Family sees caravan as only solution after being priced out by rising rents

Teresa Gainfort and her family, Kiera, 9 and Jordan, 8, are in desperate need of a rental property. Photo/George Novak

After four years in her Pyes Pa rental home, mother and grandmother Teresa Gainfort has been told it's time to move out.

The landlord has too much on his plate and wants to sell the property, she said.

The landlord had been good to them, never raising the rent from $450 for the home as many other landlords had done as high demand and low supply continued to push prices upwards.

But Ms Gainfort said she was tired of the insecurity of renting and was looking into buying a caravan for her and her son and granddaughter to live in.

"All I can afford is a caravan. But it will be mine, and no one can tell me you can't have that roof over your head anymore."

"I'm sick of other people controlling the roof over my head," she said.

In her current rental home, she was living with two younger children, her son and granddaughter, a boarder from Holland and her son studying at a polytechnic.

At one point her daughter and her daughter's young daughter were also staying with her - all because of struggles to find suitable and affordable rentals in Tauranga.

"I'll never find anything like this again."

She had looked, but the prices of other similar-sized rental properties were daunting.

"Renting here is really expensive, no Kiwi family can really do it. We've had to share rent with more than one income."

Ms Gainfort said she realised there were plenty of others in Tauranga in the same or worse situations.

She and her family had to be out of the house by April 5, and Ms Gainfort would have to stay with family or friends until she saved up enough money to buy a caravan to live in.

"I've been trying to make it sound like an adventure for the kids, so they don't worry."

She said it felt as if the Government did not care about people in situations like hers.