However, rents had not changed much overall as landlords were aware tenants could not afford to pay much more than they already were, she said.
Ms Penno did not think rents would change much in the near future.
Nationally, the average rent for a three-bedroom house was up $15 year-on-year to $379 per week.
A three bedroom flat was up $11 to $381 on average, while three-bedroom apartments were down by $11 to an average price of $527. Apartments were also the most expensive mean property type for four bedrooms - up $84 to $669 per week, compared to a $52 increase to $490 for a house and dollar increase to $470 for a flat. The cheapest property type evaluated was a single room in a boarding house, which went for a mean rent of $15 more than the year previous at $194.
The most expensive average weekly rent was for a five or more bedroom apartment where rent increased by more than $50 to an average of $746.
Tenants Protection Association manager Helen Gatonyi said she was not surprised by the rent increases, as it was common for the association to hear of tenants whose rents had increased by $20 or $30, or in some cases, by $100 or more.
Landlords claimed they had kept rents down during tough economic conditions and were now just catching up, she said.
"In some cases landlords have kept prices down and now brought them up to a realistic level ... but altogether there is overwhelming evidence that there's plenty who are just taking the opportunity to make an extra quid," she said.
It was likely rents would continue to increase as supply and demand was still a huge issue that would not settle down any time soon, she said.
An August survey of landlords by Crockers Property Group found rates increases were the factor most likely to trigger a rent rise. The survey found half of landlords were not planning to raise rents in the following six months, but more than one-third planned to put them up by at least 3 per cent.
