Grant DaSilva and his family spent four months looking for a house to rent
"Don't give up, it's hard but there's a house out there for you."
That's the message Grant DaSilva has for those hunting for a rental property after it took him and his family four months of looking in two cities to find one.
The family of five, which grew to six last weekwhen DaSilva's partner was induced, were told in November they'd have to leave their rental in Tauranga because the owners were moving back in.
They lived with relatives until January, the three children in a bedroom and parents in the lounge.
Grant DaSilva and his family have finally found a rental home. Photo / Andrew Warner
"We could not find a rental in Tauranga. We tried everything, we tried Housing New Zealand, all the real estate pages, the notices on the supermarket noticeboards and couldn't find anything.
"We'd been looking since November ... we looked at every avenue we could."
After two months of house hunting in Tauranga, their preferred city, the couple widened their horizons, looking in Katikati, Te Puke and Rotorua.
His pregnant partner, Anastasia Taylor, spent her days sorting the children in the mornings and house hunting during the day while DaSilva worked.
"We found it very frustrating, it became very stressful.
"I got a bit angry and started thinking maybe it was because we were Māori or we had three children.
Grant DaSilva says there were 25 people at some rental viewings. Photo / Andrew Warner
"We'd been in our rental for a long time and had good references but kept missing out.
"But we couldn't give up because we didn't want to continue living in a lounge."
DaSilva found it frustrating because some landlords didn't even respond to their applications and let them know they were unsuccessful.
When viewing houses there were more than 25 people at some viewings.
But after months of hunting, the family have secured a home in Rotorua just one week before the baby was due.
The couple hoped to have a house secured before the baby arrived, and while they won't be moved in before then, DaSilva said they were "stoked" to have a home.
The children will move schools soon and DaSilva said he would commute to Tauranga for now.
"We're looking forward to moving there, we're grateful we managed to get a house.
