Carmen Hall: Hot rental market needs to be hosed

Some rental properties are getting 20 to 40 applicants in the Bay. Photo / Getty Images

OPINION

I have not always owned my own home and I spent many years renting.

I have also lived in a state house and I am no stranger to the trials and tribulations you need to go through to get a roof over your head.

Pets were just one hurdle we faced and when we first moved to Tauranga our options were limited due to two, four-legged family members.

I have dealt with some great landlords and some that weren't so great. But what I am most alarmed by at the moment is the rate rents are escalating and the dwindling number of properties available.

By memory I did not have to cope with regular rent hikes or compete against 20 others for a house but that is becoming the new norm for some people in our region.

According to data from Trade Me the median weekly rent in Tauranga in December jumped to $550, increasing on the same month last year from $535 - while in Rotorua it climbed to $460 up from $430 over the same timeframes.

Tauranga Budget Advisory Service manager Shirley McCombe said there was no room to move in the tight budgets of people already scraping by to pay for rents.

Meanwhile, Rotorua Budget Advisory Service manager Pakanui Tuhura said decent and affordable rent was near impossible to come by, and those who could previously afford their rents were struggling.

I understand at the end of the day supply and demand will dictate the market but the sheer number of applicants applying compounded with limited stock was another factor.

Simon Anderson, managing director of Realty Group Ltd, which owns Bayleys and Eves, said between 20 and 40 people viewed every rental property, showing a "huge demand" that he couldn't see slowing down anytime soon.

He said "sometimes people are going to miss out, that's the hard facts of rentals at the moment".

In my view the Government needs to step up and increase its state housing portfolio to help those most in need.

Like it or not property investors also play a vital role and need to be supported.