With a growing population and a lack of rental accommodation, many in Taupō are starting to feel desperate. Photo / NZME
Taupō woman Pera Te Whare is raising her two children, aged 5 and 1, in emergency housing.
She is one of many struggling to find long-term accommodation in Taupō, due to rental supply being at what experts are calling an all-time low.
Te Whare says about a year ago, she and her children had to move out of the rental they were in because the owners decided to sell it.
"I moved out and ended up in emergency housing, we've been here going on a year now."
She is determined to find a more settled place for her children to grow up in but says the competitiveness of the rental market in Taupō is making that difficult.
"I apply for every house that comes up and by the time you go to view it, they cancel your viewing and it's already rented. It feels like we don't even have a chance.
"As a solo mum with two children, it is expensive. $500 (per week) is not affordable. I've been desperate since I moved out of my first rental."
Te Whare says living out of a motel room is hard, but her children are resilient. She is studying part-time to be a chef and having somewhere more permanent to live would reduce a lot of stress.
"I find if I'm busy, I'm less likely to get depressed about the situation. I just want to be settled where I don't have to worry about my kids being outside. I'm hoping for a blessing and a house by Christmas. I don't want to spend Christmas in a motel.
"I've seen a common factor where people lean away from families with younger children. I think there is a stigma about people in emergency housing too, people only hear about the bad ones but that's only a certain few."
Emergency housing is designed to be short-term and Te Whare is on the Ministry of Social Development's housing register, aimed at getting those in need into public housing.
As of June this year, there were 153 people from the Taupō District on the register, up from 84 a year earlier and just 15 five years ago.
Harcourts Taupō Rentals general manager Emma Nichol is currently working at the front desk of her office and says she has seen firsthand the desperation of those looking for accommodation.
She says the state of the rental market in Taupō is the worst she has ever seen it.
"I've been in the industry for about 16 years and this is the lowest number of available properties and highest number of inquiries I've ever seen.
"The desperation is horrific and it's very hard to deal with because we're dealing with emotional people."
When a home becomes available for rent, it is posted online and potential tenants can register their interest.
"For what you could call a standard family home, we'd be averaging anywhere from 150 to 200 inquiries," Nichol says.
"So many are coming from out of town, they are getting jobs but they can't find a place to live. Rents have risen quite sharply in the last 12 months as well.
"Landlords would probably tell you that their costs have risen as well, they have more compliance to deal with and other costs such as insurance and rates - everything is going upwards."
She says those rising costs may be putting potential landlords off renting out their properties.
"We have lost [rental stock] to sales because the prices are fantastic and landlords are cashing in.
"People are building, and we're excited whenever we hear of new builds, but we need more and they are only suitable for a certain part of the market. We are hopeful that those building new homes are leaving behind places that can be a first home for someone else or an investment property.
"It's really just a perfect storm, there are so many different factors contributing to the lack of supply and there really is no quick fix."
Trade Me property sales director Gavin Lloyd says the median weekly rent in Taupō was $465 in September, up from $440 in the same month last year and $360 in 2019.
"Rents in Taupō have climbed steadily over the past few years, mirroring what we have seen around much of the country.
"In August, the median weekly rent in Taupō reached an all-time high of $535. We've seen rents climb consistently since the beginning of last year, unscathed by the various alert level changes.
"The next few months will be really interesting and we may see this lockdown have a deeper impact on the rental market than any other lockdown."