A pregnant mother of three is scared for her family's future as she struggles to find a new home in the "competitive" Rotorua rental market.
She is one of 12 families facing eviction who contacted Love Soup at the weekend for help.
Love Soup co-founder Elma Peiffer said the charity had put a call out to locals to see if anyone could offer temporary accommodation to these families when their notice runs out.
And a local Facebook page advising tenants to wait for their notice to run out so Work and Income would put them in motels was inflaming the situation, Mr Peiffer said.
"Someone has been giving bad advice on a Rotorua Facebook page ... That's not how it works."
Love Soup helps to feed homeless and struggling people in Rotorua.
Mr Peiffer said he was quite surprised by the number of people who had come for assistance at the weekend.
"It's a big jump. We had roughly that number in July, August and September [last year] but then it died down. It's sad to know the problem is still out there."
The mother of three, who wanted to remain anonymous, said she was given a 42-day notice as the property she'd been renting since 2013 was being put up for sale.
"I've been there a long time, I've seen neighbours come and go."
She said she and her children, aged 7, 6 and nine months, had nowhere else to go. Her fourth child is due in April.
"I'm afraid, it's hard to sleep at night. [The rental market] is so competitive in Rotorua."
The mother said she had been searching online since she received the notice two weeks ago but had found the search via real estate agents disheartening.
"A lot of people just look at you, they don't give you a chance. There are so many application forms, good luck to people who get the houses."
She sat down with Gina and Elma Peiffer on Sunday to go through paperwork and personal documents.
"I feel a bit more relieved with people that are going to help me out. It might not be tomorrow, it might be in two weeks but it's a foot in the door."
She does have family in Rotorua but said she couldn't just turn up on their doorstep with her children to stay.
"It's complicated, it's not as easy as people think. I've put out the word to friends and relatives and they have been letting me know of places."
She said she froze when Mr and Mrs Peiffer told her about potentially moving into another family's sleepout or such accommodation in the near future.
"I find it hard to think about that. What lovely family would offer up their room or place to me and my three kids?"
Mr Peiffer said one person had come forward so far offering a room to somebody in need.
He said everyone involved would be subject to a screening process to ensure the safety of both parties.
"It's not last minute, if someone has a spare room it's the last resort. We have been going to interviews and assisting clients, giving them the information they need and helping them with what they need to do."
He said those who were renting properties but were willing to offer a room or a sleepout would have to contact their landlord or real estate agent to ensure this was suitable.
"We don't want people to lose their own tenancies. If the person owns the place we have to make sure they are compatible as [the family] would have to stay there until they get their own place."
Debbie Van Den Broek, president of the Rotorua Property Investors' Association, said there could be many reasons for landlords to give notice to tenants.
"They may want to occupy it or a change in banking makes it less attractive to have tenants."
She said bad credit or pets may be an issue for some landlords or if a tenant had left a previous property in a bad condition "they won't go to the top of the list".