Hayley Riddell broke down in tears when she found a property to call home after battling through Tauranga's fiercely competitive rental market for a month.
Her search for a rental came as the city's median weekly rent hit a record-breaking $610, having climbed $130 in the past four years. Slowing supply and rising demand for rental properties were putting pressure on the city's market, driving rents to record high prices, experts say.
Riddell said the cost of rents was "crazy".
"I know of families with three kids that are struggling to pay rent each week."
The 20-year-old has been renting since mid last year. She moved to Tauranga to study business and accounting at Toi Ohomai.
However, when her landlord put the property on the market Riddell was back searching for a rental. She looked at about 10 rentals but was unsuccessful due to high competition or prices that were too high.
"I would dress up nice and try to make myself look as presentable on paper as I would be in person," she says.
"It gets quite hard and feels like no one wants to take a chance on young people.
"The fear kept creeping in. I kept thinking I'm not going to find a place. I thought I would have to quit work, drop out of my studies and move back in with my mum."
Riddell secured a room in Welcome Bay this week. She now lives with two others and pays $220 a week, which covers everything apart from food.
"I broke into tears. I was so happy."
Trade Me property sales director Gavin Lloyd said the region's rental market supply dropped 20 per cent from February 2021 to 2022 but demand jumped two per cent.
"Slowing supply, paired with increased demand, is putting pressure on the market and driving rents up in the region."
The number of Tauranga rentals dropped by 17 per cent year-on-year but demand rose by nine per cent.
Lloyd said the rising cost of living will be taking a toll on tenants.
Many regions saw rents hit a new high, with Bay of Plenty (up 6.4 per cent year-on-year to $585), Northland (up nine per cent to $545) and Taranaki (up 22 per cent to $550) reaching a new record.
"In the past 12 months we've seen rents rise consistently and every month it gets more
expensive to rent a property in New Zealand.
"Add to that the rising cost of food and fuel, and tenants are having to dig deep into their wallets to pay for everyday necessities."
Tauranga Budget Advisory Services manager Shirley McCombe said rental prices were a huge concern for clients.
Especially when median weekly rents had jumped $130 in four years but the Accommodation Supplement has only risen by $34 during the same time.
The Accommodation Supplement is a weekly payment that helps people with their rent, board or the cost of owning a home. How much people will get depends on their income, assets, accommodation costs, family circumstances, and where they live.
Wage rates have not kept pace either, she said.
"This has been further complicated by supply issues, so clients are agreeing to properties they can't afford, just to have somewhere to live."
Tauranga Rentals Ltd owner Dan Lusby said new tenancy laws meant rents could only be increased once a year.
Each month he was alerted when one of their rentals come up for review. It was working out to be about a 10.1 per cent increase on the year before, he said.
"If they are already paying $550, it's another $55 a week."
Some landlords were "horrified" at the increases and wondered how tenants were affording it, he said.
"I do feel for people and how they can afford it.
"A lot of retired people are renting and that's a bit sad. It's really hard for them."
Demand for rentals was so high that one person was eager to move into a property sight unseen and many were offering to pay lump sums upfront, he said.
"We've got people desperate to get in. It's happening more and more."
Supply was low because there were no incentives for investors, with new tax laws and Healthy Homes standards to comply with, he said.
Tauranga Property Investors Association president Juli Anne Tolley said the costs of owning and maintaining a rental had also increased.
"Add to that the removal of interest deductibility and you now have the perfect recipe for increased rents.
"Many landlords that hadn't increased rent in years were forced to in order to keep up with rising costs."
Tolley, who is also principal at Quinovic Property Management, said she had seen comments stating landlords were being greedy for lifting rents.
"Increasing rents is not greed, it is basic business economics. Rents can only increase in a rising market.
"However, I do know a large number of landlords that can afford to go out of their way to help tenants and increase the rent only minimally."
In February this year, the Bay of Plenty Times spoke to Sarah-Jane, 32, and Heremaia Ahipene, 34, who said they have been rejected for "hundreds" of rental homes.
February 2018 - February 2022
February 2018
Tauranga district - $480
Rotorua district - $375
Bay of Plenty - $450
February 2019
Tauranga district - $500
Rotorua district - $400
Bay of Plenty - $480
February 2020
Tauranga district - $545
Rotorua district - $440
Bay of Plenty - $500
February 2021
Tauranga district - $580
Rotorua district - $465
Bay of Plenty - $550
February 2022
Tauranga district - $610
Rotorua district -$500
Bay of Plenty - $585
Source: TradeMe