Tenants in despair as Queenstown rental prices go through the roof
Eye-watering rent increases, bidding wars on available rental properties, and people living in cars are now par for the course in Queenstown.
Mountain Scene has this week heard heartbreaking stories from a huge number of people struggling to find accommodation during the horrific rental housing crisis in the Whakatipu.
One elderly woman, who’s living here on her own, moved to the resort in December 2020, paying $600 a week for a two-bedroom apartment at Frankton.
Last December, she was slapped with a 25% increase, to $750, but given she can’t find anything else, she has no choice but to try to make it work.
Another person says their property manager tried to hike their rent by 63% — the Tenancy Tribunal found that was too high, but the owner’s trying to appeal the decision.
And one property manager Scene’s spoken to says the apartment owners they work for, none of whom are local residents, are trying to lift rents by about 30%.
The woman, who doesn’t want to be named, says over the past couple of years, their owners have generally only lifted rents by about $20 a year.
Now, though, they’re trying to put them up by at least $180.
‘‘When you go on Queenstown Trading, you’ll sometimes see places advertised for $700 for a two-bedroom, or even $750 … I’ve seen one-bedrooms going for $550, sometimes $600,’’ she says.
‘‘The owners see these things, come back and want the same.
‘‘A lot of the tenants can’t afford that.
‘‘They have to leave — a lot of the time they have to leave Queenstown because there’s no where else to go.
‘‘These people work fulltime, for good companies, and they’re living in cars.
‘‘Actual cars.’’
“There’s just absolute greed”
One woman, on a working holiday visa, with employment, arrived in Queenstown on Sunday, but initially could only get hostel accommodation till Saturday morning.
While she’s managed to get that extended until this coming Tuesday, she describes her situation as ‘‘insanely terrifying’’.
‘‘I began panicking and just picturing myself on the streets.
‘‘I don’t know anyone here, let alone someone who would help out in case of an emergency.’’
The property manager says she’s been slammed with applications over the past few months, including families with infants desperate for housing.
It takes a personal toll, she says, because everyone’s got a sad story, ‘‘and it’s really hard, because we don’t have anything available’’.
Another long-term local Scene spoke to says it took her close to five months to find a new home after the owners of her previous
rental decided to put it on Airbnb.
The business owner says she ‘‘could not believe’’ how dire the situation is.
‘‘Queenstown’s been bad, but not 120 people applying for one place-bad.’’
One two-bedroom place she looked into had an advertised price of about $950 per week, but the property manager later said they’d been offered $1100 and wondered if she could beat it.
‘‘It was like a bidding war … there’s just absolute greed and it needs regulation,’’ the woman says.
Property owners urged to ‘show humanity’
Working in mental health care, she’s concerned about the huge flow-on effects this level of rental-hunting can have not just on individuals, but the community at large.
‘‘Greed and selfishness doesn’t just affect one person … we do well as a community when each of us are doing well,’’ she says.
The property manager says she tries to always go into bat for the tenants when it comes to rental negotiations, pointing out all the deficiencies to try to keep the rent increase as small as possible.
‘‘I’m employed to act in the best interests of the owners, but as someone who’s also a renter in Queenstown … it’s so hard already
to try to survive.
‘‘I can’t imagine how people could afford $750 a week, and they’re not in proper, professional jobs, and they have a child.
‘‘It’s insane.’’
The woman believes consideration needs to be given to capping rent increases per annum, but says all property owners need to take a
‘‘really hard look at the situation’’.
‘‘I understand it’s their investment property, but at the same time you have to think about — and maybe it’s just me — humanity.’’
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– ADDITIONAL REPORTING: MELISSA READY
