Would you pay $30k up front to secure a rental?

• Published date: 08 May 2021
• Publication title: Daily Post, The (Rotorua, New Zealand)

The former Wellingtonian, who did not want to be named, moved for work and put an ad on Trade Me offering to pay a year upfront for a house he had missed out on — and it was taken down within an hour of being listed.

However, his offer attracted a flurry of replies from interested landlords.

“I said I’ll pay a year in advance: That is the power of cash.”

He had been holed up in motels while searching for a home.

“I was getting frustrated, it was a difficult time for me emotionally. Now I love my place, which is close to the beach.”

It is just one of the bold moves people are making as competition for homes heats up.

Others are facing heartbreak, homelessness, and financial hardship as the rental crisis deepens in the Bay of Plenty’s cities, Rotorua and Tauranga.

The latest data from Trade Me reveals median rents in Tauranga jumped $8140 between March 2016 and March 2021, or from $440 a week to $595.

In Rotorua, it increased by $9880, or from $300 to $490 a week, in the same period.

Throughout the Bay, the Government spent $2.9 million a week on accommodation supplements in the last quarter of the financial year.

Tauranga Rentals owner Dan Lusby said one of his landlords was offered six months in advance — $21,600 — and took it.

Some tenants were also offering more than the advertised rent and Lusby said it was the tightest he had seen the market.

“We’ve got three properties on our board at the moment and last month we only had three to rent. People are too scared to move and are staying put in case they can’t find anywhere else.”

Despondent tenants were also living in overcrowded houses.

‘Always ... broke’

Every week, Renae Hapeta and her partner are broke.

However, the chef and concrete worker are grateful they’re not homeless or relying on family and friends.

Hapeta, 21, said they struggled for two years to find a home in Rotorua.

“It was only because of a family friend that we are in a house right now but the search is tough. You apply for everything, and it seems our age and our dog didn’t suit what they were looking for.

“Then there were other situations when we were almost successful but then a desperate family would come along and get the house, but we didn’t mind because homing a family is more important.”

She says their three-bedroom home cost $420 a week and they had applied for hundreds of homes.

“We pay a lot for this house, it’s really expensive. Our choice is to keep this house and always be broke and just scraping by or continue the...