Bea's anxious wait: One month until a 73 per cent rent rise

Waipawa pensioner Bea Ridgway is still on the lookout for a new home. Photo / File

A Central Hawke's Bay pensioner whose landlord is putting up her rent by 73 per cent now has less than a month to find a new home or pay the increase.

Waipawa woman Bea Ridgway, 86, is one of many in the district facing steep rent increases in what is a thriving property market.

Ridgway lives in one of four small flats nestled off Ruataniwha St in the Central Hawke's Bay town which were sold to D & A Property in May.

Her rent is going from $150 to $260 in August after D & A determined she was paying well below market rates.

A company spokesman said previously the rent was being increased in the flats after professional appraisals.

Waipawa pensioner Bea Ridgway is still on the lookout for a new home. Photo / File

The new rentals were also in line with Tenancy Services' "Median Rent" for similar properties recently rented in the area.

Ridgway says she can't afford it and has no option to move out - but because of steep demand for housing she has slim pickings for accommodation within her price range.

Her only other option at this point is to find the funds to top up the extra rent.

Ridgway said since her story came to light in Hawke's Bay Today in June she had been offered a house in Waipukurau.

What she really wanted was a flat in Abercorn Court, conveniently situated just down the road, which she was currently on a wait list for, she said.

Mayor Alex Walker had also encouraged Ridgway to contact a Work and Income helpline saying it could help not only her, but other tenants in similar situations.

Ridgway said she felt like a deer in the headlights at that suggestion.

She had never had any dealings with Work and Income "and I don't know what to say or how to approach them".

"I'm not really anywhere right now and it's really bothering me ... I really like to plan ahead."

Another tenant who lived in the same block as Ridgway confirmed she was moving out as a result of the increase and had bought a house in Waipukurau.