An Auckland couple living in a studio apartment with no kitchen say they are paying $285 a week after their landlord raised the rent by $10.
"I think it's ridiculously expensive for what it is," the woman said.
The Sandringham building's rooms were run down, with leaking taps, mouldy shower steps, squeaky floorboards, rotting bathroom cabinets and a continuously dripping shower unit "falling off the wall".
"Also, there are six ovens in the shared kitchen and only half of them work."
She said the building manager and owner had known about the problems for six months but done nothing to fix them. "I would love to move out of Auckland, but my husband and I are stuck here because of our jobs.