Coupled with crippling stock numbers, the price increases have hit renters in the city hard, but it is possible to find a happy balance, a local property manager says.
Melissa Ruebe believes landlords and tenants are equally as important as each other in a rental agreement, as is a fair market rent.
"So many people place priority on the owner of the property as opposed to the person paying the rent," Ruebe said. "For a landlord a great tenant represents rent being paid on time, every time, and also someone who will look after your investment.
"A bad tenant, for whatever reason, can mean missed rent and damage, which is often hard to get back."
Ruebe said she could see both sides of rent increases but was adamant there was a big difference between fair increases and greedy landlords.
"It's not the tenant's fault if a landlord has a big mortgage or if changes are made to tenancy laws.
"Continual or hefty increases can be detrimental to landlords as tenants either struggle to make the increased amount and miss payments or leave to find cheaper accommodation.
"Almost every time a tenant leaves a property there is a period of missed rent. I believe it's better to be getting a fair rent 52 weeks of the year as opposed to an inflated amount some of the time."
Ruebe said while it was a tough time for landlords, tenants and property managers, the latter often finding themselves in the middle of increases, things were a lot easier if there was a good rapport between the parties.
"I have had a few conversations with some landlords who want to increase a rent to what I believe is unrealistic for the market but, at the end of the day, if that's what they want to do that's what I have to tell the tenant. However, there are some cases where everyone remains happy."
Rotorua Rentals co-director Richard Evans said he believed tenants were getting more for their money, but warned the rental prices would get worse before they got better.
"It's a mix of not enough houses being built, population increases and landlords selling up that are contributing to rising rent prices.
"But this is not specific to Rotorua, look at New Plymouth, Tauranga, Napier - they're all experiencing the same kinds of increases.
"I wouldn't be surprised if we saw rents increase to $500 in Rotorua next year. It's just the way things are going at the moment, it's supply and demand."
Evans said he acknowledged rent prices going up had hit renters hard, but in his experience, there were only "one or two scumbag landlords" and the rest were "respectful and considerate".
Tenant Jocelyn Burgess has been renting landlord Kylie Beehre's home for the past 13 years.
According to Burgess, she and her sister were paying just under $200 for the three-bedroom Clayton Rd home with garage, when they first took on the tenancy.
"Since then I'm pretty sure our rent hasn't even increased $100," Burgess said.
"I'm currently studying to be a nurse so have really appreciated the fact our landlord hasn't given us big increases.
"We've watched the area around us grow and grow and know we are lucky to be where we are and paying the rent we do. We're so close to everything I believe we're getting more for our money now than we were 13 years ago."
Burgess described herself and her sister as house-proud people and said they treated the home as their own.
"We've done a bit of maintenance outside and keep the place tidy. When something needs to be done inside we call Melissa and she gets it sorted quickly.
"I've been with Melissa since before we moved into this house and she's been really good to me."
Last year Burgess met her landlord for the first time. "She told us she was happy with how the property was being looked after."
Beehre said Burgess was a great tenant.
"She's very house-proud and has always looked after my little property like it is her own," Beehre said.
"We've had the place re-carpeted and painted and cut down a few trees to allow more light into the home – little things to make living in the place nicer.
She said she was happy with the amount of rent being paid.
"We're all human and I don't see any point in ripping someone off. If I look after Jocelyn, with the help of Melissa, she looks after my investment and we all win."
Average rent prices 1998-2018
1998 - $158.30
1999 - $157.10
2000 - $156.40
2001 - $156.70
2002 – 160.60
2003 – 166.50
2004 - $177.80
2005 - $186.80
2006 - $198.10
2007 - $203.50
2008 - $220.80
2009 - $222.80
2010 - $227.40
2011 - $237.00
2012 - $245.40
2013 - $244.50
2014 - $248.40
2015 - $262.30
2016 - $287.00
2017 - $307.90
2018 - $335.10
