Homes were destroyed and covered in silt in Esk Valley during the cyclone. Photo / Warren Buckland
Homes were destroyed and covered in silt in Esk Valley during the cyclone. Photo / Warren Buckland
Before Cyclone Gabrielle destroyed homes in Hawke’s Bay, there was already a rental crisis in the region.
Now the market’s getting even tougher.
A Hawke’s Bay property management company says pressure is growing on the rental market in the region, following the cyclone, due to high demand and low supply.
Quinovic Property Management principal Ross Davidson said it was not unusual to get 60 or more inquiries for an advertised rental.
“It has certainly put more pressure on what was already a short [rental] market,” he said.
“If we advertise a property, we are getting heaps and heaps of inquiries for it.”
Davidson said there were a lot of roll-on effects being caused by the cyclone in terms of housing issues.
For example, he said in some cases, long-term tenants were being asked to vacate because an owner, or an owner’s family members, required a place to live after being impacted by the floods.
“It is very hard for people that are wanting to apply for [a rental] because there is such a shortage of properties out there.”
He said rents could also continue to rise, as costs like house insurance and rates climb following the cyclone.
Meanwhile, the Government activated its Temporary Accommodation Service (TAS) in the region following the floods to assist displaced households.
Bay View Hotel and Holiday Park owner Adrienne Morrin and son John Morrin were helping to house people after the cyclone. Photo / Warren Buckland
A total of 265 households have signed up for that service in Hawke’s Bay, as of the start of this week, with 45 now in temporary accommodation provided by TAS.
“TAS is currently making use of commercial options to house displaced households, such as motels and hotels, as we are aware that rental markets are tight and we do not want to be contributing to the situation by taking rental options away from people trying to find long-term rental options for themselves,” said TAS incident controller and national manager Al Bruce.
“TAS also has a small number of porta-cabins that are ready for deployment.
“Different accommodation options may become available over time.”
Bruce said not everyone who had applied for TAS support would need housing assistance, including those “self-resolving” situations such as moving back into their homes.
Bay View Hotel and Holiday Park was an evacuation centre following the floods, and had a peak of about 40 people using it for emergency accommodation.
Owner Adrienne Morrin said only six people impacted by the floods were still living at the holiday park, mainly in their campervans.
She said speaking to people within the community, it was becoming a tiring process for those still resolving whether they could rebuild and where to live.
“A lot of them that have not been able to resolve their issues - they are getting really tired and overwhelmed.”
According to Trade Me, there are about 90 rentals advertised across all of Hawke’s Bay, compared with almost 1000 homes advertised for sale.
