coming to the city.
"I've been very heartened by the welcoming attitude of the city and I'm one of those supporters of refugees coming to Dunedin.
"But there is very little information available around what kind of housing they are going to be in.
"My fear is that they will be put into housing that is unsuitable and inadequate,'' she said.
The city's lack of adequate housing was highlighted by the fact about 30% of people who came to her electorate office had concerns about housing, she said.
Often these people were coming to her after finding it difficult to get added to the state house waiting list.
"These are often single parents with young children who are struggling to pay private rentals.''
She believed the "barriers to get on that list'' had already been raised in recent times and was worried the arrival of dozens of refugee families to the city would make it even harder for the city's vulnerable to get on the list, Ms Curran said.
In response to questions from the ODT, Mr McGurk said issues around potential demand for social housing "won't be known until social housing assessments are completed''.
He pointed out that an online rental housing website featured more than 600 rentals in Dunedin.
Demand for social housing in Dunedin fell from 68 applicants in December 2014 to 54 in December 2015.
Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull said he was generally worried about the quality of housing in the city, but was confident the MSD would "do their job'' and find adequate housing for refugees.
