A family of seven living in a motorhome, a man living in his friend’s garage, a pregnant mother living with nine others in a three-bedroom home — these are just some of the stories of ordinary Tauranga and Rotorua people caught on the wrong side of a brutally competitive rental
Bay of Plenty rentals: Locals living in cars, garages, motorhomes
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Stanford has put together the semblance of a home within the stark metal and wood frame interior. A well-worn chair divides the space, while household utensils are placed in odd spots. A kettle sits on a footstool, and a vacuum cleaner lies on the concrete floor.
His leather jacket hangs from the rafters, other clothes are stuffed into black rubbish bags, and food items are packed neatly into cardboard boxes. A tin of fly spray sits on a coffee table with collapsible legs.
The garage is home because he can’t get a rental. The former timber mill worker has found it hard to get a job with no car or fixed address.
He is among a growing number of people struggling to get a foothold in Tauranga’s fiercely competitive rental market.
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The 50-year-old has been working with a social agency to find accommodation and has tried motels, motor camps and backpackers, but there is nothing available.
“They are all full, and some have waiting lists.”
But his living arrangement is not a long-term solution, and Stanford worries he will eventually end up on the streets if he cannot find a home soon, so he’s now looking to move south, where the rents are cheaper.
The latest Trade Me figures show the median weekly rent in Tauranga jumped 9 per cent in the year to February from $610 to $665. In February 2019, it was $500 a week.
The median rent in Rotorua jumped 10 per cent in the year to February from $500 to $550. In February 2019 it was $400 a week.
Nationally, rents reached record levels in the last two months, with the weekly median rent up from $595 in January to $600 in February.
It took one year for Ari Waiwiri a year to find a Rotorua rental, and now the house is being sold.
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“The house-hunting starts again. There are many people in need and it’s almost impossible to secure a property.
“Even if you have excellent references and good credit.”
She believes she is missing out because other prospective tenants have better references and credit. She also suspects some landlords do not want young children in their rentals.
With the overall cost of living rising 8.2 per cent last year, family budgets are being squeezed.
Demand for properties is also soaring, making it difficult for some to secure a home.
Bay Financial Mentors manager Shirley McCombe says rents are so high, families with two incomes are struggling to make payments.
“The impact of not having a safe place to live and/or raise your family is not only substantial, but also long-lasting. It affects all elements of wellbeing, including physical, mental, spiritual and whānau wellbeing.”
A working couple with five children living in a motorhome after a four-year battle to find a rental feel like they are failing their children.
The family, who shared their story on the condition they were not named due to privacy reasons, are constantly on the move, parking up at different sites and carparks in Tauranga.
They pay for a storage unit and have gym and pool memberships so they can use the showers. In summer, they use free public barbecues to do their cooking.
When their tenancy ended after eight years in 2019, they never imagined they would be homeless after being rejected for hundreds of rentals.
The couple attributes their fruitless battle to landlords being apprehensive about renting to a large family.
“We face so much judgment because everyone thinks we are bums and choose to live like this. That is the hardest part of our situation,” says the mum, who suffers from health conditions, including anxiety.
The couple has only told a few people about their situation because they feel “ashamed”.
“The schools don’t know. Our kids are high achievers and into sports and the performing arts.
“You wouldn’t know we were homeless by looking at us.”
They have asked about emergency, transitional and public housing, but say they are above the income threshold. Shifting out of the region is not an option because their eldest child is nearing the end of his schooling.
“It’s terrible to say, but I would be better off leaving my partner, and then I’d be eligible for help.”
They have adapted their motorhome and trailer to accommodate their sleeping needs, with a special cot for their seven-month-old.
House-proud, the mum has added curtains and made the environment welcoming, paying particular attention to her children’s spaces.
The couple is now pinning their hopes on a charitable agency, which offers a hand-up into home ownership.
“We dream about getting accepted every night, but we can’t get our hopes up,” she says.
Single mum Theresa Radford fears she will be homeless if she can’t find a new rental by April 17.
She has applied for more than 100 houses with “no luck”, and has even offered more than the asking price, “but no one will home us”.
“It’s very stressful.”
Radford, who cannot work due to a disability, says so many people are becoming homeless in New Zealand.
“It’s disgusting,” she says.
“It sucks. It’s not a nice feeling knowing I can’t provide for my daughter.
“Everything is still uncertain. I suffer from depression without this.”
Trade Me property sales director Gavin Lloyd says the rising cost of living is “tough news for tenants who would be having to dig deeper into their wallets to pay rent”.
“While supply growth outweighed demand in the region last month, with the market having run hot for such a long period, we will need to see demand slow down further before rents cool off.”
Bond data shows on January 1, there were 21,996 bonds registered in the Bay of Plenty, compared to 21,861 on the same date in 2022.
Tauranga had 11,736, compared to 11,616 bonds, while Rotorua had 5,655, compared to 5,652 bonds.
Tauranga Rentals principal officer Dan Lusby says a lot of investors have put their houses on the market, and that stresses tenants out.
Lusby says demand continues to outstrip supply, and he gets approached by people wanting to recommend a friend.
”It’s a not ‘what you know’ but a ‘who you know’ kind of a situation, and they are trying to jump the queue like that.”
Tenancy Services head of tenancy Steve Watson says it is against the law to choose tenants based on gender, religious or ethical beliefs, race or colour, nationality, ethnicity, origin or citizenship, physical or mental disability or illness, age and political opinion.
The same applies for employment statuses such as being unemployed or on a benefit, marital and family status – including any responsibilities for dependants and sexual orientation.
“A landlord can’t turn down a potential tenant because they go to a certain church. They also can’t change an agreement after it is signed because they find out the tenant is unemployed. You also can’t tell someone else to discriminate. For example, a landlord can’t tell an agent not to rent to a single parent.”
Despite these laws, Angela Baker feels she is being discriminated against in her search for a new rental.
She is in “panic mode” because her landlord is selling and she has to be out by May 16.
The working Tauranga mother-of-four has been turned down for properties, despite providing everything from credit checks and proof of wages to references.
“Is it because I’m a mum and they think I might get into financial strife?”
Baker also feels judged because of the tattoos on her arms and neck. Some have cultural significance, while others pay tribute to family.
“For every viewing, you dress up and arrive on time like an interview. At one, I could clearly see there was a judgment ... [due to] the way I looked.”
Tommy Wilson, executive director of social service agency Te Tuinga Whānau, says it has housed 150 to 200 families in Tauranga and is “running at capacity”.
”I’m looking at an email I got … from a mother with four kids - she had 90 days to get out of her rental and she hasn’t been able to find anything for 60 days, and she is really, really worried.”
Te Tuinga Whānau accommodates 24 families at its RSA motel, which is full.
”That is always our thermometer and gauge to know how we are tracking.
Winter is always a problem, he says.
“That’s what keeps me awake at night, as where are we going to start putting these people?”
”It’s okay in the summer, as they’ve got tents and cars to sleep in and they’ve got families with garages, but things can change very quickly.”
Kohine Turanga’s rental in Rotorua is on the market, and it’s proving hard to find another.
Turanga lives with her partner and both work. They pay $420 a week and, in about a month of searching, they have found nothing available in that price range.
”We have put a limit of maybe $500 to $600, but that is a lot of money.”
In her opinion, the rental market appeared to be driven by greed.
At a recent viewing, there was “no interest in us at all”.
”It doesn’t matter if you have good references or a full-time job… it’s not a fair game, it’s crazy.”
Eves Bay of Plenty Residential Property Management senior manager Kurt Smith says demand for rental properties is at an all-time high.
“We have lots of professional couples and families relocating to the Bay of Plenty, and Rotorua’s demand for a three-bedroom rental has increased.”
Smith says Tauranga has had a huge increase in applications, with an average of 35 per property, while Pāpāmoa houses attracted about 15.
Rotorua’s Levi TeUa and his partner are feeling the squeeze of high rents after recently securing a four-bedroom home in Rotorua for $650 — “a bargain in this day and age”.
“The hardest part I’ve found personally is getting into a home. All the references in the world don’t seem to help.”
A mother of two, who asked not to be named, says her weekly rent jumped from $345 to $540 in the past five years and she has had to take on more work to cover the additional cost.
“It means even less time with my family, and I have no energy to do things with them when I am home,” she says.
Brayden, who did not want his last name used, says he is paying $400 a week for a one-bedroom home for his partner and child.
“It took me a few years to actually get a house in Rotorua, and all I could get was a one-bedroom, and it’s so bad.
“We just have no room for anything, and money is an issue, living on one income.
“If anything major were to happen, such as a vehicle breakdown, I would not be able to fix it, and it’s impossible to save money.”
Rotorua Budget Advice manager Pakanui Tuhura says putting a roof over your head is one of the three basic needs for survival.
“It is still the highest priority with almost all our clients.”
When household income increases have not matched the cost of living increases, people will most likely cut their food, power and petrol budget to pay the rent.
Carrie Abbott from iRentProperty says many people are “hunkering down” and staying in rentals as it is not feasible to upsize or move.
The market has slowed and a lot of applicants are in emergency housing. More landlords are choosing to rent to social housing providers rather than regular tenants because of the interest deductibility rules the Government brought in.
Others are selling as it became unsustainable with increasing interest, rates and compliance costs.
“This creates a bad situation for hardworking families, who are often great tenants.”
Rotorua Rentals director Pauline Evans says the company is getting a good number of inquiries from vendors unable to sell that wanted to rent their properties.
She agreed tenants are not moving properties due to the expense and limited options available.
An emerging trend is more families wanting larger houses so they can accommodate extended family members.
Tiny Deane, of Visions of a Helping Hand Charitible Trust, says the number of people living in emergency accommodation at motels in the city has dropped and, in his view, the situation in Rotorua has improved compared to a year ago.
He credits this to the collaboration between iwi, the council and other housing providers.
”It’s improving every month, but as far as the stats go, I don’t think you will ever get a perfect number as it varies from week to week. Everyone is so transient.”
Deane says Visions of a Helping Hand continues to house hundreds of families and people.
Ministry for Social Development Bay of Plenty regional commissioner Mike Bryant says a major programme of work is under way, aimed at increasing public housing and improving housing affordability and supply.
Since March 2022, the number of households in emergency housing has trended down for 10 consecutive months.
”Emergency housing isn’t our first option – it’s a last resort. If someone is struggling to pay their rent, we would encourage them to come in and see us to look at what we may be able to support them with. If someone is in urgent need of somewhere to stay, we can provide financial assistance so they can access emergency accommodation, where available.”
People who were not on a benefit may be eligible for the accommodation supplement, which did not have to be paid back, and it also had a range of housing support products to help people into private rentals.
”We may be able to support people with their moving costs, bond, or paying rent in advance.”
The latest data from the Public Housing Register shows in the December 2022 quarter in Tauranga District/City, there were 753 people on the waiting list, compared to 777 in December 2021.
In the Rotorua district, that number was 891, down from 975, while nationally, it was 23,127, down from 25,524.
The Ministry for Social Development spent $16.6 million on the Emergency Housing Special Needs Grant in Tauranga City last year and $18.2m in the Rotorua district.
A Ministry of Housing and Urban Development spokesperson says rapid population growth and low rates of building consents have led to significant housing stress and increasing costs in Tauranga and the Western Bay.
The Crown was part of a partnership with local and other authorities working to unlock land for housing. More than $150m in Government funding had been approved for infrastructure and public housing stocks were up more than 20 per cent since late 2020. More housing supply was expected to reduce pressure on rentals over time.
Rotorua’s population had grown by around 9000 since mid-2013 with only 1600 homes consented since. The shortfall – assessed in late 2020 at about 1500 – had driven up rents and left some homeless.
The Crown was working with the Rotorua Lakes Council and Te Arawa to increase housing supply, which would reduce the pressure on rentals over time, the spokesperson says.
It took one year for Ari Waiwiri a year to find a Rotorua rental, and now the house is being sold.
“The house-hunting starts again. There are many people in need and it’s almost impossible to secure a property.
“Even if you have excellent references and good credit.”
She believes she is missing out because other prospective tenants have better references and credit. She also suspects some landlords do not want young children in their rentals.
Hayley is living with nine family members in a three-bedroom home.
The young single mum is desperate to find a rental, and says it’s proving impossible to convince landlords she is “good enough”.
“The challenge of living in a full household is, you have no space.”
Hayley, who did not want her last name published, has been searching relentlessly for six months, going to viewings every week.
“I’m really, really desperate... it’s just so difficult.”
She is due to give birth to her second child in April, and just wants “a place to call home”.
“I feel so overwhelmed and stressed, and it does get depressing.
“I just wish it was easier.”
