One woman's solution to a rental crisis in NZ's far north: Buy a teepee
Jenny Ling
Syreeta is one of many Far North residents turning to alternative housing options due to a rental squeeze.
Rising rents, fewer rental properties available and more people moving to the region mean some residents are turning to alternative housing options.
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Kerikeri resident Syreeta Hewson, 42, says her landlord asked her to move out of the studio apartment she was temporarily renting last year.
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Jenny Ling
Syreeta Hewson is living in this teepee after struggling to find a rental in Kerikeri.
The cafe manager and barista paid just under $2000 for the teepee, which she has been living in for three months at a local motor camp which charges $100 a week including electricity.
Hewson says rental properties are scarce and prices are too high.
"I don't think there's anything affordable for one person. When you contact real estate agents they don't get back to you. Even a flatmate situation, there were only one or two listed."
Hewson says she's not the only one.
She has met two men aged 30 to 40 who are "fully employed" and living in tents because they can't find anywhere to live.
"I meet people every day who are basically becoming homeless up here. It's really shocking. It's a huge problem."
The median rent for a three-bedroom house in the Bay of Islands is now $420 a week, in Mangonui and Kaeo it's $310 per week, in Kaikohe it is $280 and in Kaitaia it is $280 per week.
A search on Trade Me for a three-bed house in the Far North returned just 15 results.
CHRISTEL YARDLEY/STUFF
Tauranga is another place struggling over housing. The city now outranks Auckland in terms of unaffordable housing.
Founder of Finkk [Families in Need Kerikeri] Monika Welch says there is definitely a shortage of rentals in the Far North.
Rents, especially in Kerikeri, are too high and some landlords would rather list their rentals on Airbnb because they get more money, she says.
One person she knows who rented out their three-bed house on Airbnb is "getting $300 a night and is booked up till March".
"People are having to do alternative things because there absolutely is a shortage of places," Welch says.
"I don't think it's the investment that it used to be. People are putting on $450 to $500 for a three-bed place and I know it's going to fall over. You have one bad week when your car breaks down or the washing machine breaks down...for some it's not far off their entire wage for the week."
Kerikeri mum Kathleen Griffiths searched for a rental for three months last year after her landlord wanted his property back for his own family to move into.
Griffiths, her husband and two children aged six and 12, ended up moving onto sleepouts on her mother-in-law's large section.
"It was impossible; there was either nothing in the price range we could afford or they were all located some distance away.
"Not only do you have a financial barrier, you have a distance barrier or you're up against 50 other people."
Griffiths and her husband live in a 11sqm sleepout, the kids live in another sleepout nearby, and they share a caravan for the toilet, shower and cooking.
"It's difficult - you're used to having all your stuff in a set place, when you're decreased to a small environment you've got stuff packed that you may or may not need."
The couple, in their 30s, are now looking at relocating to Waikato where there are "more houses and more options".
"We're hoping to buy but the problem is coming up with the deposit. Here in Kerikeri and Northland prices are quite expensive. Especially for first home buyers.
"Places like the Waikato we could potentially get a three-bed house for $350,000 whereas up here we would be struggling to get anything for under half a mill."
Harcourts Kerikeri business owner Tom Rutherford said changes in the industry, including the Healthy Homes Bill, "have taken the shine off" owning an investment property for some landlords.
The law will require landlords to guarantee that any new tenancy from July 1, 2019 must be either properly insulated or contain a heating source able to make the home warm and dry. All tenancies must meet the new standards by July 1, 2024.
"You've seen a decrease in stock in the last 12-18 months in Northland due to changes in the industry - mum and dad investors concerned about requirements and the change of government...that's taken the shine off it," Rutherford said.
There are also lots of people moving to Northland, he said.
"It's a stable and constant increase."
The latest Trade Me Property Rental Index shows fewer listings compared to last year, and the cost of rent was on the rise.
Head of Trade Me Property Nigel Jeffries said that fiercer demand for rentals was being seen all over the country.
"Nationwide the number of available rentals has halved since December 2016, falling 49 per cent with median weekly rent rising 2.2 per cent to $460 per week."
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